If that headline made you click open this article, it’s probably because you are money-motivated. Guess what? So are the top performing salespeople you hope to hook with your job listing headlines, too. So is the headline above true, as all headlines should be? Yes, indeed. If you use great headlines for your job listings and advertisements, you could increase your company’s annual sales. Significant sales increases happen when you hire money-motivated persuaders your headlines could successfully attract.

It’s all in the details.

Writing eye-catching headlines for job listings first takes into consideration the values and personalities of those you’re trying to recruit. Top sales performers want money, power and quick rewards. Give some enticing details in your job listing headlines that will appeal to those values. Prospective employees are often skimming those job listings. If the headline is too vague, it won’t catch their interest. Point out perks that will have them salivating for an interview.

“Our Top Salesperson Earned over $138,000 Last Year. We’re Looking for People Who Want More.”

“We Took Our Sales Team to Maui for Record-Breaking Increases. Your next Hawaiian Shirt Could Be On Us.”

“Did Your Last Employer Promote Their Top Salespeople Quickly? We Do.”

Use important key words.

Think about the ways in which the best salespeople would define themselves. What traits would they say they have that make them great at what they do? Those are the key words you might use in your ad headlines to attract those specific personalities.

• Persuasive
• Enthusiastic
• Independent
• Determined
• Convincing
• Strong-willed

“Are You Persuasive, Enthusiastic and Convincing?”

“If You’re Strong-willed and Determined, We Want to Hear from You.”

When in doubt, show them the money.

If writing enticing headlines feels like a daunting task, stick to the simplest detail that every excellent salesperson combing job listings is looking for. Just mention the money. Nobody works harder for great income than the money-hungry top sales performers you want to hire.

“If You Want Less Than a $140,000 a Year, We’re Not the Right Company for You” (Explain in your ad content that your top sales performer cleared $140,000 recently and you’re not interested in hiring salespeople who wouldn’t strive for that and more.)

“Our Sales Team Earned Over One Million Dollars in Total Income Last Year. How Much Of That Million Should Be Yours?”

Always be honest in headline and job listing copy. You want to attract top sales performers with the truth in order to hire and keep them for many sales-increasing years to come.

Think you know what to look for in top salespeople and how to find them? Test your knowledge with our five questions below. You might be surprised that you share some of the most common misconceptions about how to hire a great sales team.

1. A salesperson’s skills matter more than their values. True or False?

That statement is false. Skills are important, but they can be learned. Values are what motivate top sales performers to keep striving to succeed. Make sure your sales applicants have similar values that top sales performers do. What are those values? Keep reading.

1. The top two values a great salesperson should have are commitment and confidence. True or False?

No doubt, those are two important qualities in a top sales performer, but they aren’t the values at the very top of the list. You want to hire salespeople who value money and power. When they strive for great wealth, they bring great wealth to your company. When they work toward the power positions of sales performers at the top of their game, these salespeople will do what it takes to achieve success for your business.

1. Only interview new salespeople when you have a job opening. True or False?

You should always be interviewing new sales talent with potential for greatness. Hiring the best sales performers means being open to finding them even when you don’t have job listings posted.

1. You can learn a lot about an applicant’s abilities and value to your company through their resume. True or False?

Though handy as a quick reference for the applicant’s experience, the resume itself is worthless in determining a salesperson’s value to your business. You must interview and perhaps even test the applicant for the values, personality traits and skills the sales job requires. For more information about conducting a proper job interview, become a member of the AHS Sales Hiring Course.

1. Your goal isn’t to find people who sell themselves to you. Instead, you want applicants with an entrepreneurial spirit who can overcome adversity and keep their emotions in check. True or False?

This statement is true. Great salespeople are leaders who can face challenges without taking things personally. We call these salespeople “A Players” and you want them on your team. Pay more attention to those qualities than to whether or not they “sold” you on themselves in the interview process.

To hire successful salespeople you need to be willing to do it differently than your competitors. Move past the old misconceptions and you’ll have a much better sales team for it.

Never take your sales hiring skills for granted.  And never assume you’ve got all the answers until you get some sales hiring training under your belt.  Hiring mistakes can begin before the applicant is even in front of you for the first time.  If your old sales hiring habits keep creating stagnant (or worse) sales results, let these quick tips help steer you back on the right path.

1. 1.       Start with Enticing Job Postings and Advertising

You’re actually starting the sales applicant screening process the moment your job listings are posted.  Writing enticing job ads is the first step for attracting top performing sales people to your company.  Save time and money on the hiring process by getting the right people in the interview chair.

1. 2.       Never Underestimate the Power of a Great Headline

What makes a good salesman want to find out more about the job you’re offering? A great attention-grabbing headline.  Use specific details about the job benefits, when possible. Entice them in a headline that lays out exactly how much money they could make at your company in the first year or two.  For example, your headline might read “If You Don’t Want to Make Six Figures or More, You Need Not Apply.” Always be truthful with your headlines and ad content, but bring the most enticing details forward.

1. 3.       Use Important Key Words to Attract the Right Applicants

If you want to know how to hire employees with great sales skills, appeal to the skills they feel they already have and you need them to have. Use key words like independent, strong-willed and persuasive in your job candidate requirements. Top salespeople want to be where those traits are rewarded.  The role of sales hiring gets much easier when you appeal to sales professional egos in this way.

1. 4.       Learn that What Makes a Good Salesman Might Be a Surprising Discovery

Don’t just depend on your skills regarding how to take interview questions. Successful sales hiring requires more. Use sales assessment testing to determine each sales candidate’s values and sales personalities. See this section in the AHS Sales Hiring Course for more details.

1. 5.       Know How to Ask Interview Questions like a Hiring Expert

Vary the kinds of questions you ask in each interview. Ask your applicants to answer fully and creatively to resolve sales challenges they might face. The AHS Sales Hiring Course interview model is easy and comprehensive. The questions are already provided for your convenience.

1. 6.       Be Professional.  Be Fair. And Be Quiet.

Sometimes how to hire employees with the traits you need requires more than just the right process. Be professional in all communication. Be fair by using the same testing and interview questions with every applicant.  And let the applicant do most of the talking.  This is their time to shine and your time to make note of whether or not they can.

1. 7.       How to Hire Employees with Top Sales Potential Starts With You

Think successful sales hiring depends solely on the quality of sales applicants? Think again. Going about sales hiring the proper and professional way has a huge impact on your hiring success.

These tips can enhance your sales hiring skills by leaps and bounds, providing your company with the support needed for better sales. To be truly great at sales hiring, use the comprehensive information provided by the AHS Sales Hiring Course.