Month: August 2022

The Correlation Between a Positive Brand and Better Sales Recruiting

Posted on by hiredna

The impact of positive branding is far-reaching. From increasing brand equity with consumers to building trust with leads to winning over customers, effective branding is an essential precursor to success. But besides the consumer side of things, positive branding can also be immensely helpful for recruiting. In this post, I’ll examine some specific ways it leads to better sales recruiting, citing captivating stats that show just how big the impact can be.

A Higher Volume of Qualified Salespeople Will Apply

A basic yet essential first step in successful sales recruiting is simply getting qualified salespeople to apply. I’m not talking about getting just anyone to apply. I’m talking about getting qualified candidates that have the skillset needed to thrive in their position long-term. Those with a proven track record and who understand the entire sales funnel, how to build rapport, and how to close.

According to a recent study, “a business that’s considered a reputable brand receives 50% more qualified candidates.” And it makes complete sense. When a talented sales rep is searching for a potential employer, they’re naturally going to gravitate toward one that has amazing brand equity. Whether it’s receiving a great rating on job search sites, having a solid social media following, getting a nod of approval from other legitimate brands, or simply passing the “eyeball test” with brand recognition (think HubSpot or Salesforce), these factors can greatly increase your brand equity.

By the way, if you’re curious about which factors influence brand equity the most, here are some of the biggest.

By making your company a “destination brand,” you’re almost guaranteed to receive a higher number of applications from qualified salespeople when posting a job for a sales position. What I also found interesting is that this transcends just appealing to active job seekers and carries over to passive candidates who aren’t necessarily looking for a new job but would be willing to consider one if the right offer came along. As a matter of fact, “86% of passive candidates evaluate a brand before applying to a job.” So if you’re looking to bake this into your sales recruiting recipe (something I highly recommend), this is a good way to do it.

More Qualified Applicants Will Accept the Job

Research has also found that having a solid brand reputation is critical for getting elite salespeople to accept an offer. More specifically, “75% of Americans would not take a job if the company had a bad reputation.” That’s definitely worth noting, as it doesn’t do you much good if you go through all the trouble of creating a job ad, filtering through candidates, interviewing, and so on, and ultimately putting an offer on the table, only to have a candidate decline.

But if you have a strong brand reputation right from the start, you’re much more likely to seal the deal and bring elite salespeople to your team.

Recruitment Costs Can Be Slashed in Half

I’m not going to get into all the gory details of recruiting costs. But as you’re probably aware, it can be quite expensive in 2022. Recent SHRM data found the average cost-per-hire is $4,683, with leadership positions being sky-high at over $28,000.

Another huge benefit of effective branding is spending significantly less on recruiting. In fact, one study found that it can reduce recruitment costs by a staggering 50%.

Why? There are two main reasons.

First, more quality candidates will come to you. “One of the most marked benefits of successfully positioning your company as a desirable place to work is that more candidates will actively seek you out and apply for positions through your career site,” explains recruitment marketing automation software SmartDreamers. “In a job market in which the highest quality candidates can essentially sit down and decide which employers they’re interested in, being top of mind for these applicants can be a huge boon.”

Second, the candidates you get should be far more receptive than if you were a company with minimal brand equity. By having a strong brand, you should spend less time chasing candidates around, which should shorten your time-to-hire and, subsequently, lower your spending. This goes back to what I mentioned earlier about more qualified candidates accepting the job where you’ll have “fewer fish get off the line” and are in a better position to convert the A+ reps you really want.

Less Turnover

Finally, it should also be mentioned that “a strong employer brand reduces turnover by 28%.” When you have a firm framework in place where top-tier candidates are drawn to you, a high job offer acceptance rate, and so on, it naturally sets the stage for salespeople to hang around longer. And this creates a virtuous cycle that continues to strengthen your brand, which, in turn, helps you acquire more quality talent. In the grand scheme of things, this can create an immense competitive advantage.

Better Sales Recruiting Through Positive Branding

When most people think about branding, they see it through a consumer-based lens. And they wouldn’t be wrong. Strong branding is a critical component of winning over customers. But it goes much deeper than that.

As we’ve learned here, effective branding also leads to better sales recruiting by:

  • Generating a higher volume of qualified candidates
  • Incentivizing more qualified candidates to accept job offers
  • Lowering recruitment costs
  • Reducing turnover

That’s why branding should be a top priority if it isn’t already.

Looking to accelerate your sales hiring and fill open positions faster? Learn how HireDNA can help using science-based assessments and intelligent matching to predict success. 92% of candidates climb to the top of their sales team within the first year, and turnover is lowered by 33% with HireDNA.

Here’s Why 79% of Talented Salespeople Quit

Posted on by hiredna

While today’s sales brands face numerous challenges, one of the biggest is salesperson retention — an issue that’s especially pressing for smaller businesses. A recent study even found that 55% of companies cited retention as the number one challenge, officially usurping lack of capital.

