The Art of Recruiting a Stellar Sales Team: A Comprehensive Guide Part 2 cover
Talent Acquisition

The Art of Recruiting a Stellar Sales Team: A Comprehensive Guide Part 2

We talked about recruiting a sales team in part 1. Continuing where we left off, one might ask, "How can a company identify these talented individuals, the top 3% of salespeople, and bring them onboard?" This is where Advanced Hiring System steps in, with an established system that's been perfected over the course of two decades, assisting over 2000 clients to double their success rate in sales selection.

The Art of Sales Hiring

To start with, it's all about crafting the right kind of lure. It is common knowledge that the top 3% of salespeople won't be attracted to just any job advertisement. You need to understand what these individuals are looking for and appeal to those needs and wants. So, how do we do this? Our in-depth guide, "A Guide to Writing Effective Job Adverts", provides clear insights on how to craft job adverts that resonate with the cream of the crop in the sales field. A successful sales team recruitment effort begins with capturing the interest of potential candidates through impactful, enticing job adverts.

Write Help Wanted Ad for Sales

However, attracting the top 3% of salespeople is only the beginning. You've hooked them with a stellar job ad, now it's time to reel them in with a strong candidate experience. But, what does this mean exactly? A strong candidate experience involves seamless communication, respect for the candidate's time, and transparency about the job and company. This approach makes your company stand out in the minds of top performers. It's not just about how the candidate fits into the company, but also how the company fits into the candidate's career path and life.

Orienting new sales hires

Indeed, cultural fit is a crucial component of this process. An employee who feels at home in a company's culture will undoubtedly perform better and stick around longer. So, how do we ensure cultural fit? The article on ["The Importance of Cultural Fit in Recruitment" has the answers. Here, we discuss the significance of aligning a candidate's values, beliefs, and behavior with the company's culture. But remember, cultural fit should never compromise the importance of diversity and inclusion in recruitment. As we've explained in our dedicated post, ["The Importance of Diversity and Inclusion in Recruitment", a diverse and inclusive sales team can drive innovation and foster a broader understanding of a varied client base.

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Recruiting a Sales Team
Talent Acquisition

Part 1: The Uphill Battle in Recruiting a Sales Team

This is a story a new client, Jack, told me. It is about how he met with a friend, Chris, who is another client of ours…

Mature businessman using documents to discuss information with a colleague in a modern business office
Jack and Chris discuss sales recruiting

Jack sat alone in his office, staring at sales metrics that reflected the stunted growth of his once-vibrant business. Four years ago, he had been invigorated by the dream of selling top-notch online courses that would empower people to master the art of trading commodities, stocks, and currencies. And for two years, he had been living that dream. As the solo salesperson, he’d cultivated an impressive 43% closing ratio and an average sale of $4933. But things had changed when he tried his hand at recruiting a sales team.

Over the past two years, Jack had hired eight salespeople, but their performance was disheartening. Only one hire had shown some promise, and even his metrics were dismal: an 11% closing ratio and a lower average sale of $3301.

"Why can't I replicate my own success?" Jack mused. He had used all the conventional sales hiring tools available, or so he thought.

Just then, his phone buzzed. It was Chris, a long-time friend and VP Recruiting at a successful insurance company. Sensing an opportunity for valuable advice, Jack eagerly took the call.

Over the past two years, Jack had hired eight salespeople, but their performance was disheartening. Only one hire had shown some promise

Jack and Chris caught up over coffee. Chris listened attentively as Jack described his challenges in recruiting a sales team that could match his performance.

"Jack, you need a more scientific approach," Chris advised. "Have you considered using Advanced Hiring System’s DISC to hire salespeople? It's a psychological assessment tool that categorizes individuals based on their behavior."

"DISC? Is that some sort of fancy sales hiring tool?" Jack was intrigued but skeptical.

"Yes, and more," Chris said. "I've been using Advanced Hiring for a decade. They incorporate DISC among other methods. Our more than 2000 salespeople were all recruited using their system. The hires consistently meet and exceed goals. The few times I went against the system, I regretted it."

Book a free Science of Sales Hiring Strategy Session and see where DISC can improve yours success rate

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Interviewing

How to Stop Getting Tricked Hiring Salespeople Who Can’t Sell

Most companies have one thing in common when they hire salespeople.

The Number One tool they use to screen sales applicants is…

The résumé or LinkedIn profile

Have you been burned enough times yet by the Perfect Résumé or LinkedIn profile?

You’ve probably realized that most sales applicants are a COMPLETE waste of time.

They all have the same problem. They cannot sell. No matter what their LinkedIn profle says.

A few years ago, the CEO of Yahoo! was forced to resign… After it was discovered that his résumé was full of… A bunch of jobs he never did… And a bunch of schooling he never had.

THE CEO!!!

You've almost certainly seen stories about famous résumé cheats.

It’s pretty standard for job-seekers to fake… Their education, their experience, their skills, and their references.

So choosing who you interview based on their résumé means…You are probably using a couple pages of BS as your first step in hiring… the one person who is MOST responsible for creating your company income.

Not long ago, we were called in to help a large publicly traded religious broadcaster. This stations had good listener ratings. Very popular stations. But their sales were weak.

We analyzed their sales hiring practices. They hired salespeople 100% based on résumés, LinkedIn profiles and interviews. They ONLY interviewed and hired salespeople… whose résumé showed they were fired up with the station's religious mission.

But we know that the BEST salespeople are MOST motivated… By MONEY and/or POWER.

Religious views are not a significant factor in sales success.

Sales is about making sales. It's hard work. If your applicant is not motivated by the right things for sales… Then when the hard part comes (and it will)…

… They fade and stop doing the hard work. They have to deal with rejection time after time after time. To keep making calls, they have to REALLY want that money!

When their highest values don't match those of proven top sales performers… That is a BIG problem for you.

Solution?

Start using a values-based assessment to screen applicants. Stop wasting your time on applicants with beautiful résumés…Who are not money-motivated and who cannot sell.

If you're not getting the right kinds of salespeople on your team we've created a quick survey that will help you get it right.

The quiz will take you less than a minute to complete. It will help you laser in on what's keeping you from hiring the best salespeople.

Its our gift to sales managers who want a simple easy formula for hiring quality salespeople. Just click the link and you'll be taken to the short survey.

It'll give you the results instantly. Go ahead click the link and complete the survey now.

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