Category: Sales Recruiting

It takes, on average, 36 days to fill a position. So, if for whatever reason one of your salespeople quits, their position may easily sit vacant for over a month. All the while the collective performance of your sales team will likely suffer because you don’t have adequate manpower to cover the workload. 

This, in turn, can result in longer lead response times, lost sales opportunities, staff burnout, diminished profitability, and more. 

But what if there was a straightforward way to resolve this problem, while reducing both your time-to-hire as well as your cost-per-hire? Enter continuous recruitment. 

What is Continuous Recruitment?

Simply put, it’s making the process of searching for talented salespeople a part of everyday operations. Rather than only recruiting when a position is vacant and your staffing needs are high, you’re always on the lookout for quality candidates. It’s a proactive approach where you’re on the offense rather than the defense when hiring. 

Why is Continuous Recruitment Important?

As I just mentioned, it usually takes over a month to find a new salesperson. And that doesn’t include other steps like training and onboarding, which take even longer. Not to mention, studies have found it takes most salespeople around 9 months to become fully competent to perform and 15 months to be a top performer. 

When you put that all together, it can take an incredibly long time to truly get a new salesperson in “the groove.” But by taking a proactive stance with continuous recruitment, you can attract top candidates year-round so you’re not left scrambling at the last minute if a key sales rep parts ways with your company unexpectedly. 

Val Matta of The Huffington Post articulates it perfectly with this quote. “Having and leaving open vacancies can have a big impact on a company, costing time and money and impacting current employees in a negative way. Although it may seem like overkill, a company that continuously recruits builds what is called a ‘talent pipeline,’ or a community of qualified, interested candidates with the skills and experience to meet your organization’s unique needs.”

In turn, this can have a massively positive impact on your company, which brings me to my next point. 

How Effective is It?

Continuous recruitment offers several benefits. But there are two that stand out above all others — increased hiring efficiency and lower cost. According to research, “55% of those who continuously recruit throughout the year say this reduces their time-to-hire and 42% say it reduces their cost-per-hire.” 

Instead of having to wait over a month to find a new salesperson, you can seamlessly bring quality talent on board and avoid having any lengthy gaps. That way you don’t have to deal with the stress and headaches of having to find a replacement on short notice. 

And let’s be honest. You’re far more likely to make good hiring decisions when you’re not rushed. While “desperate situations yield the quickest results,” as Michael Scott of The Office would put it, it’s not a place you want to be at when trying to find great sales talent. In fact it can be quite detrimental. 

However, having a talent pipeline dramatically increases your chances of having an A+ sales team at all times, regardless of what curveballs come your way. “Instead of feeling rushed to find and hire someone, you can choose from a pool of applicants you already know are a strong fit,” Matta adds. 

And this has arguably never been more important than it is today with the widespread talent shortages that are happening in sales. With younger talent being more reluctant to get into sales, many companies are struggling to assemble qualified sales teams. While continuous recruitment can’t ensure you never have any issues, it can go a long way in preventing a talent shortage from affecting your business. 

In terms of reducing cost-per-hire, the fact that 42% of companies say continuous recruitment has a noticeable impact is highly encouraging. Given that hiring a salesperson typically costs around $15,000, plus an additional $20,000 training, being able to cut down on this can be a huge help for boosting your overall profitability. 

Getting the Competition Edge

Here’s what I found really interesting. Despite the immense benefits of continuous recruitment, not many companies currently use it — only 38%. It seems that many businesses still have the antiquated notion that you only need to recruit when there’s a vacant position. But as I mentioned before, in today’s ultra-competitive landscape, it pays to have a talent pool to tap into before you actually need it. 

By leveraging continuous recruitment, you’re basically putting yourself ahead of nearly two-thirds of the competition and ensuring you have a sustainable team of top sales professionals ready to roll. So if you’re looking for a proven way to win the talent war, this is an effective way to do it, and it can really strengthen your brand identity over time. 

Being Proactive With Your Recruiting

The traditional mindset for many sales recruiters has been to wait to hire until a position becomes vacant. But this isn’t usually the best way to go about it. In fact, it can be downright toxic to your sales team and hurt your bottom line because it increases both your time-to-hire and cost-per-hire — neither of which are ideal. 

As more and more companies are finding, continuous recruitment can be a true gamechanger, with 55% saying it reduces their time-to-hire and 42% saying it reduces their cost-per-hire. So this is definitely a strategy to consider and can be a valuable arrow in your quiver. 

