How To Hire A Top-Notch Sales Team For Your Company

Marketing is probably the backbone of any business operation. It’s tedious, it’s time-consuming, but it does bring home the bacon. Through marketing, you get to introduce your product or service to your target market. You get to establish your brand, name, and reputation.

Running sales campaigns can be challenging, but each has to be thoroughly crafted and carefully executed. From hiring the people best suitable for the job to creating systematic processes to grasping for fresh ideas — every step has to be meticulously done.

It’s definitely a long journey, but let’s help you start on the right foot — hiring a sales team that’s right for your company.

Hiring Tips and Techniques

It takes only one bad hire to ruin your sales or reputation. So, you have to be extremely cautious when welcoming new members of your company.

Be Crystal Clear Regarding Qualifications

Before you start the hiring, make a list of what exactly you’re looking for. Itemize the education, work experience, and the qualities of a person that you think would be a good fit for your company.

Be crystal clear in the job description. Create a vivid picture of the marketplace and the competition that you wish to penetrate. Let applicants know upfront about possible career growth that may be available to them in the future. Recruit salespeople by luring them into liking your company before they even start working for you.

Opt For An Applicant Who’s Open To Growth and Learning

Most employers usually want achievers, and it’s not a bad thing. It’s just that, you shouldn’t only focus on finding people with the perfect skill set or with the most sales experience. When hiring sales reps, go for a fast-learner, a person who craves new knowledge, or someone who’s willing to understand how your business operates. They should also have the ability to adapt to change at a moment’s notice.

Evaluate Their Work Ethic

Sales professionals do not merely sell your product, they boost your brand and help build your empire. This is why work ethic matters more than years of sales experience. You’re looking for someone passionate and compassionate.

See-through their resume and look beyond their experiences; instead, pay attention to their personality and mindset. You can surely take a peek at their level of commitment and professionalism in the way they respond to your questions.

Expand Your Search

Your next sales reps or sales managers do not necessarily need to be salespeople by profession. Do not limit your hunt.

A teacher, for instance, is knowledgeable and can speak in front of a crowd — they could be your next star. The same with an engineer who has practical skills, or an architect who has creative ideas, or even a nurse who has extreme patience and caution. You also shouldn’t exclude the idea of hiring undergraduates or non-degree holders. They could be financially challenged to finish school, but they might possess the qualities you’re looking for.

Partner With Schools

Fresh graduates are the most eager applicants. They’re easier to train and nurture as they haven’t been exposed to the real world. You can work with student associations and leadership groups to hunt for new sales hires.

Being their first employer, with the right treatment and approaches, you can turn them into loyal employees. Excite them with the endless possibilities, like being sales managers or VP of sales, should they choose to work with you right after school.

Create A Referral Program

As the saying goes, “birds of the same feather flock together.” If you already have a team showcasing great sales performance, they might just be the perfect sources of your new employees.

They likely know someone from their professional network with similar ideals and qualities. Give out exciting incentives in exchange for high-quality referrals.

Your People; Your Assets

The hiring process is just the first of many steps into nurturing a team of competitive and passionate sales reps. Hiring salespeople with the qualities and qualifications you’ve been looking for do not guarantee you the success you’ve been wishing for.

As newbies in your company, they have zero ideas on how to act. Give them a taste of your company’s culture as early as orientation day. Create a systematic training process, and be hands-on to this if possible because first impressions do last.

Don’t just go around instructing them on how to do the job, lead them and show them how it’s done. Then, even when they are in their tenure, as busy as you may get, make time for your people. Catch up with them, get in touch with them, build a personal relationship with them.

As much as employees need you, you need them. So, don’t play the upper hand. Be that role model they can look up to — from recruitment to training to actual sales work. Always be supportive, always be patient, always be kind. Be their leader, not their boss.

Originally Published On Powerline Leads On October 13, 2020.