A quick internet search on the subject of sales recruitment is bound to result in clickbait articles promising to reveal such coveted secrets as “The One Interview Question That Helps Identify The Best Candidate” or “The Only Hiring Formula Your Company Will Ever Need.”
If only it were so easy!
Unfortunately, as hiring managers realize, the definitive interview question and the perfect recruitment formula are mythical holy grails of sales talent recruitment, as appealing as they are impossible.
In sales talent recruitment, as in other areas of life and work, there are no magical solutions. The closest thing to it is sound advice, based on tried-and-true results. Here are three suggestions:
How To Increase Your Sales Recruitment ROI:
Know The Value Of A Good Referral:
If your top performer makes a candidate recommendation, it is usually wise to consider the hire. Just like client referrals are some of the surest leads to result in a sale, a candidate referral from a top performer has a good chance of becoming a great addition to the team. The secret ingredient in both is trust. In both cases, mutual trust is established between two parties, and the introduction of a new candidate (just as in the case of a new lead) enters the professional relationship as an extension of that trust. In other words, if you’ve maintained a strong professional relationship with your top talent, it is unlikely that they would risk violating your mutual trust with an unworthy candidate referral.
Find A Reliable Recruitment Agency to help Increase Sales Recruitment ROI
Referrals are, of course, not a sustainable pool to draw from if your company is growing and you have a consistent need for recruitment. Though conventional wisdom will often advise companies against it, one of the best methods for getting the most return for your investment in talent management is to hire a sales recruitment company with a highly successful track record.
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Of course, not all sales recruitment agencies are created equal, so what are the signs of an effective recruitment agency? An experienced recruitment agency should have:
- Experience recruiting for a breadth of different sales industries (consumer goods, tech, media, and industrial).
- A sophisticated and effective candidate assessment methodology, able to accurately assess a candidate’s soft skills, experience, and relevancy.
- A successful track-record of having helped fill senior positions (management, executive), as well as junior positions.
- An extensive list of satisfied clients, which includes industry leaders. The agency should be willing to provide references.
- A proven history of delivering fast results—be able to present candidates within a week, on average.
Establishing a relationship with an experienced sales talent agency that possesses these qualities is one of the most profitable investments a sales organization can make. By using their superior reach of talent and sophisticated candidate assessment technologies, an effective sales recruitment agency will save your company a significant amount of time and eliminate the need for screening and interviewing dozens of candidates. That’s time and labour your company can put to better use onboarding the right candidate. A good sales recruiter knows not only how to access the best candidates, but ensures that the successful candidate is an ideal match for the client company, which makes the match advantageous to both parties, and ensures a long-term fit.
Invest In The Continued Success Of Your Team:
Once you abandon trial-and-error recruitment for more precise and sophisticated talent management methods, you’re well on your way to minimizing the significant costs of high personnel turnover. Once you’ve secured good talent, invest in their continued success. This investment begins with effective onboarding and continues with ongoing efforts to coach and motivate members of your team. Click here for Allego's onboarding guide.
See this as taking the costs you would have sunk into screening, interviewing and training inadequate or subpar salespeople and investing it into building up your ideal team. The return on that investment is bound to surprise you.
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