Want to slash your hiring time in half and find pre-screened, high-octane salespeople who are interview-ready? See how HireDNA can help by sourcing top talent and using intelligent matching and science-based assessments. 

Google the phrase “talent shortage” and you get nearly 32 million results. It’s a serious problem that’s plaguing countless industries, with sales feeling the full impact. 

“Close to three-fourths (73.9%) of employers say there are, ‘too few qualified candidates,’” explains Michael Guta of Small Business Trends. Moreover, “77% expect a shortage of applicants in the coming year for qualified applicants.”

This is a topic I addressed in a recent post where I mentioned that sales jobs are in high demand, but talent is limited. I also briefly touched on how you can appeal to top talent in the current sales recruiting climate, but I’d like to elaborate on that more in this post. 

So on that note, here are some surefire sales recruitment strategies to help you overcome talent shortages and ensure you have a winning team of professionals. 

Start By Promoting In-House

While this won’t necessarily be viable for all companies, it’s definitely an option for some. If you’re looking to fill a high-level role such as an account manager, it may make sense to promote a salesperson from within who’s been with you for a while and who is vetted rather than looking externally. 

This kills two birds with one stone because it A) gives you instant access to talent where there’s built-in rapport and B) many salespeople will appreciate having the opportunity for career development. Promoting from within has proven to be an effective way to boost staff loyalty and increase retention. In fact, one study found employees who were promoted internally within three years of being hired had a 70% chance of remaining with their company, while those who were not only had a 45% chance of staying. 

So promoting in-house can be a good starting point for combatting talent shortages. 

Adjust Your Hiring Criteria

One trap I see many sales recruiters fall into is using the same narrow set criteria to find sales candidates that they always have. In my other post, for example, I mentioned how a lot of recruiters still focus solely on finding candidates with extensive industry/product experience. They’re reluctant, however, to give someone a chance who lacks this formal experience but shows signs of great promise.  

I’m personally a proponent of hiring salespeople that possess core selling comptentices, such as desire, motivation, and coachability, even if they don’t have a ton of direct industry/product experience. And I think taking this approach can pay dividends for many sales recruiters because it’s a great way to find some of the best and brightest sales reps — especially younger ones that are just coming out of college. 

While you don’t want to hire just anyone off the streets, now is the time to adjust your hiring criteria if it’s gotten too rigid and outdated. Keeping an open mind and being willing to give someone an opportunity can have a huge payoff.

Double Down on Remote Work

Having at least a partially remote salesforce is nothing new and something many companies have embraced in some capacity, especially in the SaaS industry. But if you’re continually struggling to find talent, remote work is something you’ll want to focus on more intently. There are three main reasons why. 

1. A larger talent pool – If you’re only hiring salespeople to work in-house at a brick-and-mortar office, you have a small talent pool of individuals in your immediate area. But if you’re recruiting digitally for remote sales positions, you can hire reps from all over the world. 
2. COVID-proof infrastructure – Although we’re a long way from the COVID trough and conditions have improved dramatically with vaccinations, it’s still a concern and will likely remain one for the foreseeable future. The bottom line is many people are uncomfortable working in a physical office because of the threat of COVID, but working remotely solves that, which should make your business more appealing. 
3. Flexibility – Being able to work remotely is an enticing proposition for many salespeople because of the flexibility it offers. The chart below shows that an overwhelming 98% of people would like to work remotely, at least some of the time, for the rest of their career. So needless to say, this can be helpful from a recruiting standpoint. 

Offer Childcare Benefits

One area where COVID has been particularly disruptive is with childcare. Although most schools and daycares have reopened, many parents still struggle with childcare — especially when it comes to dropping their kids off and picking them up because of the nationwide bus driver shortage. So offering relevant benefits can be a great way to entice many salespeople.

Women, in particular, who often bear the brunt of childcare responsibilities are interested in employers that offer these benefits. The Harvard Business Review chimes in saying, “Employers could tap into this vast talent pool by partnering with providers of day care, after school, and drop-off/pickup services to help employees with children juggle their work and home schedules. Yes, it might also involve some out-of-pocket investments, but think about it this way: How much is the lost revenue or higher attrition rate among your workers costing you?”

If your business is the one among your competitors that offers amazing childcare benefits, this has the potential to give you a massive edge in the recruiting battle. 

Ensuring You Have the Talent You Need

The past couple years have been challenging to say the least. Today’s companies have had curve balls thrown at them that were impossible to anticipate, with COVID and talent shortages being two of the biggest. But like finding success in any other branch of business, staying ahead largely boils down to adaptation. 

