As a business owner, you’ll be aware of the make-or-break impact sales people can have on your company’s success. Unfortunately, recruiting sales people can be somewhat tricky due to the competitiveness of the industry, and this can mean you end up making the wrong hiring decision, resulting in a high staff turnover that reflects badly on your business.
BMS Performance are experts in sales recruitment. We work with all manner of clients and candidates to help them find their perfect match. This means we are best placed to provide helpful and realistic advice when it comes to how to recruit a sales person to your team. If you’re looking to add to your sales team but want to avoid hiring mistakes, here are our top tips on making the right decision first time.
Identify Skills Gaps in Your Current Sales Team
The first step in recruiting for any job role is to identify a skills gap in your existing team. Every candidate has their own strengths and weaknesses. As an employer, it’s your job to bridge any gaps within your team. Doing so will allow you to cover all bases and bolster your sales team as a whole, ensuring they’re as well-rounded as they can be.
With this in mind, spend some time noting what your current team is good at and what could be improved. For example, you might find you have a strong team leader and a great sales executive who can generate lots of leads, but you’re missing an analytical member of the team who is data driven and good at identifying market trends.
Clearly Define a Job Description
The next step is to define a clear job description. This is potentially the most important step because it will act as a filter when candidates are considering applying to your company. In the job description you need to be upfront about the role and your expectations, as well as the experience and personal attributes you require from the candidate.
Make sure the description isn’t too long to avoid putting candidates off, and don’t oversell certain aspects of the role. One of the best ways to avoid a high staff turnover is to give an accurate description of what the job is, what an average day looks like, and the skills that will be needed to succeed. This will ensure those who apply know what they’re getting into and are less likely to leave when they discover what the job is really like.
Consider Business Stage Matching
Sales jobs vary from job to job and industry to industry, meaning one size doesn’t fit all. If you’re a start-up company looking for an ambitious sales executive who will proactively get you leads and build up your client base, it might be best to look for sales people who have experience doing a similar thing.
You might get applications from business development managers, but they might be more suited to managing existing client relationships rather than building new ones. It’s essential that you find a sales person who can match the stage your business is at in order to help it grow and flourish. This isn’t to say candidates can’t be multi-faceted, but business stage matching will reduce the chances of making an incorrect hiring decision.
How we Can Help
Recruitment can be time consuming and drawn out, but BMS Performance is here to help. We are experts in matching quality candidates with job roles they will excel in. We take all the hassle out of recruitment by filtering out candidates and recommending only the most qualified and suitable applicants for an interview. This saves you time and lowers the chances of a bad hire. To find out more about how we can help you, please contact us.