Sales teams are the backbone of any business, so staffing sales positions with the right people is essential. However, as the economy grows and more sales positions become available, many companies face severe challenges in staffing their sales team. This is where sales recruiters can help.
In this article, we'll examine five workforce challenges facing sales hiring today and how sales recruiters are uniquely suited to help solve them.
1. Not having a robust talent pool to recruit from
It's much easier to find top sales talent when you have a solid network of talent to draw from. Unfortunately, many companies begin their sales recruitment process without a network of leads or prospects. Without a talent pipeline, it's harder to immediately fill sales roles with qualified candidates who can hit the ground running.
Recruitment Solution
Sales recruiters understand these challenges and have built their networks of highly qualified sales prospects. Rather than spending weeks or months building a talent pool, they'll use their connections and experience to quickly identify potential hires and bring them to the table. As industry experts, sales recruiters immediately know where to look to find active job seekers, as well as passive sales talent.
2. An inefficient recruitment and hiring process
How long does your HR team take to recruit, hire, and onboard new sales associates? According to the Society of Human Resource Management, the time to fill a role can take up to 36 days. This lengthy recruiting and hiring process can be a major obstacle for companies looking to instantly fill sales positions with the right people. Candidates eager for new roles are quick to drop out due to a lack of engagement or poor communication.
Recruitment Solution
Sales recruiters understand these challenges and work swiftly to bring structure and efficiency to the hiring and onboarding process. They have extensive experience in screening and interviewing candidates, as well as negotiating terms of employment for sales roles. Plus, sales recruiting teams are on top of hiring trends which can help your company move faster and take advantage of top talent before competitors scoop them up.
3. A poorly defined company brand
A strong employer brand relies on a strong company culture.
A well-defined company brand can reduce sales rep turnover rates and cut costs per hire in half, helping you save money. Additionally, job seekers are more likely to apply for positions if the employer actively manages and promotes their brand. If you want sales candidates to walk through the interview process enthusiastically, your company culture must be visible to them.
Recruitment Solution
Sales recruiters can help companies articulate and promote your company's unique culture and the benefits of being a part of your sales team to potential job seekers. For businesses without clear employer branding, sales recruiting companies can work with your HR team to develop and manage strategic employer branding plans that will attract top talent. This can help to attract top talent and create a positive image of your company in the minds of potential candidates.
4. Moving too fast to fill a role
It might be tempting to speed ahead and fill sales positions at a record pace, but this can often cost more in the long run. A hasty hiring process can lead to unqualified hires, increased sales rep turnover, and lower sales performance.
Recruitment Solution
Sales recruiters can help you take a more strategic approach to hiring. They understand that finding the right sales talent means developing clear goals and a customized strategy to recruit suitable candidates.
Instead of sacrificing talent for speed, sales recruitment firms can help companies align hiring, onboarding, and training efforts to ensure you've carefully stacked your sales department with the right people.
5. Unsure of who you're looking for
Companies frequently struggle with finding the right person for a role because they don't know what kind of person they're looking for. They also haven't created a hiring profile or identified what skills are missing from their sales team. When did you last take a step back and evaluate your sales team?
Recruitment Solution
HR teams often overlook the importance of building comprehensive hiring profiles for sales positions. This error can lead to poor recruitment decisions and costly bad hires. Sales recruiters set up a system to understand the expected skills for each role and will help you define an accurate hiring profile to help you find the best candidate. They'll also use behavioral assessments and analytics to help you understand what talent is missing from your sale team.
Rather than rely on gut instincts or outdated hiring practices, sales recruiters can provide the knowledge and data needed to make decisive hiring decisions.
Solve Workforce Challenges with Experienced Sales Recruiters
According to Manpower, sales roles are the most difficult positions to fill. Hiring sales professionals can be a significant challenge for even the most experienced HR departments. That's why many companies have turned their attention to experienced sales recruitment firms, who can provide the expertise and skillset needed to build a successful sales team.
At Hire Velocity, we create custom human capital solutions based on your company's unique needs. As your recruiting partner, we employ talent forecasting, employer branding, behavioral assessments, and integrated technology to identify the best candidates for every sales position.
Contact us today and discover our innovative approach to sales recruiting.
