Sales Recruitment

All you know, is you need a sales person who is able to prospect for and win new business opportunities on a consistent daily basis, however, you are not really able to detail anything else. You know your recruitment approach is haphazard at best. And what's worse, it's costing you big time.

You are not alone. Many SME businesses still find it very difficult to recruit effective sales people. And it's not all due to the tight candidate market.

Many people are cynical about sales recruitment. You can hear the sighing or see the eyes rolling can‘t you? 

The problem is, most people are not trained in effective recruitment practices and yet it is one of the most critical jobs in your business, especially for sales. They often give it to someone else and then blame them when it doesn't work.

So who is in charge of your sales recruitment process? You are! Whether you go direct to market or use a recruiter, you hold the key. If you do not own the sales recruitment process, you and your business are in big trouble.

Many of my clients feel at the mercy of the market when it came to sales recruitment. Especially when using recruitment companies, my advice is ‘recruit your recruiter'. Make sure they really do know how to recruit what you need. However, there is work to be done on both sides.

Here are some of the issues I see plaguing businesses when it comes to having poor sales recruitment outcomes:

Issue 1: You do not know what type of sales approach or sales person you need to deliver your sales strategy.

Ask:  Has your strategy and/or marketplace changed recently? If so, how do you need to sell now? Not all sales roles are the same. Be clear about what type of sales approach you need to make your business successful.

For instance, do you need:

• An ‘expert' who is bringing new products, ideas or concepts to the market, versus an ‘organiser' working in an established ‘educated' (about what you do) marketplace?
  
  
• A sales person who can develop long term viable business relationships with clients, or a person who can get around to as many people in your customer market and make quick one-off sales?
  
  
• An Account Manager who maintains accounts, or someone who can develop new business with new or existing accounts?
  
  
• A sales person who can sell expensive, quality value products/service, or a person who can sell commodities or cheaper, price sensitive items?
  
  

Issue 2: You do not really know how to clearly define, articulate and compare what qualities you want in a good sales person.

What skills, knowledge, attitudes and behaviours do your sales people need to demonstrate to be competitive and successful in your marketplace? 

For instance, latest research now reveals that high performing sales people also display high levels of Emotional Intelligence (EI). Know what sales competencies you need.

Issue 3: You do not use or have a logical structured recruitment process to objectively assess, compare and select candidates.

Providing structure is probably the single technique most likely to help in improving the reliability of a selection method or process. Use a structured recruitment process to follow, that allows for you to compare and contrast applicants in a more disciplined and consistent manner.

• Use the key selection criteria as the framework (competencies mentioned above)
  
  
• Standardise all selection activities
  
  
• Rank the criteria: Are they essential, desirable or nice to have? And select in that order.
  
  

Research shows that the average percentage increase in output from using a structured multi-assessment selection approach (structured behavioural competency interviews, relevant psychometric assessments, simulation exercises, structure reference, etc.) is approximately 2.5 times greater in sales jobs than in low-complexity non-sales jobs.

Issue 4: You do not have or use an integrated recruitment strategy to find good sales people. How do you find the 'right' sales people for your business and how do prospective sales candidates find out about your business? 

Just like sales, in today's market you need a combination of ‘push and pull‘ contact strategies for finding the right candidates for your business. Advertising alone is not likely to yield the candidates you seek. You should always be recruiting sales people, even if you do not have a vacancy.

Issue 5: You continue to recruit from your own industry, recycling the same people, and do not look outside your industry to refresh the gene pool with new talent. Same old people, same old ideas, same old results. Need I say more?

Issue 6: You do not screen your recruiters for ‘best practice', nor do you brief them properly. It is a very costly exercise to get recruitment wrong and many people do not have the time to do it themselves.

However, many are equally skeptical about the real value of using recruitment consultants. It is as difficult to find a good recruiter as it is to find a good sales person. If you are going to use a recruiter, ask them what processes they use to source and select candidates. Check them against the processes recommended above to see if they use ‘best practice' methods or just ‘wing it'. 

By giving the recruitment consultant a clear job, person specification and competency profile, you are able to clearly articulate and request what you need, and what they need, to deliver. No more ‘bums on seats' thank you very much. The good ones will tell you who is available in the marketplace, what each type of person is attracting salary wise, and most importantly, help you find the right sales person for your business.

Being in control of your recruitment process is very important. Not being able to articulate what, and who, you need to perform the job well is very risky. As you can see, it's all in the preparation. Put in the work on getting it right up front, and then sticking to a plan, really pays off.

The positive feedback I am getting from sales managers and senior managers when they do follow the process is very rewarding. For instance:

• "It really works! I was able to make a selection decision based much more on the evidence, not my emotions or prejudices."
  
  
• "I'm not getting caught up in my own dialogue and can really concentrate on them."
  
  
• "I didn't think it would, but it saves me so much time and money."
  
  
• "I don't take anyone out of desperation any more."
  
  
• "When we follow the process, my co-interviewer and I come to the same conclusion time and time again - and we have the evidence to prove it!"
  
  
• "I feel in control, and able to make more informed decisions."
  
  
• "I now know how to work with my recruiter to best advantage."

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