The 4 Best Places to Find Elite Passive Sales Candidates

We’ve talked a lot about passive sales candidates on this blog. And for good reason. Over three-quarters of sales candidates can be classified as passive, and they’re often some of the most talented individuals you’ll find in your industry. That said, not all are created equal. So how do you find elite passive sales candidates? The best of the best?

In this post, I’ll share four of the top resources I recommend that can be potential goldmines for sourcing passive talent to take your sales force to the next level.

1. An Employee Referral Program

For most companies, the best place to start is by establishing an employee referral program because this gives you access to a steady supply of potentially amazing salespeople.

There are two main reasons why this can be a smart move. First, rather than having to constantly seek out elite passive sales candidates yourself, they come to you instead. Second, the overall caliber of talent companies find with an employee referral program tends to be high quality.

For perspective, Forbes states that “referrals are the leading source of superior candidates for 88% of employers,” and “referred candidates are a better culture fit than those hired through other sources.”

And it makes sense when you think about it. If you already have a team of bright, capable salespeople, odds are they’re in contact with other potential salespeople that are equally as talented.

By launching an employee referral program and encouraging existing team members to source other rockstars, there’s a great chance you can make some A+ acquisitions.

To learn the basics of how to get one set up, check out this guide from SHRM.

2. LinkedIn

Social media in general can be a great place to source elite passive sales candidates. But, in my opinion, LinkedIn is still number one because 1) it focuses specifically on professional networking and 2) it’s a simple, intuitive platform that lets you quickly search for top talent.

Say, for example, you were looking for a SaaS salesperson in the tech industry. You can simply type what you’re looking for in the search bar here.

Then, you can browse through LinkedIn’s comprehensive results to learn more about each LinkedIn member.

At a glance, you can see what each person specializes in. And some LinkedIn users even openly state that they’re looking for job opportunities.

From there, you can learn more about a prospective candidate’s experience, qualifications, current job status, and more.

If have LinkedIn Premium, you can instantly message them without having to connect first. Or, if you don’t have the premium version, you can connect and then message them.

3. AI Tools

In recent years, AI has spread its tentacles to nearly every aspect of business, and passive recruiting is no exception. Now there are a variety of AI tools that allow you to streamline and automate much of the passive recruiting process.

Not only does this save you valuable time and eliminate a ton of tedious manual tasks, it dramatically increases your odds of landing elite talent. That’s because AI can leverage sophisticated technology to match you with highly qualified passive sales candidates with the skills, experience, and personality needed to thrive in your sales team.

There are countless AI tools on the market, but a good example of one that specializes in the outbound recruiting of passive candidates is HireEZ.

With it, you can search from over 800 million candidate profiles and use over 30 advanced AI filters to pinpoint the exact type of candidates you’re looking for. From there, HireEZ helps you engage with the best of the best to facilitate friction-free communication.

And that’s just one example. You can find a list of 9 of the best AI tools for sourcing elite passive sales candidates here.

4. Industry Conferences and Local Events

In our modern era, the majority of sales recruiting is done digitally. But it’s important to remember that in-person networking is still very much alive and well. And in the right circumstances, it can be the perfect way to meet talented passive sales candidates that could be tremendous assets to your company.

One of the main reasons why I still like in-person networking is that it lets you interact with prospective candidates face-to-face and get a feel for their style and personality. If, for example, someone is particularly charismatic and has a high social IQ, there’s a good chance they would thrive on your sales team.

Also, the people you meet at these events often have a strong commitment to sales. After all, why would someone go to the trouble of attending an event if they didn’t have a genuine passion?

Besides that, these events allow you to quickly meet a high volume of people so you can make a ton of connections and exchange contact information. So within the course of a few hours, you could potentially have several quality contacts that you can reach out to later.

When it comes to finding events, a quick Google search of “[your industry] conferences” should turn up plenty of information.

Besides that, websites such as Meetup.comEventbrite, and CitySocializer can help you find local events. Note that many of the events on these sites aren’t specifically sales-centric, but events in general, which can nonetheless help you connect with talented individuals.

Building a Successful Team with Elite Passive Sales Candidates

With more than 75% of sales candidates being passive and these candidates often being some of the most qualified, it’s important to have a passive recruiting strategy in place. And this starts with tapping into the right resources for finding passive sales candidates.

While there are numerous resources you can leverage, these four are my absolute favorites and should allow you to cast a wide net for finding the cream of the crop.

If you’re looking to build an all-star team, be sure to register with HireDNA today. We offer cutting-edge technology that helps sales companies attract, recruit, and retain the best talent.