I’ll be the first to admit that solving the retention problem isn’t easy. It’s incredibly complex with a long list of ever-changing variables. That said, there is some low-hanging fruit that’s a great starting point. And that’s what I want to tackle in this post.

Here’s why 79% of talented salespeople quit and what you can do about it.

A Lack of Appreciation

Let’s get right down to it. There are countless reasons why salespeople quit. Better pay, a lack of career development opportunities, and a poor work-life balance are just a few that come to mind. But a recent study found that one of the biggest contributors to turnover is simply not being appreciated.

“A whopping 79% of employees will quit their job because of a lack of appreciation from leaders,” explains Georgi Todorov of Thrive My Way. To be fair, this stat doesn’t say that nearly four out of five salespeople have quit because of a lack of appreciation. It just says that they will quit.

But from this data, we can confidently say that a lack of appreciation is one of the biggest reasons companies lose elite talent.

Looking Closer into Why Salespeople Quit

A few years back in 2017, Forbes wrote an interesting article about the correlation between a lack of appreciation and turnover. In it, they mentioned that “66% of employees say they would ‘likely leave their job if they didn’t feel appreciated.’ This is up significantly from 51% of employees who felt this way in 2012. Among millennials, the number of employees who’d leave if unappreciated jumps to 76%. This helps account for the overall increase from the 51% figure in 2012, as millennials are becoming the dominant generation in the workforce, with a unique set of characteristics and needs.”

Now that we’re in 2022 and millennials have saturated the workforce even more and will continue to be the dominant force for years to come (take a look at the graph below), it’s easy to see why the number of salespeople who say they’ll quit because of a lack of appreciation has swelled to 79%.

No, Millennials will NOT be 75% of the Workforce in 2025 (or ever)!

While being appreciated has always been important, it appears to be especially important for younger demographics. A separate article by SHRM corroborates this idea, saying that recognition is huge for millennials, as well as Gen Z, which is starting to enter the workforce in larger numbers.

From a Turnover Risk to a Loyal Employee

Something else I found interesting was that placing a larger focus on employee appreciation can help companies go from battling turnover to having a team of highly engaged, loyal, dedicated salespeople. And this is especially true for younger reps.

“While some employers may see these young workers as disloyal or unmotivated, the truth is that they can be turned into an organization’s most enthusiastic and valuable resource when shown appreciation for their work and rewarded in the right way,” notes Rodney Mason, CRO of payroll technology firm daVinci Payments.

More specifically, 79% of salespeople say increasing recognition rewards would increase their loyalty.

Zooming out, nearly four out of five salespeople will quit because of a lack of appreciation. But conversely, the exact same number say increasing appreciation would boost their loyalty. So you can see firsthand just how big of an impact there can be.

Going After the Low-Hanging Fruit

While knowing that such a large percentage of your salesforce could potentially quit for one single reason is a little frightening, at the same time it’s good news because the solution isn’t rocket science. In fact, it’s incredibly simple. You just need to show appreciation.

There are several ways to go about this. Some brands go all out and create a formal employee recognition program (you can learn how to create one here if you’re interested). Some write blog posts with the sole purpose of spotlighting salesperson achievements. Some show their appreciation on social media, and so on.

But it doesn’t have to be this formal. At the end of the day, it just boils down to baking appreciation into your company culture and your daily interactions. And these five tips are a great starting point.

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This is one of the easiest ways to get your turnover under control, build stronger relationships within your company, and gain a competitive advantage. And it doesn’t require you to shell out huge salaries, offer over-the-top benefits, or implement game-changing career development opportunities. You simply need to appreciate your sales reps.

Understanding Why Salespeople Quit (And Fixing It)

Turnover is complex, with countless hours and big money often being spent trying to reduce it. While there is no magic bullet for curbing turnover, understanding the psychology behind why many salespeople quit is a critical first step. And as we’ve learned in this post, one of the biggest reasons is simply due to a lack of appreciation.

Fortunately, this isn’t something that takes deep pockets or a robust HR department to fix. You just need to adjust your mindset and make employee appreciation a focal point. Do that effectively, and your retention rate can’t help but improve.

Find out how HireDNA can not only help you find better sales talent faster but retain salespeople longer. By using cutting-edge technology like intelligent matching and science-based assessments, HireDNA eliminates 96% of hiring mistakes and reduces turnover by more than 33%.

61% of New Salespeople Say The Job Doesn’t Match Their Expectations: The Importance of Transparent Hiring

Posted on by hiredna

It happens all the time. A new salesperson is hired, onboarded, and starts selling. But somewhere along the way, the actual experience of daily activities doesn’t quite align with their expectations. In other words, there’s been a lack of transparent hiring.

