Recruit and hire top sales talent: 5 effective tips

A fail-safe sales hiring strategy requires a well-thought-out recruitment process. That’s how you attract the right sales talent while making the most of recruiting time and resources. Top sales representatives are in high demand and companies are constantly competing to hire and retain them. Here are 5 effective tips to help you strengthen your sales recruiting effort.

1. Build a winning brand identity
The first step is establishing the reputation of your brand in the market. Leverage your company’s track record of success in social media and position your company as a market leader. If your firm is invisible or perceived as an also-ran online, talented sales people are savvy enough to realize that working for you will be an uphill battle. Get the word out about your company’s positive work environment, prestigious clients, market reputation and financial performance, and enjoy a sales recruiting edge.

2. Highlight your company’s culture
Companies the world over are recognizing the impact of a strong workplace culture on enterprise growth and productivity. Speak to your organization’s values, principles and esprit de corps. Since selling is increasingly becoming a team sport, emphasize the top-to-bottom focus your firm places on customer satisfaction and the wholehearted collaboration and support sales reps can expect from manufacturing, product development, marketing and finance.

3. Explain how your sales job supports your company mission
Make sure you clearly communicate your company’s mission and the vital role your sales candidate will be playing in pursuing it. While individual goals and achievement are important to all sales reps, top performers will want to feel part of a larger and worthwhile endeavor. If your mission is not a walk in the park, so much the better. Good salespeople love a challenge.

4. Implement a candidate-centered interview process
With sales talent in short supply, it’s a seller’s market. You’ll need to spend as much effort wooing candidates as screening them. Simplify application paperwork to minimize abandon rates. Consider conducting interviews in an informal setting as opposed to across a desk. Be open to exploring candidate questions and concerns up front in the interview process. Recognize that ambitious candidates are seeking to better themselves and emphasize what you are prepared to do to help them grow rather than what they will need to do to keep their job. If possible, model your intentions by making the interview itself a bit of a mentoring experience. Finally, should you decide to reject a candidate be respectful and offer helpful feedback. You don’t want to be punked on Glassdoor or another site that allows candidates to rate employers and the application process.

5. Offer competitive compensation
This is not a good time to nickel and dime sales candidates on compensation. There’s an increased risk that the current employer will counter-offer. And, even if the candidate reports for duty, if they are not bowled over by your pay package, you may find them jumping ship for a more lucrative offer before they have even completed the onboarding process. This is also not a good time to play fast and loose with your On Target Earnings scheme. Be certain it’s achievable, and patiently explain things until the candidate is confident a sincere effort will result in money in the bank.

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