By following the right sales recruitment strategies, you should be able to get your company back on track and ensure you’ve got A+ talent, regardless of market conditions. 

Looking to hire better sales talent, faster? See how HireDNA can help you build a stronger team and eliminate 96% of hiring mistakes. 

Negotiation is found everywhere in business. And a sales rep’s salary is no exception. 

According to recent data from G2, “69% of men and 51% of women say they would enter into salary negotiations with an employer.” So this is something you should be prepared to do.

By understanding a few core principles and applying best practices, you should be able to hire rockstar sales reps, while staying on budget. Let’s get right into it. 

Start with Job Salary Research

Just like with nearly any type of negotiation, whoever is armed with the most knowledge tends to have more leverage. So the first step is to figure out what the average salary is for sales reps in your specific industry. 

Say, for example, you’re in SaaS. These reps earned, on average, $48,250 per year as of October 2020. However, those in the bottom 25% earned just $38,000, and those in the top 75% earned $59,000.

Having clear data gives you a baseline of how much you should pay a potential candidate based on their knowledge and experience and provides you with something concrete to point to if a candidate wants to know how you came up with your figure. 

Assess the Candidate’s Value

Next, you need to determine just how badly you want a particular candidate. Maybe you’re dealing with a next-level salesperson with an outstanding track record for success. Someone you’re personally headhunting and are certain would be a massive asset to your company. Or, maybe they look solid, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world if things didn’t work out. 

Assessing a candidate’s value and having a clear view of what they bring to the table will impact your negotiation and how high you’re willing to go. So go ahead and figure that out ahead of time, ideally quantifying with a 1-10 ranking of what their value is. 

Pinpoint a Salary Range

Once you know the average salary for a salesperson in your industry and how much you want a particular candidate, it’s time to pinpoint a salary range. Here you’ll need to determine what your ideal salary is and the maximum amount you’re willing to pay a salesperson. 

Say, for instance, you’ve found an A+ rep who could be a legitimate game-changer to your sales team. The ideal salary may be somewhere around $46,000. However, you may be willing to go as high as $55,000 if that’s what it takes to land them. 

So here’s what your salary range would look like. 

Having this articulated before beginning formal negotiation gives you a firm, quantifiable reference point so you 1) increase the likelihood of reaching a favorable agreement and 2) ensure you don’t go beyond your limit. 

Don’t Start With Your Best Offer

Up until this point, the steps of the sales salary negotiation process have been preliminary, involving research and analysis. From here on out, the following steps will revolve around the actual dialogue between you and a candidate. 

Perhaps the most important thing to remember when you’re throwing out an initial number is to not start with your best offer. You by no means want to lowball them with a ridiculously small salary, as this can create friction and derail your efforts. But you don’t want to offer your max salary right out of the gate because this leaves you with no wiggle room and can result in spending more than you need to. Besides that, an elite candidate may feel you’re not all that interested in them if you’re not willing to go higher than your initial number. 

I personally suggest starting at or around the low end of your salary range. So, if it was $46,000-$55,000, you’d want to start around $46,000.

Anticipate a Counter

In some cases, a candidate may go ahead and accept your initial offer right off the bat. That’s certainly possible. 

However, it’s not something you should expect. As in the art of any effective negotiation, you should anticipate a counter and know how to react. 

Remember that making a counteroffer isn’t something that should be seen as rude or disrespectful. It’s simply something any smart, savvy candidate will do. This shows they know their value, and it can factor into them being a successful rep if they’re ultimately hired. 

And given that 74% of employers have room to increase their first offer by 5-10%, a good chunk of candidates will look for more. So be prepared when they push for a higher salary. 

This brings me to my final point. 

Know Your Limit

There will likely be some back-and-forth where you each throw out numbers, moving from the two extremes of salary figures to something closer to the middle. While you’ll probably end up going higher than the initial number you threw out, you definitely need to know your limit. 

Again, this goes back to the salary range you identified earlier where you’ll want to consider the max salary you can pay and not exceed it. Based on our example, $55,000 would be the limit, where you would need to walk away from any further discussion at that point. 

When you get in this territory, it’s important to be transparent about what your company’s budget is and set a firm limit. From there, it’s up to the candidate whether they want to accept or reject it. If all goes well, you’ll be able to come to an agreement that works for both parties. 

Finding A+ Salespeople with Sound Negotiation Skills

Although negotiation won’t be part of every hire, it’s something you’ll likely encounter at some point and should be prepared for. Understanding what the basic process looks like and best practices to follow should ensure you enter negotiation with maximum leverage to increase your chances of striking a fair deal and adding top talent to your roster. 

