Hunting the top talent for your sales team requires putting in some elbow grease to scout, choose, and onboard a perfect match. This requires offering more than just the salary and, instead, finding a bigger purpose for hiring.
A typical hiring process would involve a job description, must-have experience, and also knowledge of various sales techniques. For instance, look out for a sales expert experienced in bundle pricing who knows how to promote these bundles to potential customers by clearly articulating their benefits and emphasizing cost savings.
But what would motivate a sales professional to join your company?
The potential hires should acknowledge that your business is on a meaningful mission and their role will make a difference. Millennials want more than just a money-driven job. They seek flexibility and culture in the workplace, emphasizing finding purpose in work
Things to consider while hiring sales personnel
The usual hiring protocol involves a detailed job description, necessary experience, and familiarity with various sales strategies. For example, seek a sales specialist well-versed in bundle pricing, someone capable of effectively marketing these bundles to prospective clients by elucidating their advantages and highlighting potential cost reductions.
Adding another dimension, like familiarity with key business processes such as quote-to-cash and order-to-cash, could also be valuable criteria for potential candidates. ‘Quote-to-cash’ is the end-to-end process in the sales cycle that covers creating and managing offers for customers and managing the monetary aspect of customer relationships, whereas ‘order-to-cash’ refers to the comprehensive business process involving receipt of customer orders through to the delivery of goods or services.
If we look at quote to cash vs. order to cash we will be able to understand how it enhances a sales professional’s effectiveness in driving revenue and customer satisfaction. In such instances, hiring top sales talent requires putting their needs first and showcasing them throughout recruitment. It requires introducing organizational culture, matching company goals to future sales hiring, and communicating the value of the position (or role).
In this piece, we’ll look at four key tips that help attract top talent for your sales team.
#1. Bring value proposition to the sales job
Leveraging your company’s value proposition in the sales recruitment process helps attract and retain the best talent in the industry. Rather than simply providing the job description, present a compelling vision of your company’s mission and explain how crucial the required role can be in achieving that mission.
This will make prospective hires see the significant societal impact your business makes. Top-level sales personnel are attracted to prospects where they see the potential to be more than just a functional cog in the corporate machinery and remain pivotal to a meaningful cause.
Such strategic communication attracts individuals passionate about your company’s cause, not just the pay scale. By highlighting your value proposition in the hiring process, you draw top talent who align with your ethos and are eager to contribute to your mission.
#2. Offer competitive compensation
Everyone, including your sales team, appreciates being valued and recognized for their hard work. And one such way to show this is through the component of a broader value equation — payscale. Ensure your compensation package for recruiting and organizing your sales team is enticing and competitive to those offered by other companies in your industry.
Research suggests that a financially-secured and acknowledged employee is more likely to stay motivated, committed, and productive. Visit online resources like Indeed, Monster, ZipRecruiter, LinkedIn, etc., that offer valuable insights into industry-standard compensation. It helps peek into what other companies offer their sales personnel within your region.
Sales compensation is often complex, comprising base salary, sales commission rates, ramp-ups, accelerators, and decelerators. Additionally, performance incentives and time-based bonuses can significantly impact creating a comprehensive and compelling pay package.
Communicating these elements during the hiring process helps them gauge what they can earn, eliminating any ambiguity around their income potential.
#3. Carve an employer brand
Any chatter around your company on LinkedIn or other social media platforms is a tell-a-tell sign that individuals are pursuing your ’employer brand.’ Improve how potential employees view your company to attract quality sales staff by acing the employer branding game. It drives the organization’s collective perception as a place of employment where prospective sales personnel would look forward to getting associated.
This perception is intricately tied to your Employee Value Proposition (EVP), which includes unique employee benefits in exchange for the sales team’s skills, knowledge, and dedication.
Consider the example of Costco — a globally renowned retail giant holding a reputation as a choice employer. They are always ahead of the curve and extremely customer-centric, serving smiles as regularly as their ‘bulk buy’ deals.
A little self-investigation on Google can help discover what persona your business displays to potential hires. Ensure showcasing your company culture, values, and work environment that help attract potential sales aligning with these elements.
Carving a strong employer brand increases your company’s visibility and reputation, making it a desirable destination for top-performing sales professionals.
#4. Teach your team leaders to make a real difference
Hiring result-driven sales personnel often requires effective backing from sales managers and leaders from the top hierarchy. Setting up a mentoring program can effectively promote a swift and successful integration of a new sales team member, especially throughout probation.
Often, much of their evaluation will depend on the manager’s feedback of the new sales team member. However, a few questions need an answer to determine how well these managers can deliver impactful feedback.
- Can your managers successfully steer opportunity coaching sessions to devise consistent sales techniques and enhance the execution capabilities at the front line?
- Are your managers maintaining continuous communication with new joiners and experienced team members? If not, what’s causing the communication breakdown?
- Is overall feedback actionable, constructive, and tailored to the individual?
On the other hand, there are performance review questions for probationary employees that make way for healthy discussions around the role. It helps managers and new sales personnel achieve the same goal, boosting staff involvement.
Surprisingly, sales managers need more coaching skills to fit these crucial roles. Therefore, consider sales coaching as a spine to attracting and retaining top talent for business growth. Promoting such a system in the organization will help hire top-tier sales professionals looking to grow with the right training.
Before recruiting for the sales team, consider having the sales team coaching backbone ready. Top managers can thus help quality talent shine within the organization to deliver excellent sales numbers.
Conclusion
Building a top-notch sales team is crucial for your business’s success and growth. Prepare a solid business foundation by attracting top talent for the sales department. That said, developing such a team requires an ongoing commitment in the form of time, energy, and human resources.
Much of the hiring success will depend on aligning the team compatibility with your management style, team dynamics, clientele, and company culture. Assessing these attributes alongside professional qualifications is key to building a successful sales team.
Investing in a skilled sales team is like planting seeds that will eventually yield a fruitful harvest. The time and effort spent fostering this team is a rewarding investment for your business’s long-term success.
About the Author –
Hazel Raoult is a freelance tech writer and works with PRmention. She has more than six years of experience writing about ecommerce, technology, entrepreneurship, and all things SaaS. Hazel loves to split her time between writing, editing and hanging out with her family.
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