To increase the odds of exceeding sales quota, finding and keeping the best talent wins the game. The sales team that gets and nurtures the most “A” players wins! Check out these 6 habits of highly effective sales recruiters:
Always Be Recruiting
- Think of recruiting like a good salesperson thinks of prospecting
- Keep your ear to the ground and be looking for the next hire
- By doing this, you will keep the talent bench strong and suffer less consequences of unexpected turnover
Partner With Your Sales Recruiters
- Unfortunately, many sales leaders and their recruiting partners cling to an “abundance” recruiting mindset and process. This does not guarantee quality candidates
- Add more communication, attention, and precision where it’s needed in your internal processes
- If you don’t talk to your HR support team at least once a week, you are underusing a resource that can lead to your success
- Establish a mutual service-level agreements with your recruiters so you can hold them accountable and they can hold you accountable for results
Refine Expectations
- If you can’t or don’t measure it, you can’t manage it
- Set realistic expectations for frequency and length of time to hire new employees
- Turnover happens when you least expect it and generally when you are least prepared for it
- Set up weekly or monthly recruiting pipeline reviews to determine where you are in your sales process and where the candidate is in their buying process
Define What Good Looks Like
- Start with a very clear picture of what a good sales performer looks like in your organization
- In reality, few criteria for selection is better than many
- Be objective about what you really are looking for versus using subjective criteria
- Good qualities may include:
- Organized
- Use data to track their labor
- Consistently return or answer calls
Strong Behavioral Interviewing
- Set an interview activity target just like you would set a sales call activity target
- At a minimum, aim to interview a new candidate either by phone or face to face once a week
- Properly prepare and use the same standard for evaluating the interview as you would a good sales call
- Behavioral interviewing allows you to understand responses and though processes which can be more beneficial for the ultimate decision
Keep the Process Personal
- Copy-and-pasting the same message to candidates won't give you the best response rate
- Include the candidate’s name, details from their resume or cover letter, and if you’ve already spoken, anything unique from your conversations.
- Effective sales recruiters should take the time to get to know their candidates
A good recruiting strategy will serve any sales organization, large or small, well. It takes discipline, but in many respects the process and tactics are no different than managing a good sales pipeline. Make it as routine as your daily prospecting and opportunity management tasks, and you will reap valuable, long-term results from these habits.
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