Gone are the days of having a drawn-out, overly corporate model of recruitment. After years of sticking to a process that can be both time-consuming and costly, it’s time to reinvent the hiring model to meet the needs of both recruiter and candidate.
To recruit the best salespeople, focus on marketing roles effectively and tailor your hiring strategy to match the talent you wish you recruit to save you time and money. As over 75% of professional talent are passive candidates who would be repelled by a rigorous hiring process, it’s crucial to streamline your strategy. A considerate and enjoyable approach to recruitment benefits both parties as people who feel satisfied with their candidate experience are 38% more likely to accept a job offer.
Keep your recruitment process efficient
One of the biggest causes of candidate dissatisfaction is the length of the recruitment process as 69% of candidates would like to see an improvement in employer response time regarding a hiring decision. A lengthy hiring process, as well as a convoluted application system, will contribute to candidate disengagement and potentially lead to the loss of talent.
You can avoid this and streamline your recruitment process by conducting phone interviews to screen potential candidates and cut down on, or combine, rounds of interviews. Keep your candidates engaged even during notice periods by updating them on any decisions you make and respond to any of their queries to demonstrate your investment in them.
Invest in your team
Your business is only as strong as your employees, so investing in their progress is a great use of company time and money. You can provide career progression in several ways including training programmes and e-learning opportunities. Train your salespeople now to be the future leaders of tomorrow.
There have been many proven benefits to training your salespeople including improved morale, increased retention, loyalty and productivity. Nurturing your staff reflects positively on your company and contributes to sales. Offering training to new recruits shows candidates you are invested in their progress within the company and that you provide opportunities for career development.
Know how to market your jobs
84% of companies incorporate social media into their recruitment process for one reason: it works. In addition to job boards, it’s useful in a modern age to advertise on a variety of social media platforms. While most recruiters advertise on LinkedIn, there are over 2 billion users on Facebook where 83% of candidates are active as opposed to 36% on LinkedIn. Social media marketing helps to attract talent and improve your employer brand at the same time.
Another great method to recruit the best salespeople includes using connections to find someone with proven talent to hire. Employee referrals are one of the most productive and reliable ways to fill roles with referred employees taking the shortest amount of time to hire and onboard, according to a study by JobVite.
Create a clear and attractive job spec
With hundreds of job specifications for similar roles advertised on the web, your job spec should stand out amongst them with its attractive benefits and easy-to-read description. To recruit the best salespeople, remember that a job spec should be as persuasive as it is informative. Be as specific as possible in order to accurately capture the essence of the role and allow the candidate to visualise a typical day at work.
Sell your job well to persuade the most sought-after candidates to consider working for you instead. You should advertise opportunities for career growth within your company and most importantly, incentivise them by mentioning your employee benefits. The most attractive perks include flexible hours and work-from-home options.
Be realistic in what you ask for; specify the core essentials but consider what skills could be learned on the job by the right candidate with a good mindset. However, to avoid potential deal-breakers later in the hiring process, be upfront about any non-negotiable prerequisites the candidate should possess such as qualifications and licences, or office rules they will need to adhere to.
Don’t be afraid to begin again
It can be disheartening to reach the final round of your recruitment process only to have all the candidates fall short on an essential element to the role or company. Whether that be a lack of enthusiasm or inability to overcome logistical relocation issues, it’s wiser to cut your losses and begin the search again than progress despite your initial hesitation. Should you hire a bad candidate, it will cause further wasted time and money down the road, most likely leading to a repeat of the recruitment process in just a few months. It’s much better to take your time when choosing a candidate that is the right fit in all the most vital ways.
Get help from BMS Performance
At BMS Performance, we provide recruiting managers with guidance on the current skills and experience available on the market. If you want proven and dedicated sales talent, hire with us. We have 25 years of sales recruitment experience and interview 500 candidates per week. Get in touch with us today to see how we can help you.
