Hiring Top Sales Reps – Expert’s Advice

Hiring reliable, long-term employees can be quite challenging.

Sometimes, candidates are only out to find the position that pays the most. Even more, a few out there think working in sales is the easy way out.

They expect to do minimal work for more money. This isn’t always the case, however. There are ways to ensure you’re only hiring top sales talent. How? There are a number of factors that go into the overall search.

Today, we are going to start with a quick tip that is key in all aspects of the overall hiring process:

  1. Measure candidates objectively
  2. Steer clear of job hoppers
  3. Don’t burn yourself out
  4. Hire confident candidates
  5. Disclose all information
  6. Measure results
  7. Use social media
  8. Make your company reputable
  9. Know where to look
  10. Use a good recruiting software

Measure Candidates Objectively

It’s important to pay close attention to the applicant’s objectives:

  1. Are they looking for a long-term position?
  2. Do they hope to stick with the same company for years to come?
  3. Has working in sales been their lifelong dream?

Making sure they are dedicated and motivated to work in this industry for a long time is key.

Never fail to pay close attention to their objectives and also evaluate their experiences and skills. If their goals are in line, they might just be a top talent!

Steer Clear of Job Hoppers

Many applicants will have a resume full of work experience.

The only problem with that? They could have worked for 10 different companies over the past five years. That’s a lot of businesses.

Job hopping isn’t a great idea for various reasons.

Those with a longer selling cycle within the same company will offer lower turnover rates. Don’t fall for the reps that continually jump from one job to another. They’re just looking for the most money and not necessarily the best long-term career move.

Don’t Burn Yourself Out

If you’ve got five candidates lined up to interview each day, within a week’s time period, you’re likely to get tired of the whole process pretty quickly.

When this happens, you end up glancing over really awesome talent. Don’t let this happen to you. Instead of burning out, consider spacing your candidates out.

Take only two or three a day so that you’re able to give them the time and consideration they need. You’ll thank yourself later when the top candidate walks in, and can’t wait to start working with you!

Hire Confident Candidates

There are many times when applicants are apprehensive about accepting a position.

Whether it is because they’re not as interested in the position offered or they’re not happy with the compensation, consider passing over the “maybe” candidates.

You’ll be better off without them. Always hire people that are excited and eager to start working ASAP!

Disclose All Information

Sales jobs are challenging.

There’s a great deal of competition involved, and not everyone is cut out for the job. Instead of hiding that fact, make sure you’re clear with expectations. Also, make sure applicants know before applying what they’re up against.

Disclosing all the information about this position will help weed out those that aren’t as interested as they thought when the description of the job sounded “easier.”

Measure Results

In order to hire the best, you must target the best. Start measuring your results during your recruiting efforts. Analyze online data and make sure you’re reaching as far as possible, in order to find the best candidate.

Use Social Media

Make sure your LinkedIn and Facebook profile is professional and full of useful information about the products or services your company sells. Also be sure to have a professional photo of not only yourself, but the product or services as well.

  • Is your social media profile likable? Is it approachable?
  • Do you have enough recommendations from sales reps to help you when candidates take a look at your LinkedIn profile?
  • Do you come across as approachable and likeable?
  • Do you focus on your company’s Glassdoor.com ratings? If not, consider doing that now.
  • Are you familiar with social selling?

We hope the information you’ve gathered over the past three blogs has been enlightening and useful! Remember, working with online data, social media, and being sure to disclose all information about the position upfront will help you find a great candidate.

Now, it’s time to get out there and find those candidates!

Make your company reputable

Just ask yourself a simple question:

Why would this top sales rep work with us? What do we offer that other companies don’t?

A good part in this will play the amount written on the paycheck, but another important factor is also your employer brand.

How the employees and potential candidates perceive your company.

For more about this topic check our comprehensive guide on employer branding.

Know where to look

The way you are searching for the top sales reps and talent also plays a role in how successfully you will recruit.

Here are a few potential places where you can search that actually will lead to good results:

  • LinkedIn – Professional social networks are filled with top sales reps. However, ensure to distinguish between the fake ones and the ones that are really talented.
  • Job boards – Indeed and similar job boards can be pretty useful, given into consideration that they have been proven and praised by numerous HR experts.
  • Events and meet-ups – These types of social events are a magnet for talented and ambitious people.
  • Job fairs – Just like with events and meet-ups, job fairs are a great place for networking and ultimately finding the right match for your company.
  • Referrals – Ask your employees, coworkers, partners, or other HR experts and business owners to refer someone. Most high-talented people are usually hired through referrals.
  • Through a staffing agency – If nothing has seemed to work for you so far, then think about hiring a staffing agency to do it for you.

Use the Best Free Resume Management System on the Internet – Use Recruiteze!

Do you want to take the redundant administrative work out of recruiting for your startup business?

If so, don’t hesitate to use Recruiteze and iReformat to help reduce the time consuming process of filtering through resumes and applications to hire new employees.

Did you know that Recruiteze can help!

Recruiteze is a top notch, free resume management system. This powerful online system allows your job candidates to apply to job listings and be added to your database immediately. End-users can access candidate resumes online and make changes quickly.

Recruiting based on client needs has never been easier with your custom job board. It allows candidates and customers easy access to information and creates a level of professionalism expected in today’s marketplace.

Already have a free resume management system? iReformat makes for the perfect addition! iReformat allows you to format up to 10 resumes per month for free. In addition, we are proud to offer you a free 15 day trial of any of our other memberships.

Other packages start at $10 per month and offer unlimited support, users, and more! To maximize your recruiting efficiency by using our application for reformatting resumes and gain all the benefits from using an applicant tracking system, consider using iReformat.

We offer a free, 15-day trial (no credit card required) so that you’ll be sure of your decision to use iReformat for all your employment recruitment and staffing needs. If you have any questions or are interested in the enterprise package that offers unlimited access to all our services contact us today!

Additional reads:

  1. What are the pros and cons of group interviews
  2. Competency-based interview questions
  3. Exit interview questions

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