For businesses all over the world, one of the most important things that need to be got on point for continued success is the creation of an effective, efficient and productive sales force. Sales is what drives revenue, puts your products and services into the hands of customers, and takes your company forward. To achieve better sales, many companies have extensive measures in place to ensure that the sales force keeps performing optimally. If you have planned an overhaul for your sales team, or are putting together a new one for a newly formed company, there are quite a few things that you need to consider before making hiring decisions.
First off, it is good to acknowledge the fact that sales people who check all the right boxes when it comes to all the ideal criteria that most companies look for are somewhat difficult. There are always variations in the talent pool available to you for recruitment at any given point of time, and the best you can do is to ensure that you recruit the very best that you can find. You are likely to find a lot of sales people for hire whenever you look for a few that can make a difference, because many people consider sales jobs, which usually come with performance based incentives, to be a lucrative career option. The trick is to know what qualities you need to look for in candidates during your sales recruitment process, and to select only the best based on those criteria.
So, what ingredients come together to make someone right for your sales team? There are quite a few, and finding the right, balanced mix of these in your candidates is the difficult part of sales recruitment. Many companies, while hiring sales people, actually take the advantage of the superior knowledge and information of third-party sales headhunters. You can also avail of this approach, but not matter what you do, the criteria remain the same and you need to keep your eye out for these criteria whenever you hire people for sales.
Making the Most of Your Sales Recruitment
Let us take a look at some statistics. Sales is by no means an easy job, and research indicates that only a meager 20% of all sales leads are actually followed up. This translates to actual financial losses for companies. Indeed, the cost of a sales hiring mistake can be up to ten times the base salary of a hired sales person. This is the main reason that you have to be extremely patient and smart during sales recruitment, and avoid mistakes of any kind.
Starting from the ground up, the first quality that you should look for while inspecting and interviewing candidates for your sales posts is smart research skills. In sales, a little bit of research can go a long way, and hiring people who have the skills and tools to research their target market and form a concrete strategy before going into the field have a significantly higher chance of success. Research often involves the use of specific software and tools, and knowledge regarding this should be considered a big plus, as well as the ability to interpret these results accurately and forming smart plans.
Communication is perhaps the most important criterion to look for during sales recruitment. Once the research is done and a sales person enters the field trying to form leads and close sales, this is the one quality that determines success rates. People with above average communication skills are always likely to be more effective in terms of the results they can bring in. The presence of related qualities like a pleasing personality, charisma, enthusiasm and confidence is an added bonus. After all, a firm handshake and a warm smile can go a long way when it comes to achieving excellent sales results.
Keeping these nuances in mind can allow you to make the most of your sales recruitment efforts, and hire the right sales people who can take your company forward. With an efficient and hard-working sales force, you are likely to be able to boost sales, break new ground and bring in more substantial revenue over time.