Learn how HireDNA can help transform your sales hiring and attract the best and brightest reps in your industry. 92% of recommended candidates become top performers within their first year, and 96% of hiring mistakes can be eliminated with HireDNA. 

Here’s the scenario. You create a job ad to find a top level salesperson. To achieve this, you design an application for candidates to fill out so you can gather key information and add them to your database. 

But after posting the ad, you’re underwhelmed by the response, and you don’t receive anywhere near the volume of candidates you were hoping for. 

This is an issue encountered by more sales companies than you may think. And one of the biggest reasons is because a good chunk of talented sales recruits simply don’t make it all the way through the application. In this post, I’ll unpack why this is so common and how you can avoid falling into this trap. 

What the Data Says

There’s one very specific reason why nearly two-thirds of job seekers don’t complete their applications. According to 2020 research by G2, “60% of job seekers quit in the middle of filling out online job applications because of their length or complexity.” 

It’s really that simple. Most people don’t want to deal with the hassle of painstakingly answering a gauntlet of questions and meticulously providing detail after detail. If this happens, many will end up abandoning the application and looking at other sales job opportunities. 

But why do so many brands ask for so much information?

The Logic Behind Lengthy Applications

There are two main reasons why sales recruiters use long applications. One is simply to gather as much information as possible on candidates so recruiters can learn all they can about their experience, qualifications, education, and so on. 

The other is to weed out lazy candidates who aren’t willing to complete a lengthy application. Conventional logic often states that top tier talent is dedicated enough to complete an application in its entirety, even if it’s long winded. 

“But, in reality, the opposite is true,” explains user research manager Sarah Gregory. “Good candidates know their time is important and they have plenty of opportunities in the job market. Their tolerance for jumping through hoops is much lower than many employers think.”

And this totally makes sense. Elite talent are acutely aware of how much value they bring to the table. Many never even end up performing a formal job search in the first place because recruiters come to them. But if they do fill out an application, most will feel frustrated if they’re barraged by seemingly never-ending questions and needless complexity. 

So in many cases, asking candidates to fill out lengthy applications may do more harm than good and cause you to miss out on high caliber salespeople. 

Finding the Sweet Spot

This isn’t to say you should go to the other extreme and ask too few questions, as this can lead to a flood of under qualified candidates. The takeaway here is that you want to ask enough questions to get adequate information and filter out low level candidates, but not ask so many questions that you turn off talented sales recruits. 

In other words, hit the sweet spot. This, of course, will likely require some trial-and-error before you get it just right. But if you’re finding you’re not getting the number of applicants you want — the average job ad receives 250 resumes, by the way — the application will likely need some condensing. 

Also, make it a point to simplify it so you’re not asking job seekers to jump through unnecessary hoops. 

Other Ways to Optimize the Job Application Process

Besides that, I have a few other suggestions on making the job application process more pleasant and user-friendly. 

One is to allow candidates to apply through LinkedIn. You can, for example, include an “Apply with LinkedIn” button to a job ad, which looks like this. 

Given that many people are already active on LinkedIn (there were more than 774 million users as of mid-2021), this can take a lot of friction out of the process. To learn how to set up an “Apply with LinkedIn” button, check out this resource. 

And if you’re using LinkedIn as one of your main channels for posting sales jobs, you may want to consider using the “Easy Apply” feature, which lets job seekers apply with just a few clicks. This is a feature I actually use myself. 

While it’s not always a great choice for high level positions like a sales manager, it’s certainly worth considering for many sales rep positions. 

Also, never require candidates to create an account in order to apply for a job. This is something that’s become increasingly common as of late, especially with larger enterprises. But it can be a huge deterrent to prospects and injects pointless friction into the process.  

Finally, don’t ask recruiters for references on the application unless you absolutely need it. “Why not wait to ask for references when you reach the offer stage?,” notes talent management expert Tiffani Murray. “You don’t need to add that information burden to candidates when a high percentage won’t make it to an offer.”

Eliminating Unnecessary Obstacles 

The numbers don’t lie. 60% of talented sales recruits abandon an application when it’s too long or complex. 

If you’re not getting the number of applicants you’d like, this is one of the first areas to investigate. By trimming off extraneous questions and generally simplifying the application, it should make for a better applicant experience and keep a steady stream of talent coming your way. 

Looking to fill your talent pipeline with top tier sales reps? See how HireDNA can help using science-based assessments and intelligent matching. Companies that use our suggestions have a very high success rate, with a staggering 92% of recommended candidates reaching the top of the sales force within their first year. 

