Less Interviews, But Better Sales Candidates

How to hire a sales rep

Sales management headhunters have to be on their game all of the time. Sometimes you might be led to believe that good sales reps are a dying breed, but it takes a passionate recruiter to find the needle in the haystack of sales. It has been said that when hiring sales representatives, it is only about 1 in 10 that can actually produce a positive ROI for your business.

Sales management headhunters are positioned perfectly to help you find and retain someone that is a good fit for your industry, and to screen out those ill suited for a demanding sales career path. There are numerous recruiting firms that are deserving of your analysis, but you should do some preliminary research to find the right fit for your business.

There are greater numbers of sales reps in almost every industry these days, but discovering which ones have the most effective track records is not necessarily a given. In the U.S., more than 30 percent of all salespeople will not achieve their monthly quota. Worse still, around 20 percent of all salespeople resist teaching. It is no surprise then that some companies may see up to 40 percent turnover. Fortunately top sales management headhunters can work through the foolishness of under performers so that you do not have to.

When looking for a top recruiter, your industry associates and colleagues might serve as an excellent source of referrals. It may also prove to be more efficient if you are able to identify an executive search firm that works exclusively in your industry niche. While sales skills are transferable across industries, some technical knowledge may be necessary to truly be effective in your industry. Use their industry focus to baseline what kind of recruiting they could perform for your sales team.

Once you reduce your list of potential recruiters, analyze their previous successes and affinity for developing premier sales pros. Frequently, you can find this type of feedback on review sites and networking forums. This may include feedback from both sides of the aisle, as employees and client companies chime in on the process. Take this information to create a vetted list of potential recruiters that you can follow up with. As you get further along, begin to ask specific questions about the process and their screening capabilities.

A premium benefit of using a recruiting firm is their ability to quickly eliminate the resumes and applicants that do not fit your culture or skill set requirements. Your goal should not be to conduct lots of interviews, but to only interview the few that are deemed potential candidates. By finding the right recruiting firm for your business, your efficiency should become apparent once you identify the right sales pro for your organization.

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