A recent study in market trends indicated that the sales training business is poised to grow nicely over the next several years. Huh? It seems counter intuitive that anyone would be thinking about spending money on things not deemed essential under the current circumstances.

I have to agree with the prediction in that I believe it will be the sales department and its team that will be the instrument of recovery for most battered businesses. It is not as complicated to”flip the on switch” for the production side of most businesses as it is to get customers to start buying from YOU again. Therefore, your businesses survival is contingent upon the ability of your sales team to get business rolling again.

Back to the prediction about training and training in general. It is likely that you will see benefit from getting some sales training on how to sell in the new reality. General sales training might not be as valuable or important right now. We’re selling in a new reality right now and nobody is sure exactly what to do to get customers buying again.

Training certainly has its place in any sales team, in fact it’s incredibly important. Especially for new members of your team.

Even more important than training, however, is that your sales team has as many top producers as possible. And by top producers, I mean entrepreneurial, driven closers who will figure out how to make sales in any environment. Therefore, before even thinking about spending money on training, you should be looking at who you have on your team.

There is a ton of sales talent looking for work right now. More than in the last decade at least, maybe in the last 50 years. You should always be recruiting new sales talent. Now is a great time to be doing it in preparation for your business grabbing more than its fair share of the market. Hiring real sellers can be tough. If you’d like to learn how a strategic system for hiring salespeople can make a huge difference in your business recovery, click HERE.

The slow but sure reopening of the economy is not only a relief, but is also an opportunity. You must reposition your business to meet customer’s needs in the business “new normal.” In order to capitalize on the opportunity, you must have a sales organization populated with real sales studs who can adapt to a very new sales reality. The talent pool of great sellers looking for their next opportunity has never been higher. Consequently, it’s a good time to make sure your sales hiring strategy includes some key elements used by the best sales recruiters.

1. First, you must have a solid compensation strategy to attract and keep top sales talent on your team. Real sellers want to know that they will be well paid for performance. They’ll have a goal to be at the top of your sales stack quickly. Any good outside sales recruiter should be ask about and guide you on compensation strategy before any recruitment ads are placed.
2. You need to have a recruitment ad that will attract the right type of person. Real sellers want to know specifically what the position you have will offer in income potential. Use specifics on current top earners’ income.
3. Use profiling to “check under the hood” of your applicants. There are personality profiles which are both scientifically measurable and associated with top sales performers. Resumes and previous sales experience are not going to reveal the truth about a candidate. Therefore, combining profiling with the next essential step become critical.
4. Finally, you must have a good interview strategy. It will put your in a position of being able to make decisions based on a process. Never, ever hire by “gut feel.” It is the most common error made in the sales recruitment process.

Making sure you’ve got these 4 essentials wrapped up before you start sales recruiting will increase your success rate.