We’re at an interesting point in history. Sales jobs have surged as the world recovers from COVID, with many paying quite well. But companies can’t seem to find enough young talent to fill open positions. 

Why is that?

In this post, I’ll fully unpack this phenomenon, explaining how the demand for sales jobs has increased, why recent grads are hesitant to become salespeople, and what you can do to make your company a more appealing place to work at. 

The Demand for Salespeople is High…

Let’s jump right into the data. Recent research found sales roles have shot up by a staggering 65% in 2021, totaling around 700,000 positions in the US alone. After huge layoffs at the start of the pandemic in mid-2020, sales jobs are definitely back, which is illustrated by this graphic. 

It should also be noted that many sales reps make good money. According to data from the US Department of Labor, those selling technical and scientific products earned over $108,000 in 2020. 

Companies are in dire need of talented salespeople, and this isn’t a trend that’s likely to slow down any time soon. As more and more people become vaccinated and with interest rates being slashed in many countries like the US, this has led to rapid economic growth across much of the world. 

Just check out this graph from the BBC that shows how the Dow Jones and other major stock market indexes have quickly climbed since the first vaccine was announced. 

Combine that with stimulus checks and the fact that many people have resumed their pre-COVID buying habits, it creates a climate where sales jobs are very much in demand. In fact, it’s arguably easier to land a position as a salesperson than it’s been in recent history. 

…But New Grads Are Reluctant to Get Into Sales

What’s interesting, however, is that companies are really struggling to fill these positions. There  seems to be a new sentiment among new grads where they’re just not as inclined to become salespeople as previous generations have been in years past. 

And it boils down to one main reason. Young talent largely equates this profession to working as a “sleazy used car salesman.” 

In an article on The Wall Street Journal, business education reporter Thomas Patrick articulates it perfectly saying, “Many young workers assume that sales work means convincing customers to buy with high-pressure sales tactics, and are turned off.” In other words, there’s the lingering perception for many recent grads that they’ll be burned out sitting behind a desk, cold calling leads all day, and trying to clobber them over the head to buy. 

That mental imprint is understandably a little cringy, so it’s easy to see why many companies are having so much difficulty assembling sales teams. The question is, how should you respond to this?

How to Appeal to Top Talent in the Current Sales Recruiting Climate

First, you need to understand the paradigm shift that’s happened in the sales world as of late. “Sales has dramatically changed in recent years, shifting from cold calls to potential customers to consulting with companies that often seek out products,” says Patrick. 

One term I use frequently is trusted advisor, where leads are far more receptive to salespeople they view as a consultant who’s there to help them find the right fit, rather than someone who’s merely trying to get the quick sale and jam products down their throat. Research has even found 88% of leads buy when a rep assumes the position of trusted advisor. 

So that’s the approach I recommend most companies take, as it aligns with the new era of customer empowerment, helps quickly build trust, and is simply more effective than outdated high-pressure sales tactics. 

Second, you need to let applicants know this is the approach you take. “Changes in sales accelerated during the pandemic, and businesses are trying to entice more people into the job by demonstrating that they don’t have to operate in a pressure-cooker environment (or work the phones) the way sales workers once did,” Patrick adds. 

I personally recommend making specific mention to this in your job description, letting potential applicants know they’ll take a more consultative role rather than a hyper-aggressive one. It’s also smart to work elements of this philosophy into the “about us” section of your website. This kills two birds with one stone because it should make your company more appealing to salespeople as well as leads who are considering buying from you. 

Lastly, focus on finding salespeople with legit selling skills and who exhibit signs of curiosity and empathy rather than those who simply have a ton of industry/product experience. This is something I covered extensively in another post that you can read about here. Given that not many people intentionally target sales as a career while they’re in college, but rather often fall into it, some of the best and brightest may not have extensive experience in your industry or selling your product. 

That’s why I recommend looking for people with the key traits I just mentioned, as well as others like ambition, tenacity, and initiative. Remember that you can always train someone on products, but you can’t teach “the it factor.”

Adapting to the Current Sales Recruiting Climate

Despite exploding job opportunities and solid salaries, there’s a reluctance among most young talent to get into sales. Something that’s mainly due to the perception of old school, hard-nosed sales tactics. But this is something your company should be able to overcome by taking a more consultative approach and seeking candidates that possess the relevant characteristics. 

Want to streamline your sales recruiting and find A+ talent without all the drama? See how HireDNA can help you find top-tier candidates using science-based assessments and intelligent matching. 

