How to recruit the perfect sales team

Your sales team is the driving force behind the continued success of your business. They’re the people who bring business through the door, and inspire passion about your products. Here we discuss how employers can optimise their hiring process to recruit the perfect sales team.

How can I recruit a great sales team?

Recruiting for sales is a competitive business. It’s important to build a strong hiring strategy to bring the best talent to your business. Here are our top tips for recruiting a great sales team:

#1 – Focus on skills over experience

While experience and education are undoubtedly important factors, individual skill set is what makes a great salesperson. Focus on personality, passion, and proven achievements over the length of their past experience. 

Is the candidate a good communicator? Do they sell themselves through their answers to your interview questions? Factors such as this are far more important than education and experience when it comes to hiring salespeople. 

#2 – Look for passion about your products/services

Your sales team are the frontline advocates for your brand and its products. Are you confident in the candidate’s abilities to communicate your brand values to customers?

Ask applicants what drew them to your product in particular; find out what excites them about your company and the service it provides. This is a great way to judge how invested candidates are in selling and promoting your brand.

#3 – Put their sales skills to the test

Your candidate may be able to talk the talk, but can they walk the walk? Put their sales skills to the test; use practical activities in your interviews to test their confidence in their abilities. 

You may have heard the old cliché: ‘sell me this pen’. While this has become somewhat of a joke in the recruitment business, the principle is in the right place! Ask the candidate to sell their existing employer to you – they should be well-versed in doing this. This is a great way to see their abilities in action without putting them entirely on the spot.

#4 – Aim your job ads at your ideal candidates

Strong advertising strategy is crucial for attracting the most compatible candidates. Identify your ideal candidate, and aim your job ads at them both in style and placement. Research your job boards; find out which websites are most popular with sales professionals, and promote your vacancies across these.

Be sure to optimise your job listings for keyword/hashtag search. Describe the role in detail, while keeping advert titles/descriptions easily digestible. Use sector-specific job boards to attract talent most relevant to your industry.

#5 – Provide a talent-winning recruitment experience

Your candidate experience is what puts you ahead of the competition in bringing strong talent to your business. Make sure to provide applicants with a positive hiring journey from step one – promoting your employer brand values throughout.

Ensure your recruitment process is fast and efficient. Use applicant tracking software to stay on top of candidates, and email/SMS scheduling software to maintain high-quality contact. 

Give candidates feedback at every stage of the hiring process, and ensure screening/interview stages are engaging and well-organised. This will help to attract candidates to your business over any competition. 

Introducing…

Talos ATS: A better way to recruit great employees

Talos ATS is our all-in-one solution for easy, candidate-focused recruitment. The platform will enable you to attract, screen, manage, interview, hire, and onboard candidates – all from one user-friendly dashboard.

Talos ATS features include:

• Recruitment advertising optimisation suite
• Multi-platform job posting assistant
• Video screening/interview tools
• Intuitive applicant tracking system
• SMS/Email automation 
• Smart employee onboarding tools

With Talos, you can put candidates first without overwhelming your HR team. This ensures each applicant is met with a strong hiring journey, making them more likely to choose you over any competition.

Discover a better way to attract, hire, and onboard great employees: