Business is driven by sales, which is why it’s so important to recruit and retain the best salespeople! Are you looking for the right characteristics and using the best strategies to find and keep them?
Almost every organisation benefits from great salespeople. It doesn’t matter if you have excellent products and services if you don’t have excellent people selling them. The best sales talent can have a huge impact on your revenue and growth. But how can you distinguish yourself from your talent competitors or find unique ways to retain and engage them?
Mat Apodaca shares how salespeople at his company are among the highest paid employees, as they are the reason the company exists! As Apodaca explains, “Salespeople are essential to your business’s growth… My experience with higher level sales folks is they are successful because they are incredibly smart, innovative, and always looking for the best solution for their clients. Recruiting for salespeople pumps the lifeblood of your company.”
As a recruiter, you may be interested to learn there are a number of similarities you share with salespeople, such as:
- working to continuously to fill the pipeline
- having lots of conversations
- the thrill of landing big accounts/great hires
- the need to maintain an even temperament
- brand building, so customers and candidates seek you out.
With this common ground in mind, here are the personal traits and attributes of top sales performers you should be looking for.
Characteristics to look for
On top of being great communicators, it’s important you assess candidates for these important qualities:
- entrepreneurial
- problem-solvers
- driven to succeed
- goal oriented
- ability to stick to plans and schedules
- creative, with the ability to come up with creative solutions
- great listening skills
- (last but not least) resilient.
From this starting point, there are a number of attraction strategies you can use to bring these types of people into your organisation.
Sell your organisation
According to Salesforce, one of the first steps to getting great salespeople on board is selling your organisation to candidates by thinking of your interviews as sales pitches. Candidates are selling their skills, qualifications and experience, and recruiters are selling their opportunities and organisation. Both parties are trying to assess whether each would make a great fit.
“Each party has value to contribute to the arrangement, and they are pitching to each other… When you approach the situation by clearly communicating what value your organisation will bring to the candidate’s life, you’ll attract potential employees who are in demand and have numerous choices about their next steps. You can also be confident that they’re approaching the transaction from the same perspective and with a desire to demonstrate what value they will contribute to your company. They’ll expect to discover why your organisation is a beneficial choice for them, too.”
Above all, don’t approach this situation using “high-pressure” sales techniques, acting as if candidates should be lucky to be offered the products, that they have nothing of value to bring, and that there are plenty of others who would love to be in their shoes. This will only net you poor hires.
Build a strong employer brand
When you have a strong employer brand, it’s far easier to attract a larger volume of applications and reduce the time it takes to convert “maybe” to “yes”!
“Establishing yourself as a top-tier talent brand…. [is] favourable for your company in terms of attracting talent, as companies with excellent talent brands see 2.5 times more applicants for open positions than other businesses. But it also makes sense financially: Talent brands that stand out generally spend 43 per cent less on hiring than average companies.”
There are many ways to establish a strong employer brand. Target your messaging, improve your candidate experience, and highlight the most attractive qualities of your culture and the meaningful work your organisation can offer.
Showcase how your organisation prioritises and values sales
Talented salespeople are far more likely to join organisations where their work is valued and appreciated, so build a culture where their work is properly respected and understood. Everyone in your organisation should clearly understand the role and function of your salespeople (it’s not all chatting on the phone – there is, of course, tiresome research, analysis, lead generation that goes into sales); this, in turn, will make your sales employees feel valued.
Actively celebrate, reward, and recognise the role of your salespeople and the impact they have on your organisation. Do you offer any unique incentives? Showcase them!
“Leaders can spotlight certain aspects of the sales process so that other employees who are unfamiliar with what it involves have an opportunity to learn more. This doesn’t mean you should elevate the sales department over the other integral units of your organisation. It’s about demonstrating to your team as a whole that everyone has important contributions to make to the company, and building an admiration for collaboration into the very essence of your company culture.”
Create engaging recruitment advertisements
Your recruitment advertisements are a great way to create a great first impression, build your brand, and wow potential candidates. Check out these tips on how to create engaging recruitment advertisements. Showcase your unique offering, how you value your salespeople, and the meaningful work and incentives top salespeople can obtain through you.
Share employer branding content relevant to salespeople
How are you leveraging your online channels to showcase your salespeople? Some ideas on how to speak to this target talent demographic include sharing employee profile stories on your current salespeople so they can learn more about the role, your organisational culture, benefits, and the types of people they could be working with! Celebrate the achievements of your salespeople by sharing images and content on your social media channels.
Additional strategies
In addition to showcasing the unique incentives your organisation has to offer, you should also outline the career progression pathways available to top performers. (This may matter more to some salespeople than others!)
Review your compensation packages and incentives on a consistent basis to ensure you remain competitive.
Your ability to attract and retain the best salespeople has a direct impact on your bottom line and overall growth. As Apodoca aptly summarises, “When you bring a consistent effort to recruiting, onboarding, and developing great salespeople, it fuels the lifeblood of a company… Finding and recruiting top salespeople is incredibly fulfilling because of the impact it makes. When you can source and land a rainmaker, you are helping your company grow. And you’d be crazy not to like that.”
Source
Recruiting for Sales Pumps the Lifeblood of Your Company
Mat Apodaca
Here’s how to attract stellar salespeople – and keep them
Salesforce