There are several factors that impact how many candidates apply to your job posting for a salesperson. Your industry, scheduling, benefits, advancement opportunities, and company culture are a few prime examples. But hands down, sales salary is one of the biggest factors across the board. 

At the end of the day, top sales recruits want to know they’ll receive competitive pay, and they don’t want to jump through a bunch of hoops to figure out exactly how much they’ll earn if hired. Being upfront about this is a surefire way to generate more clicks for your job posts and send a steady stream of qualified candidates your way. 

With that in mind, let’s take an in-depth look at exactly how big an impact sales salary transparency can have on your recruiting. 

What the Data Says

Business software and services review company, G2, compiled an exhaustive list of recruiting statistics that are very insightful. In terms of sales salary transparency, they found “67% of job seekers try to find information about salaries when researching a company or looking at job ads.” 

This shows firsthand how important salary info is for job seekers. With over two-thirds specifically looking for it, it stands to reason that sales recruiters that offer this info and place it in a conspicuous place would have an edge over competitors who make no mention of it. And that is in fact the case. “Job listings which include a salary range got 75% more clicks than job listings that don’t,” writes G2.

Take this job posting by LingoAce, an online Chinese learning platform for kids, for example. They place sales salary information front and center of this job ad for an inside sales rep to easily see. Here it is at the top, giving job seekers a clear salary range they can expect. 

LingoAce then places more details a bit further down here, discussing base salary, as well as on-target earnings. 

And toward the bottom, they restate the salary information sales candidates saw at the top, leaving no room for guesswork. This makes it dead easy for job seekers to find the information they’re looking for at just a glance. 

So, if you’re looking for a basic template to follow, this is a great one to borrow from. Ideally, you’ll put salary info at the very top of a job ad and restate it somewhere further down the page. That way sales candidates don’t have to scroll back up, creating a deeper level of convenience.  

Not Including Salary Info Creates Stress for Candidates

Another interesting stat I found was that a lack of information about pay is a main reason why 50% of sales candidates consider their job search to be stressful. Just put yourself in an average candidate’s shoes for a second. They’re looking for employment and may be under a significant amount of pressure to find a job quickly. 

They see multiple job postings they’re interested in, but can’t figure out exactly what the pay is. So, they have to sift through long winded job descriptions, check company websites, and do Google searches just to get a ballpark idea of how much these jobs pay. 

This can be incredibly tedious and frustrating, where many will simply give up and opt for applying with a different company that’s more transparent about their salary information. So you can see the negative impact that not providing salary info can have, and you can bet that failing to do so will result in many high-quality, top tier candidates slipping through your fingers. 

Outshining the Competition

There’s one last stat I’d like to share with you that’s really interesting. “Only 27% of businesses share salary ranges publicly,” G2 adds. While I’ve definitely noticed an increase in the number of companies providing salary information in job ads recently, it’s only slightly over a quarter that are currently doing so. And I don’t foresee a massive surge in this anytime soon. 

This is something you can use to your advantage, because being one of the few brands to offer sales salary transparency naturally brings more eyeballs to your job postings. More qualified candidates will see you when they’re browsing through ads and check out the positions that are available. If it comes down to a sales candidate considering your company or one of your key competitors without salary information, they’re far more likely to apply with you. 

I personally predict that as more and more businesses catch wind of this trend that providing sales salary transparency will gradually become commonplace. But we’re definitely not at that point yet. So, this is a sales recruitment strategy that’s ripe for the picking in 2021. 

Winning the Sales Recruiting War

We’re living in an era which many experts have called a “sales talent crisis.” Although there are plenty of sales candidates out there, the true A+ talent is hard to come by. And a tangible trend we see among the elite is wanting sales salary transparency when looking for jobs. 

In other words, they don’t want to jump through a bunch of hoops to see how much a company pays. By being upfront about it and placing salary information directly in your job posting, you can generate 75% more clicks and connect with top tier talent. 

See how HireDNA uses cutting-edge techniques like top talent sourcing, intelligent matching, and science-based assessments to find the best of the best salespeople. Brands that use HireDNA cut their hiring time in half, and 92% of suggested reps reach the top of their sales team within their first year.

There’s a ton of data out there that shows, when implemented correctly, employee referral programs can have a massive impact. 

45% of salespeople that are referred from internal employees, for example, stay for over four years. By comparison, only 25% sourced from job boards hang around for 2+ years. Employee referrals also save companies over $7,500 per hire. And a whopping 82% of employers rate “employee referrals above all other sources for generating the best ROI.”

