But have you stopped to consider what exactly it is you are requiring? Is it the Sales Results, or the Sales Headcount? Both do not automatically go together.
Most companies require a Senior Business Development Specialist (“Hunter”) but don’t understand the skill level that is required to perform this role successfully. Or they end up, time and time again, hiring an Account Manager (“Farmer”) by mistake because they don’t fully understand the critical difference between these two roles: https://www.access2sales.com/uncategorized/5-key-questions-to-consider-when-hiring-sales-people/
Outsourcing your Screening, Hiring, and Onboarding processes to a company that has accumulated many years of strategic hiring in this area has many benefits that result in a lessened amount of ‘risk’ and costs.
Companies who do are experiencing high churn rates, or only hire infrequently, are at risk of costly Sales Hiring cycles and should consider the following tasks that need to be included in a successful Hiring Process:
- Being able to understand and clearly articulate the deliverables of the role you are hiring for (i.e. net new business acquisition, existing customer management, etc.), and from that developing an accurate and realistic job description, not a ‘wish list’.
- Assigning a key contact, preferably in Sales themselves (not HR) to act as the primary and principal ‘screener’. This seems to be done mostly these days by identifying keywords in an Applicant Tracking System, which does not reflect or capture any ‘subtleties’ of that person’s skills, just that they used a lot of keywords in their resume.
This approach though is slowly going by the wayside as employers are realizing that there must be a ‘human’ intervention/investment made at this stage to not let a good candidate slip through their fingers, and perhaps to a competitor. But this takes time that many of those on the Sales Management team just don’t have.
- Once properly screened by someone either in Sales and/or possessing a very good understanding of the skills required for the role, interviewing can begin. However again, at this stage for the best results, interviews need to be conducted by those with a Sales background, not HR. More often than not, it takes a Hunter to know a Hunter, as is said.
More detailed expectations of the role should absolutely be shared at this time with the candidate, as well as discussions of what your culture is like, what to expect working for your Organization in Sales, and perhaps even meetings with current Sales People can be arranged to allow the candidate to speak with some of his / her future colleagues.
- Vetting / Reference Checking of the final candidates. This step could be managed by HR now, provided they are given in writing what questions to ask from the person to whom the candidate will be reporting to.
Final Negotiations on salary, start date, and onboarding details should also be discussed with their Direct Report so proper expectations are set.
As you can see, and know, from a time/money perspective, the hiring process for Sales People can involve different stakeholders and be quite costly, especially if the wrong candidate is chosen. Have you analyzed your churn rate? https://www.access2sales.com/uncategorized/problem-with-sales-churn-maybe-its-time-to-look-at-your-sales-culture/
And it is crucial that Sales Management is involved in this process, even if it takes time away from their own duties.
Some tough but insightful considerations to make when hiring Salespeople. If you or your Sales Management may not be entirely comfortable with fulfilling all the ‘tasks’ of this process or simply do not have the time to invest in a customizable Sales Hiring Process, perhaps Outsourcing this function from start to finish may be a new and innovative option to consider before automatically hiring for your next Sales role.
If you would like to investigate the benefits further and take a fresh approach in approaching your Sales Hiring requirements, now may be the time to consider Outsourcing this function to a company that has extensive experience in determining what is needed to select a winning candidate who will not only be a great fit with your culture but also highly competent in producing the results you are looking for.
We have access to an extensive network of Professional Sales People to draw from and will effectively align their skills and experience with your requirements on your behalf before we present them to you, and coach you on the balance of the Hiring Process thus reducing much of the risk that goes with successfully navigating the Hiring Process for Sales People.
About the Author:
Martin Beauclair is an Entrepreneur, Business Leader, and Active Supporter of Start-up Communities. For the past 20+ years, he has launched and managed numerous technology product offerings, serving as Sr. Vice-President of Sales & Business Development at IgeaCare Group of Companies, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing at GlobeStar Systems, and Director of Sales & Marketing at Edwards Systems Technology (Now GE Security).
Today Martin heads up Access2Sales as CEO, and recently founded FalconRidge Trading, a related Strategic Sales company.
Martin is a certified ADMA (Accredited Professional Administrator), a member of the AMA (American Marketing Association) and both UPSA & CPSA Professional Sales Associations. He is a graduate of the Harvard Business School (AMP), a bilingual BAA (Bachelor in Business Administration) from the University of Ottawa, and also holds an MBA in International Business Management from Laval University.
He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Business Administration at the University of Phoenix, and is a self-proclaimed ‘life-long learner’.
But what ultimately drives him at the end of the day? Simply,
“To Grow Companies by Creating and Leading High-Performance Sales Teams.”