A lot is riding on your sales staffing strategy in 2023. If you want happy customers, completed sales, and a healthy growing business—you need a sales team that performs well. Finding this premium sales talent may not be easy if you've got too many open vacancies in your sales department and a lengthy sales recruitment process to fill them. To hire the right staff quickly and efficiently, the best-performing companies are taking advantage of the latest sales staffing trends.
Let's explore the latest hiring trends in sales and how to use them to recruit and hire a high-performing sales team.
Digital Skills: A Must-Have in the Modern Sales Landscape
Online is the new storefront, which means you need a digitally savvy sales team that can easily pick up new sales techniques and tech. Digital competencies such as data analytics, CRM software navigation, and social media engagement are in high demand with sales prospects. If you haven't already, include digital skills as a requirement for all your sales openings, regardless of the job title.
With the rise in digital-first sales teams, companies want sales reps that can quickly adapt to online tools to manage customer interactions and engagement. These skills are no longer just a trait that's "nice to have"—they're essential.
Prioritizing Flexibility and Work-Life Balance
It's clear that remote work isn't just a passing trend—it's here to stay. Flexible work arrangements are considered a top motivator for people looking for a new job.
Do you require your sales team to be in the office, or are there remote options? Do you offer flexible working hours or a hybrid setup? Your potential sales hires will ask these questions, and you should have ready answers. If you're considering flexible work options, consider that
flexible work arrangements have many benefits to companies, such as improved recruitment and retention efforts and meeting diversity goals. That's why companies today are increasingly offering flexible work arrangements across all departments.
Potential sales job candidates hold considerable power in a landscape marked by a persistent talent shortage. As more organizations recognize the benefits of remote work—and the desires of sales job seekers—expect them to offer remote or hybrid work models. Focusing on flexibility and work-life balance is not just a perk—it's a necessity in today's sales staffing landscape.
Soft Skills: The Key to Building Strong Relationships
60% of customers say no four times before they say yes. If you want to get a "yes" from customers, you need a sales team that can easily build relationships with them. This talent requires emotional intelligence, communication, and empathy—simply, sales teams need soft skills.
Think beyond your sales representatives just delivering a pitch and closing the deal. Transactional interactions with customers just won't cut it anymore. Customers are cautious about salesy pitches and want to connect with people they can trust. Developing relationships is key, so hiring sales staff with the right "people skills" to tailor solutions to individual client needs is highly prized.
For both employers and job seekers, it's crucial to appreciate the increasing demand for soft skills in sales operations. Customer trust, and sales, depend on it.
Outsourcing Sales Staffing and Recruitment
According to research from The Harvard Business Review, the turnover rate of sales teams is 27% higher than the general labor force. If you don't stay competitive and quick when recruiting sales representatives, you'll quickly find yourself in a difficult situation. To overcome the challenges of a high turnover in sales, companies are opting to outsource sales staffing and recruitment.
Trust Specialized Sales Staffing Teams
Navigating the intricate world of sales recruitment can be costly, time-consuming, and inelegant when it's done under pressure. Leading to missed opportunities and delays. Thankfully, specialized sales recruitment agencies have honed their expertise in identifying top-notch sales talent, allowing you to devote more resources to your day-to-day operations. Partnering with these recruitment experts can lead to better-placed sales talent, lowering the chances of your sales team job hopping.
Embrace the Sales Staffing Trends of 2023
Navigating the sales staffing trends of 2023 requires more than merely scanning resumes. It's about attracting sales professionals with the top skills and experience to excel in the modern sales landscape. One of the key trends to secure the best sales talent into 2023 is working with a sales recruitment agency.
Hiring superior sales talent is both an art and a science. Successfully identifying, engaging, and recruiting dynamic sales professionals who will give your company a competitive edge requires skill, industry expertise, and just the right touch of intuition.
At Hire Velocity, we partner with you to identify the best candidates for every sales position. Learn more about how we can help you with sales recruiting.