The numbers speak for themselves. 

If you’re wondering how exactly you go about launching an employee referral program, I’m going to break it down step-by-step in this post. Here’s a full overview of the nuts and bolts of the process. 

Step 1: Identify Which Positions You Want to Hire For

First, determine which specific positions you want to accept referrals for. You may, for example, strictly be looking to bring on sales reps but aren’t interested in sales managers because you need someone with a highly specific skill set for the latter and want to handle the recruiting yourself.

I suggest going through every single one of your company’s positions and making note of the ones you’re open to filling through an employee referral program. 

Step 2: Pinpoint the Types of Candidates You’re Looking For

Just like with any other method of hiring, it’s essential to know precisely what makes for a great candidate. After all, it doesn’t do you any good if your existing employees are leveraging their networks only to bring in ill-suited candidates. 

Here’s what I suggest doing to ensure employees send rockstar talent your way:

• Create candidate personas, including hard skills, soft skills, experience, education, and so on
• Identify what you’re looking for in terms of a cultural fit
• Determine what core values a candidate should possess

Once you have that fleshed out, create a resource to serve as a point of reference when internal employees are considering who to reach out to. 

Step 3: Decide if You Want to Offer Rewards for Referrals

A study by LinkedIn found that most employees don’t have monetary gain in mind when providing referrals. 

• 35% do it to help their friends
• 32% do it to help their company
• 26% do it to be seen as a valuable colleague

Only a tiny 6% do it for money. That said, having some type of reward or perk in place is definitely something to consider, as it can give your employees further incentive to find the right candidates. 

Research from TalentLyft found the vast majority of companies offer cash incentives, typically between $1,000 – $5,000, and 15% offer days off or vacation days. 

A few other ideas they suggest include:

• Tickets for local events
• Tickets for a trip
• Food and drink

Step 4: Choose an Employee Referral Software

You certainly don’t need a lot of bells and whistles to launch a successful employee referral program. In fact, I suggest keeping it as simple as possible. 

But there are some amazing software platforms available that can streamline the process dramatically, while simplifying things for HR, your employees that provide referrals, and for the referrals themselves. 

Here are some specific features that can be a huge help:

• Automatic job alerts
• Links employees can conveniently share with potential candidates through email, text, and social media with information on the sales position
• Fully customized applications for candidates to fill out, complete with unique branding elements
• Built-in referral tracking to ensure the right employee gets credit

In terms of specific platforms, Workable is easy to use and one I personally recommend. 

Or, if you want an exhaustive list of the top employee referral software, this guide from G2 is super helpful. 

Step 5: Create an Employee Referral Policy

Once you’ve figured out what positions you’re willing to accept referrals for, what you’re looking for in candidates, determined whether or not you want to offer rewards, and chosen a software platform, it’s time to create a formal employee referral policy. 

The purpose of this is to let your employees know the following:

• Which positions are available
• What skills, traits, etc., you’re looking for in an ideal candidate
• What the incentives are
• How to submit referrals
• Specific instructions to follow 

Here’s a sample template from Fit Small Business to point you in the right direction. 

Step 6: Write Job Descriptions

It’s also important that you have job descriptions ready to roll whenever candidates are generated through referrals. This should be approached just as it would with any other form of recruiting. The purpose here is to concisely articulate:

• The core tasks an employee will be responsible for
• Necessary skills and experience
• Expectations

I suggest reading this guide from Zendesk for detailed instructions on how to write A+ job descriptions. 

Step 7: Get the Word Out

Finally, you need to promote your employee referral program and get everyone up to speed. I find the best way to go about this involves a two-step approach:

1. Formally announce the launch during a meeting
2. Send out a company-wide email that includes key information, such as program outlines and the employee referral policy

It’s also smart to provide your employees with quick links that enable them to share through email, social media, and text like I mentioned earlier. That way they can conveniently network and generate a steady stream of referrals without having to do any heavy lifting. 

Making Referrals an Integral Part of Your Recruiting

If you’re looking to save money on recruiting, increase your retention rate, and create a tighter, more connected sales team, launching an employee referral program is definitely something to consider. The vast majority of companies that implement one see a fantastic ROI, and it can really help you strengthen your culture over time. 

Following the seven steps outlined here should provide you with the basic framework for turning an employee referral program from an idea in your head into a reality.

Tired of hiring the wrong sales reps? See how HireDNA can help you eliminate 96% of hiring mistakes using industry-leading assessment science. 

