Three Key Ingredients Needed to Recruit and Hire Top Sales Talent
If you are looking to grow your sales force, it’s no secret that finding the right people can be challenging, time consuming and sometimes even frustrating. A few key ingredients come to mind when looking for ways to attract the best sales talent your company can hire.
Key#1: Compensation
Compensation is at the “heart” of most sales professionals, it is the romance language of all great sales talent. Most people join the rank and files of sales not because they enjoy taking massive amounts of rejection, but because they are willing to rise to the challenge under the right set of conditions. Give a sales professional a befitting product or service, effective leadership and a winning compensation plan and you have the basic recipe for sales success. Believe it or not, in some companies the number one sales person is paid more than the CEO. These savvy CEOs understand what motivates sales professionals and are happy to pay top commissions as they watch their companies achieve accelerated growth rates.
Key #2: Sales Leadership Support
Today, more than ever, outstanding sales people need strong sales leadership. Sales management is valued for their ability to provide direction, clarification, thought leadership and sales strategy. Great sales leadership can attract over achieving sales professionals, improve sales performance, accelerate client acquisition and reduce unwanted turnover. When accomplished sales professionals consider changing companies, they look for sales managers that are knowledgeable, perceptive, cogent, confident, involved, trustworthy and approachable. They look for sales managers that have open door policies; the political prowess needed to acquire additional resources; the bravado to push though sales friendly compensation plans and the influence needed to increase direct marketing support. Top sales talent looks for leaders with integrity and a vested interest in serving both the client and the sales team. In the long run, your ability to attract top revenue generators will be a reflection of the organization and the sales leader, so make sure you have the right sales manager in place.
Key #3: Recruiting Game Plan
It will be difficult to land top producers without a strong recruiting strategy. Finding top sales talent is a job that never ends, and if done haphazardly, can leave you vulnerable to hiring mediocre sales performers. Remember that all top producing sales hires are highly profitable, so it makes sense to invest the time and energy needed to build a strong recruiting game plan. With a little planning and a strong commitment to investing in the best sales people, your organization will reap the rewards of building a fierce sales force that dominates the market, wins profitable business and captures more than its fair share of clients.