Hiring the best salespeople: A how-to guide

As a hiring manager recruiting into sales jobs, especially in a competitive candidate market, it's not always easy to know where to hire salespeople and how to hire the best salespeople your recruitment budget will allow. Today, we’ll be talking about how to hire the best salespeople on the marketing right now. 

Create a standout EVP (Employer Value Proposition) 

A crucial first step towards hiring the best salespeople is to create your EVP, or 'Employer Value Proposition'. It's important to appreciate that the best candidates will have several job opportunities to choose between - it's not like entry-level sales jobs, where you're likely to have an almost limitless number of qualified applicants to choose from.

Producing an EVP shows candidates why you are of value to them, and not just why they are of value to you. It can also help you to appreciate what you need from your salespeople, so that you can get the best performance out of the talented individual you eventually hire.

What is an EVP?

An EVP is essentially a framework that describes what your company offers to talented recruits. In our recent Michael Page Talent Trends eBook, we identify eight key criteria to include in an EVP:

  • Salary
  • Flexible working
  • Benefits
  • Progression opportunities
  • Emotional connection
  • Social conscience
  • Hiring process

By addressing all of these topics in your EVP, you can construct a value proposition that goes beyond salary, benefits and working conditions, to give high-level candidates an immediate awareness of your company culture, corporate social responsibility commitments, and major concerns like how you responded to the Covid-19 lockdown and ongoing safety fears. Don’t forget to download our full guide to persuading star candidates to join your business with the power of a standout EVP below. 

Download your EVP Guide

Where is the best place to hire salespeople?

Knowing the best place to hire salespeople gives you a head start on locating the top talent. Specialist recruitment consultants like Michael Page Sales will always be a great place to start, as they not only have an existing list of highly engaged candidates, but also know the best way to hire salespeople into specific top-level roles.

Other places to look when hiring the best salespeople include headhunting via professional social networks like LinkedIn, or approaching your own social media followers, especially if you recognise a talented individual you would like to recruit. Hosting your own stand at a conference, convention, or networking event is also a good method of in-person outreach to start an open-ended conversation with potential future hires.

Where to hire salespeople in 2022 and beyond

Hiring salespeople into senior roles is not a static concern, but one which is continually evolving. Equally, knowing how to hire the best salespeople means keeping an eye on industry trends and on your own company's evolving needs.

Post-Covid: How to hire salespeople going forward

Once the economy as a whole settles into a stable position for the long term, companies in all sectors will be able to make lasting changes to hiring policies and recruitment campaigns. Flexible working seems likely to play a large part in this, as many employees in previously office-based roles were able to work effectively from home during lockdown.

A consequence of this is that more talented candidates are now prioritising roles - including high-level sales jobs - that allow them to continue this work-life balance into the post-pandemic phase. For employers, this can actually be a good way to reduce overheads, as well as establish a more Covid-secure workforce where valuable talent is not all placed in one open-plan physical space.

Best practice for post-Covid sales recruitment

Putting the above into practice, companies should consider implementing technology like cloud-based enterprise resource planning and content management platforms, remote IP telephony and other innovations that enable individuals to work seamlessly from anywhere. Doing this immediately can give you a significant addition to your EVP, helping you secure the most talented candidates in a hiring market that is still evolving.

What’s next?

As the sales sector regains a firm footing, specialist recruitment consultants like Michael Page Sales offer a faster way to gain insight into the short, medium and long-term trends that are emerging. Get in touch with the team today to discuss how we can help your business find the star sales candidates it needs to drive business growth. 

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