Effectively gauging the skill set of salespeople is an absolute must when recruiting, as well as when analyzing the performance of existing reps. This is what allows you to assemble an A+ team, get the most from your leads, and inevitably maximize revenue. 

But with so many different factors, what exactly do you focus on?

While there are several skills recruiters analyze, there’s one that outshines all others at the top of the list.

The Ability to Close

Allego, a digital learning and enablement platform that focuses largely on sales training, performed in-depth research in a resource called The Ultimate Guide to Assessing Sales Rep Competency. In it, they examined the current state, as well as the future of sales competency. 

This resource contains a ton of great information, including ramp times by industry, sales training approaches commonly used, and which specific skills determine sales competency. But one piece of data I found particularly interesting was where Allego identified the top eight sales skills managers assess in their reps. 

“We looked at the eight key aspects of sales competency, including sales planning, prospecting, qualifying pipeline, pitching to prospects, negotiating contracts, closing deals, managing customers, and retaining customers,” they write. Of those eight skills, the number one that sales managers assess the most across the board is the ability to close at 70%.

And that’s not surprising. While other sales skills like prospecting new opportunities, making pitches, and negotiating are tremendously important, they pale in comparison to actually closing deals. In fact, you could ask, “What good does it do if a salesperson crushes every other aspect of the sales process but can’t seal the deal?”

The fact that 7 out of 10 managers assess the ability to close makes it the ultimate “bottom line metric” and the primary factor to consider when recruiting new reps, as well as analyzing the performance of current team members. 

This begs the question. 

How Should You Handle Underperforming Reps?

We now know that the ability to close is what you should look at most closely when recruiting new reps. Therefore, you’ll want to ask relevant questions during the interview stage, such as, “What was your close rate at your previous company?”

But what should you do with current reps that struggle closing deals and fail to hit their quota?

That’s another topic Allego examined in their research. According to their findings, the top three actions sales managers take to handle competency gaps are:

• Implementing performance improvements plans – 50%
• Increasing focus from management – 31%
• Increasing training – 15%

Allego summarizes it perfectly with this quote. 

By these numbers, it’s clear that top sales managers take initiatives to put concrete performance improvement plans in place, have leaders place a bigger focus on helping reps improve, and generally offer a higher level of training. 

Note that a very small percentage of sales managers fire reps at just 3%. Therefore, we can surmise that simply letting underperforming reps go isn’t usually the best solution, and successful companies opt for investing in their people. 

Practical Tips to Help Reps Close More Deals

For the final part of this post, I’d like to share with you a few key strategies that are highly effective for helping salespeople increase their close rate. 

One is to create a resource that’s designed specifically for overcoming sales objections. The purpose is to 1) identify common sales objections and 2) show reps how to respond in each situation. That way they can react instantly and efficiently disarm the situation using “muscle memory.”

HubSpot wrote an amazing post about the 40 top sales objections, with the top five being:

1. It’s too expensive.
2. There’s no money.
3. We don’t have any budget left.
4. I need to use this budget somewhere else.
5. I don’t want to get stuck in a contract.

They also include rebuttals for each. I suggest reading over that post and using it to create a customized resource for your team members. That alone can be a huge help. 

Next, work on ironing out any kinks in the lead handoff process from marketing to sales. As Allego pointed out earlier, 31% of sales managers increase their focus from management when reps aren’t closing as much as they should. It’s all hands on deck, and your whole team should work on moving marketing qualified leads (MQLs) to sales qualified leads (SQLs) with the least friction possible. 

This may include:

• Using lead scoring to quantitatively rank leads so marketing knows the perfect time to hand them off
• Ensure marketing passes along notes to sales mentioning key information (e.g. a lead’s pain points or current software)
• Using meeting scheduling platform to strike while the iron is hot

For more on improving the MQL to SQL handoff, check out this article from Chili Piper. 

Finally, provide ongoing support for your salespeople. I recently wrote a post that talked about looking past a rep’s initial development and equipping them with the tools to continually improve and stay engaged. And I can’t stress enough how important this is, especially when your reps are in a slump. 

Not only can continual training help underperforming reps get back on track, it creates a framework for perpetual refinement that helps them operate at their absolute best. 

Here are some ideas:

Assessing Reps on the Most Important Skill

A big part of successfully recruiting potential new salespeople and analyzing the performance of your current ones is knowing what specific skills to assess. While there are several that are important, the ability to close is the most important of all based on data. So, keep this in mind moving forward and use this as your bottom line metric. 

Looking for a surefire way to recruit top tier reps? Learn how HireDNA can help you find the best of the best in your industry and eliminate 96% of hiring mistakes.