Recruiting Passive Sales Candidates Requires Up to 17 Touchpoints: Tactics for Winning Over Elite Talent

When most people think of sales recruiting, they envision going after traditional active candidates — individuals that respond to a job ad or reach out to you. But some of today’s most successful sales recruiters are those that seek out passive sales candidates — individuals who aren’t actively looking for a new job but would be open to the right offer.

According to research, passive sales candidates account for as many as 75% of professionals and often end up being the best team members. However, landing these rockstars isn’t always easy and requires several touchpoints. Up to 17 to be exact.

Let’s now unpack this phenomenon and explain how you can win over elite talent.

Passive Recruiting According to an Expert

In an interesting article, job description optimization software Ongig talks about an interview they had with a talent acquisition leader at a Fortune 500 company. “Some candidates are worth the time,” they write. “Their team has to make 17 touches to recruit passive candidates.” And to clarify, “by ‘touches,’ she is referring to 17 outreach activities it takes to close a passive candidate.”

Here’s an exact breakdown of the specific touchpoints they use.

Now are every single one of these touchpoints necessary to land a passive candidate? No.

And is this the exact sequence you should follow at your company? Perhaps not.

The point here is that recruiting passive sales candidates is more involved than many people think, and it’s something you need to have a strategy for. After all, many passive sales candidates already have cushy jobs and make good money. They know their value and aren’t in a rush to find new opportunities.

Therefore, most won’t jump at the first thing that comes along. Instead, they need to be nurtured — wooed if you will. This brings me to my next point.

Treating Recruiting Like Sales

Another thing I like about the article from Ongig is that they mention that “recruiting is no different than sales,” and “sales trainer Grant Cardone has some interesting related data: he claims that 95% of closed sales happen between the 3rd to 12th touch.” That really struck a chord with me, as I completely agree.

You can’t throw up a single piece of marketing collateral and expect leads to buy right off the bat. It’s a process that requires delicate nurturing where you gradually build rapport with a lead, get them comfortable with your brand, and address their concerns before they’re ready to buy. And it’s basically the same when recruiting passive sales candidates.

So I think having this mindset is the first step in winning over elite talent. I suggest borrowing from the sequence of touchpoints mentioned above and using that as a basic formula. You can, of course, customize it as you see fit and make adjustments as you go.

Besides that, here are some other helpful tactics.

Use a Sales Recruiting Platform

Recruiting technology has come a long in recent years and can be a huge asset for connecting with passive candidates. One particular type of technology that’s helpful is a sales recruiting platform like HireDNA. With it, you can engage passive candidates that match your criteria and tap into a national network of the top sales recruiters to fill your pipeline.

Rather than spending a ton of time manually seeking out passive candidates, HireDNA automates the process for you. That way you can focus on your core business activities rather than sales recruiting. And to make the experience even more convenient, HireDNA will screen each candidate and evaluate their core selling skills to ensure they’re a good fit for your specific sales environment.

From there, qualified candidates will be delivered right to your inbox for final approval and you can set up an interview.

Be Active on LinkedIn

With 875 million users in 2022, it’s the number one social media site for professional networking. And it’s a potential gold mine for meeting and engaging with passive sales candidates that could be strong assets to your company. That’s why I recommend being active on LinkedIn and always being on the lookout for great talent.

The more robust your network is, the more sales professionals you’ll be in contact with. And if you find someone that looks like the right fit, you can pounce on the opportunity right away.

Set up a Careers Page on Your Website

I’m a firm believer in letting elite talent come to you rather than always being the one pursuing talent. Just like a sales recruiting platform automates much of the process, so does having a careers page on your website. Here’s the logic.

Say a talented sales rep who wasn’t officially seeking a position came across your site. After being impressed by your product/service and overall brand, this could pique their interest to check out what it’s like working for you. Then, after browsing through your careers page, they notice you have an open position that’s right up their alley. This could compel them to apply without you having to lift a finger. Rather, high-quality talent comes right to you by having a recruiting funnel in place.

HubSpot is a great example of a brand that uses this strategy.

And it’s something that can work for you as well.

Recruiting Passive Sales Candidates

With as many as three-quarters of professionals being passive sales candidates, this is an aspect of recruiting that shouldn’t be overlooked. I personally found it interesting that this can require up to 17 touchpoints, which is why it’s important to have a fully fleshed-out formula to nurture passive candidates until they’re ready to commit. That along with implementing a few key strategies can help you fully capitalize on this potent form of recruiting and increase the strength of your sales team.

To see HireDNA in use and understand its full range of benefits, go ahead and schedule your demo today. 92% of suggested candidates go on to reach the top of their sales force within a year.