When I first started hiring salespeople, the choices for advertising were greatly limited. We can only use newspapers, trade association publications and radio. It’s hard to be competitive in such a small playground.

Today, there are more online platforms to choose from. You can say we are living in exciting times but don’t rejoice just yet; most of these platforms are a total waste of time. Good thing that we constantly get feedback from our clients on which ones work well.

Let’s show you their top picks:

Craigslist – Yes, Craigslist is free or very inexpensive. But it’s at the top of our list because it works – and the price is right. There are things you need to do to get your ad relevant on this platform. And you MUST keep your ad at the top of the list without getting banned by Craigslist. Both RELEVANCE and TOP OF THE LIST are essential for Craigslist success.

ZipRecruiter – Our clients complain about their pricing and bad customer service, but ZipRecruiter works. They have a “boost” program that costs more but it’s supposed to get you more applicants. We hear mixed reports on this program but it’s worth considering in order to find out for yourself.

Indeed and Simply Hired – Tied on the 3rd spot, both Indeed and Simply Hired are aggregators that scrape other job boards. Clients have claimed that they got good results from Indeed. The sponsored ads go to the top of the list, but clients tell us they use the free job posting effectively. For $5 a day, you can run sponsored ads. Not bad at all.

Facebook – Facebook is huge! Facebook is everywhere and if you aren’t looking at Facebook then someone else is forwarding you things from Facebook. This platform is something you should use with the help of an expert. AHS has a module that puts Facebook to work for your recruitment.

These online platforms have their own advantages and disadvantages. The ball’s on your court now. You can select a couple of these platforms to start with and find out which one works well for your company.

It’s pretty obvious, but few in HR get it. Unless you’re offering a monstrous signing bonus, remove the line “previous sales experience.” It should not appear in your ad.

Yesterday I was talking with a client, Chris, we’ve worked his with Financial Services company for more than 6 years. I called him because his sales applicant volume had doubled. What had he done to cause such an explosion in applicants?

He chucked, “I was finally able to convince the powers that be to try your advice. We finally dropped ‘previous sales experience required.'”

To boot, more stars are applying as a percentage than before the change. (We can see the quality of his applicants in Member Area stats.)

You can find out more here 

Here’s why you should remove “previous sales experience” from your ad:

Ask any experienced sales manager to count his best hires. Most have no previous sales experience. Our stats show less than 10%. Most of the greatest sales hires have a burning desire to make money and are willing to do what it takes. You are 9x more likely to find a star without previous experience.

Top performers in sales are making money and getting all the good leads where they are. Unless their current company is a disaster, good salespeople are on track to make more if they stay put. Good comp plans reward longevity.

Great training exists for newbies if you’re not up for the job of training. If you need a list of the real trainers, contact me and I’ll give you my list. We’ve been working with sales trainers for 16 years. Most are a waste of time. The good ones are worth getting to know.

We’ve got a checklist you can use to improve your sales hiring results here

In the sales hiring process, the biggest challenge is managing your time investment. Anybody who has experienced sitting in an interview with a candidate who’s a total dud knows what that feels like.

The challenge is figuring out who you want to speak with and who to ignore from your applicants.

Top performers have similar beliefs and values.

We know this from having profiled nearly 200,000 applicants. When we’ve gone through and asked clients to profile their top performers, we’ve seen a 90% positive correlation. Not a misprint.

According to Abraham Maslow, the Father of American Psychology, salespeople are high practicals.

Great salespeople don’t wake up, open their eyes and say, “How can I serve humanity?”

Top salespeople wake up, open their eyes and ask themselves, “Where’s the Money” or “Where’s the Power?”

Money and power are two things that motivate genuine salespeople. They breathe a unique air from ordinary people. Every encounter with another human being is considered an opportunity to strike a deal or make a sale.

Power – Top performers are looking for a greater sense of control of their environment. Saving the whales is very low on their list. Yet sales hirers consistently choose salespeople who are not high practicals – and then wonder why their new hires can’t sell anything.

Money – People who are great at sales are always looking for the money. If they can’t find it, they create opportunities where they can get it. Money is a great motivation because it compels salespeople to be resourceful and ingenious in their methods. They don’t listen to a NO answer. All they hear is a YES.

Stop talking to applicants who don’t have money and power as their top values — if there ever was a secret in sales that’s worth revealing, it is this. You want to hire brilliant salespeople? Pay attention to what motivates them and show them the money.