The job of hiring new sales people usually falls to the Sales Manager; after all, they’re going to end up in your team, so you need to make sure you’ve got the best people. But it can be risky and tough to get right. If you’ve had trouble making the right decisions in the past and ended up with a team you’re not entirely confident about, it might have something to do with your approach.
With this in mind, here are just a few points to consider to when making a new sales hire:
Be prepared
Put the Scouts’ motto into practice and be prepared from the moment you begin the recruitment process. Compile a list of comprehensive questions which you want to ask interviewees and make sure that you are equipped to answer any queries which they may put to you about the role or your company. You should also be prepared to screen applicants thoroughly – never rush to fill a position before you’ve found a truly suitable candidate.
Be specific
Put together a detailed job specification highlighting exactly what is involved in each sales role that you are hiring for and what you will expect from the successful candidate. This can help to ensure that you attract those who have the necessary skills to meet key sales targets. Doing so can also prove useful when it comes to conducting performance reviews further down the line.
Be impartial
If a candidate impresses you at interview, you may find that you are tempted to hire them without further assessment. However, whilst the ability to make a positive first impression is important, personality alone is rarely enough to drive sales. Using assessment tests to evaluate key skills and core values can offer an impartial insight into whether or not a candidate is good fit for the role.
Be committed
Even when you’ve found the perfect salesperson, you are unlikely to get the best results without providing a certain amount of introductory training and support. Make sure you have a development plan in place to encourage your new hires to expand upon their existing skillset. In addition, it can be advisable to identify the ways in which your latest recruit can play to their strengths within the team as a whole.
Hiring the perfect salesperson is not always an easy task, but it is something which it is worth ensuring you get right first time. Failure to hire a successful salesperson can prove costly for a company, as well as detrimental to the rest of your team, so taking the time to find an ideal candidate is certainly worth the extra effort.
Hays Sales UK are experts in all areas of sales recruitment. To find out more about how our highly skilled consultants can support you, please visit our website.
Nice article. I think it’s less about the perfect salesperson and more about finding the right salesperson for your business, market, customers and sales process. I do agree with your comments about being clear about what are the skills you need and then testing for the skills. That’s one of the reasons I founded my startup www.simberry.com to make assessing sales skills easier.
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