Recruiting talented salespeople has been and continues to be a struggle for many of today’s businesses, especially smaller ones. In fact, nearly two-thirds (64.2%) of small businesses reported having difficulty attracting qualified talent in 2019 — a trend most experts predict will continue in the 2020s. 

Fortunately, there’s a tactic — a hack, if you will — that can boost your sales candidate application rate by a staggering 34%. And it’s incredibly simple. 

Use video. 

A Potential Game Changer

Video has already proven to be huge for marketing. 89% of companies that use video say it’s increased traffic to their site, and 83% say it’s aided in their lead generation. And it’s easy to see why, considering “66% of consumers prefer watching a video to reading about a product.”

To provide a bit more perspective on the popularity of video, just look at how big YouTube has become. It went from having 1.35 billion users in 2016 (a respectable number) to 1.86 billion in 2021. 

Besides just being useful for marketing, video can be a potential game changer for recruiting as well. Rather than sticking with the same old technique of creating an entirely text-based job ad, brands can benefit greatly from incorporating a video. 

In fact, “the candidate application rate goes up by 34% when a job post includes a video,” explains Ivana Vojinovic of SmallBizGenius. 

So, if you’re looking to maximize the number of qualified sales candidates you receive when posting a job ad, including a video is a great way to do it. 

Why Sales Candidate Are So Receptive to Video

There are three main reasons why video is such an amazing aid for sales recruiting.

1. Video is a Natural Attention Grabber

Just put yourself in the shoes of a sales candidate. You’re browsing through a variety of job ads with most containing the usual information — a job description, required skills, day-to-day tasks, and so on. They all sort of blend together, but nothing stands out in particular.

Then, you come across a job ad with a video featuring actual company leaders and team members explaining the ins and outs of the position. You get a feel for their personalities and a sense for what the overall company culture is like. In short, the job ad brings the position to life and allows you to engage in a way that simply isn’t possible using only text. 

In turn, your interest level would likely rise, and you’d feel much more compelled to apply with that company.

2. Video Increases Sales Candidate Engagement

A study by job description software company Ongig found that, on average, candidates spent 55 seconds viewing a traditional text job ad. But when candidates looked at a job ad with a video (even without actually viewing it), they spent 2 minutes and 54 seconds on the ad. And when they watched the video, that number spiked all the way to 5 minutes and 23 seconds — a 487% engagement increase! 

The numbers speak for themselves, and this massive increase in engagement ultimately leads to more qualified sales candidates applying, which quickly beefs up the size of your candidate pool. 

3. Video Gives Sales Candidates a Full Rundown

Finally, video is the perfect medium for conveying a lot of information into just a few minutes. If you’re only using text, it may take several paragraphs to cover everything you need, and it can be arduous for candidates to read. But with video, you can pack everything you need into an easily digestible format.

“In a job ad video, include footage of the office, workspace, how employees interact and events that happen at the organization, says career and workplace expert Heather R. Huhman in Entrepreneur. “Such footage will help prospective candidates determine if the employer provides an environment that matches their work style.” 

Not only should it help you bring in more candidates, it should also improve the overall quality because it naturally filters out those that aren’t a great fit culturally. 

How Long Should a Video Be?

One of the biggest questions companies have is how long they should make a video for a sales candidate job ad. While every situation is different, Huhman points out that the average length of videos is around 4 minutes and 20 seconds. This tends to be the sweet spot where you can get your message across without overwhelming sales candidates with extraneous details. 

Or as Huhman puts it, “when creating a video job ad, make it long enough to explain the most important information, yet short enough so the job seeker won’t lose interest.”

A Real-Life Example

Finally, let me leave you with a real-life example of a sales candidate video job ad. It’s from display advertising company ReTargeter, and it’s for an inside sales representative. 

This should hopefully provide you with some ideas and inspiration to get you started. 

Maximizing Your Sales Candidate Pool with Video

A big part of effectively recruiting quality sales candidates is simply grabbing their attention and getting them to engage with your job ad. But with all of the competition out there, this is often easier said than done. That’s why it’s important to be creative and create job ads that truly stand out. 

Incorporating video is hands down one of the best ways to accomplish this, and it can boost your sales candidate application rate by as much as 34%. So, this is definitely a medium worth experimenting with when attempting to fill your next sales position. 

And if you’re looking for a cutting-edge tool to hire better sales talent faster, check out HireDNA. It uses intelligent matching and science-based assessments to find the best of the best salespeople using data, and 92% of those recommended through HireDNA climb to the top of their sales team within their first year.