Resources for Recruiting Services for Sales Professionals

In today’s dog-eat-dog competitive world of sales, your small business cannot afford to lose a single sale – much less many sales – simply because your staff is not skilled at selling. Whether you hired the staff without giving thought to their sales capabilities, or you assumed they’d learn on the job, now is the time to put a new job requirement in place – top sales skills. This doesn’t mean fire the ones you already have, but when you DO hire more salespeople, make sure they know what they’re doing.

The top things to know about hiring your sales staff:
1) If you want to grow your business, it’s time for you to stop focusing on selling, and instead, find people to sell for you.
2) Determine what you need in a salesperson and then take the steps to find that person.
3) Consider less-traditional sales staffing solutions, such as outsourcing, using manufacturer’s representatives, independent sales agents, and more.
4) Continually assess and hire new salespeople as needed.

Take the first steps

Before you start interviewing people off the street, take the time to create a comprehensive and clear salesperson job description, including your pay plan – commission vs. salary – and the additional qualities you’d like in a salesperson. Be clear about what needs to be done, how much time should be spent on specific tasks, and HOW you would like those tasks accomplished. This small time investment early on will save you (and your new hires) a lot of headaches later.

Train yourself and your management to hire knowledgeably

If you (and your hiring managers) do not know what you’re looking for in your sales staff, how in the world are you going to know when – or if – you find it? Go to the pros for advice on everything from interviewing to learning about the person’s REAL skills as a salesperson.

Get advice from the pros

Who better to advise you about hiring your sales staff than those who have been there, done that? We can’t think of anyone. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice from mentors or other business owners (not your direct competition, of course) regarding their recruiting practices.

Hire outside the box

Be creative when hiring your sales staff, and you might just save some money. For example, hire manufacturer’s representatives, or independent sales agents, who work on a commission, or outsource your sales, rather than having an in-house sales staff. Or mix it up – combining inside sales with telemarketing and online sales and some independent sales agents.

Use online tools to sharpen your skills, and theirs

Seek out Web sites that offer sales hiring training – or just plain sales training – to not only brush up on your own sales staff hiring skills, but also to offer ongoing support, encouragement, and new ideas to your existing – and new – sales staff. Constantly challenge them – in a fun way, whenever possible – to go all the way and make a difference.

• Evaluate your sales staff continuously, and hire more people as needed – don’t wait until your current staff is overworked and burned out before bringing in some relief.
• Pay attention when you’re at a store and you come across a terrific salesperson – then figure out what you can do to lure him away from his current employer.
• Ask for referrals from other employees, professional organizations, or trusted colleagues – but don’t hire your sales staff out of obligation – or anything other than their sales skills.
• Contact local colleges for third or fourth year students – or recent graduates – to find eager salespeople you can mold to your sales methodology.