In some cases, a salesperson will carry on and make the adjustments. However, other times, they’ll end up leaving prematurely, creating a toxic turnover rate. To quantify, 48% of salespeople have left their job because it didn’t meet expectations.

And here’s the kicker. The majority of new salespeople (61%) say the job doesn’t match their expectations. Considering this is such an obvious issue, let’s take a deep dive into the importance of transparent hiring.

Some Context

First, it’s necessary to understand the current recruiting climate that today’s businesses are operating in.

We live in an age where applicants can find virtually anything they want about a potential employer. A quick look through social media or a search on Google, for example, gives them access to direct input from current employees, previous employees, or someone who has known an employee.

Just look at all the results that popped up for “HubSpot career reviews” in Google.

In seconds a potential candidate can get quantifiable reviews, see whether or not HubSpot is a good company to work for, see what employees have to say about HubSpot, and more. Some sites like Comparably are even solely devoted to analyzing companies and educating people on brands, salaries, culture, values, and so on.

While companies in the past could often paint their own picture of what it’s like to work for them and largely control the narrative, this isn’t the case anymore. Technology has put the power in the hands of candidates, which means applicants can easily sniff out any discrepancies between the image a company portrays and reality.

As Bertrand Dusser, Oracle’s vice president of human capital management transformation puts it, “the key takeaway is that when job seekers have unprecedented access to insights about a workplace, they also develop an extremely low tolerance for blatantly promotional messaging and gaps between what an organization says about itself and what’s being conveyed online.”

When you combine the ease in which sales candidates can find company information, how inconsistencies can hurt the employee experience, and how likely salespeople are to leave if a job doesn’t match their expectations, transparent hiring has arguably never been more important than it is today.

In fact, “96% of job seekers say that it’s important to work for a company that embraces transparency.” And how can you blame them? It’s almost guaranteed to be disappointing if they’re excited to join a company that seemingly checks all the boxes but underdelivers in the end.

Reasons for the Discrepancy

The fact that 61% of new salespeople have joined companies that don’t align with their expectations shows just how pervasive a lack of hiring transparency is. But what are some of the exact reasons for it?

According to research:

  • 59% say it’s because of a discrepancy in job responsibilities
  • 42% say working environment
  • 35% say work hours or shift patterns
  • 29% say salary or benefits

The Advantages of Transparent Hiring (Besides Lower Turnover)

Perhaps the number one reason to embrace transparent hiring is increased retention. When the day-to-day activities of a job match what a salesperson expected, they’ll naturally be inclined to hang around longer. And when you hire elite sales reps, this is vital to building a strong foundation and thriving in your industry.

Also, note that younger salespeople have a lower tolerance for discrepancies. More specifically, “a higher percentage of Gen Z respondents (73%), those aged 18 to 24, reported leaving their job for not meeting their expectations.” So transparent hiring is especially important if you’re looking to recruit young professionals fresh out of college.

But it goes much deeper than that. Another key benefit is the overall increase in candidate quality that transparent companies tend to get. “Research shows that organizations often see significantly higher-quality applicants if they manage their employment brand effectively,” writes Forbes. “One explanation is that transparency helps candidates make better decisions about which organizations suit them best.”

There’s also the matter of increased trust. When a position matches what a new sales rep expects, it sets the stage for trust right off the bat. That way a salesperson can settle in without unnecessary friction and they know they’re in good hands working for a company that delivers on promises. This, in turn, can increase morale, raise employee satisfaction, and boost overall performance.

Finally, hiring transparency can increase brand equity. With social media and career sites distributing employer information at lightning-fast speed, word gets around in a hurry. If a company gains a reputation for hyping up its sales positions but chronically falls short where reps are profoundly disappointed, it’s going to harm its reputation. Conversely, setting the right expectations where a company paints a crystal clear picture and delivers should result in consistently happier reps that sing the praises of their employer. And that’s always a recipe for improved brand equity.

When you look at it from different angles, it’s clear that transparent hiring is a win-win for salespeople and the companies hiring them.

Transparent Hiring: Closing Thoughts

While I wasn’t surprised that not all sales positions perfectly aligned with candidate expectations, I was surprised that it was so common. With more than 6 out of every 10 sales reps saying a job didn’t meet their expectations, this is a major problem where many companies are falling short.

That’s why hiring transparency is something I highly recommend analyzing and identifying areas for improvement. For advice on this, I suggest reading this quick guide from Villanova University, as it provides an easy-to-follow checklist.

And if you’re looking to fill your talent pipeline with leading salespeople in your industry while drastically reducing hiring inefficiencies, check out HireDNA. This platform uses cutting-edge technology like intelligent matching and science-based assessments to find the cream of the crop and eliminates 96% of hiring mistakes.