Tag: SALES RECRUITING

Why Companies That Use a Sales Assessment Have Reps That Are 24% More Likely to Exceed Performance Goals

Posted on by hiredna

When it comes to sales candidates, what you see isn’t always what you get. One study found that nearly four out of five sales resumes are misleading, and up to 46% contain straight-up lies! This isn’t to say all sales candidates are deliberately trying to be deceptive. But the fact of the matter is that you simply can’t take everything at face value. That’s where a sales assessment comes in.

Though not a magic bullet, there’s a solid body of evidence that shows effectively using a sales assessment can have a dramatic impact on recruiting, with companies that use it having a noticeable advantage over those that don’t. Allow me to explain.

Some Eye-Opening Stats

Most sales recruiters acknowledge that sales assessments have some type of impact on recruiting. But many don’t realize the extent of the impact. So let’s quantify.

One of the most telling studies comes from Aberdeen Group, which found “organizations that use pre-hire assessments are 24% more likely to have employees who exceed performance goals.” That alone I found to be highly impressive and, right off the bat, it shows the correlation between evaluating the skills a potential candidate claims and making smart hiring decisions.

But that’s not all.

Additional research found that “hiring managers who utilize pre-employment assessments report 36% more satisfaction with their final decision than those who don’t.”

So not only are salespeople who are hired after completing a sales assessment far more likely to thrive, hiring managers are far more likely to be satisfied with their decision.

Why is a Sales Assessment So Beneficial?

Again, a sales assessment isn’t a cure-all, and there’s no guarantee that by using one you’ll find the perfect salesperson 100% of the time. But there’s no denying that it can be an immensely helpful tool. I think Aberdeen Group summarizes it well with this quote.

“While this technology might not predict every facet of an employee’s tenure with a company, it certainly is an improvement over making hiring decisions based on interviews, references, resumes, and/or gut feel — together or separately.” By objectively evaluating a sales candidate’s knowledge and skills, you can approach recruiting much more confidently than in the past. And the odds of the person you hire working out long-term are much higher.

But what are some specific reasons why companies that use a sales assessment have reps that are much more likely to exceed their performance goals? Here are three of the biggest.

You Can Verify a Sales Candidate’s Claims

Perhaps the most obvious benefit is that this tool gives you a means of “fact-checking” a sales candidate to ensure they truly possess the skills they claim to have on their resume. Going back to the data in the intro, the majority of resumes are misleading, and, unfortunately, close to half contain some type of lie. So you shouldn’t assume that every candidate you encounter is as good as they say they are.

But with a sales assessment, you can see exactly what they bring to the table. And because all candidates answer the same questions and perform the same tasks in their assessment, you can accurately compare each one side-by-side to see who’s the best fit for your company.

You Can Get a Feel for a Sales Candidate’s Personality

Besides finding someone with the right hard skills, it’s also important to take soft skills like communication, problem-solving, and organization into account. While you can get a general sense of a candidate’s personality through interactions and interviewing, this doesn’t always tell the whole story.

Another big advantage of a sales assessment is that it goes beyond traditional interviewing where you can ask questions to gauge their personality and see how good of a match they would be for the specific role and your overall company culture.

You Can Eliminate Bias

One reason why some sales recruiters make the wrong hire is that they “fall in love” with a particular candidate, even if they’re not the optimal choice. Say, for example, a candidate is incredibly charismatic, shares the same interest, and went to your same college. There’s a good chance you would be compelled to hire them over another candidate that didn’t check these boxes even if they’re not objectively the better fit.

At the end of the day, human bias is always a factor and can easily cloud a recruiter’s judgment. The great thing about a sales assessment is that it eliminates bias so each candidate can be evaluated objectively.

Sales Assessment Tools to Use

At this point, I think we can agree that, when used correctly, a sales assessment can be a huge asset. But what specific tool should you use?

One that many sales recruiters have success with is HireDNA, which offers the industry’s number one skills assessment solution. Here’s an overview of what HireDNA has to offer.

With it, you can assess core selling competencies like lead hunting, the ability to reach decision-makers, relationship-building, and more.

You can also measure “sales DNA competencies,” such as being able to control emotions, comfortably discuss money, and handle rejection, as well as development traits like the will to sell and coachability.

Aftering setting up your ideal candidate profile, you can use HireDNA to filter and screen candidates 10x faster, and recruiters that use it are able to eliminate 96% of hiring mistakes. You can get a full overview of HireDNA and learn more about it here.

Wrapping Up

Sales recruiting isn’t something you want to leave to chance. Fortunately, technology like a sales assessment has created a framework that allows you to evaluate potential candidates from all angles while eliminating many of the inefficiencies that recruiters had to deal with in the past. With a clear correlation between using a sales assessment and reps exceeding their goals, it’s definitely a technology worth implementing if you haven’t done so already.

Ready to take the next step? Schedule a live HireDNA demo today.

The 3 Best SaaS Sales Candidate Screening Tools (And Their Key Features)

Posted on by hiredna

Bad hires, unfortunately, happen more frequently than most SaaS sales recruiters would like. According to research, 74% of recruiters say they’ve hired the wrong rep at some point. And with the average cost of a bad hire being at least 30% of the salesperson’s first-year annual income, it can be highly detrimental. That’s where SaaS sales candidate screening tools come in.

By using the right software, you can effectively filter through a candidate pool to find the cream of the crop while also saving a ton of time and money. Here are my top three picks for the absolute best SaaS sales candidate screening tools.

1. HireDNA

HireDNA is all about taking a scientific, data-driven approach to SaaS sales recruiting to ensure the best possible matches while avoiding common friction points. First, HireDNA evaluates your company’s unique hiring needs, goals, selling requirements, selling environment, culture, and more to create a digital profile of the perfect candidate.

Next, it uses cutting-edge technology to tap into a massive national network of hundreds of thousands of elite SaaS sales professionals. From there, HireDNA uses in-depth screening to objectively evaluate each potential candidate’s abilities based on your exact candidate profile to see how well they match. Candidates that receive a match score of 75% or higher are then qualified to ensure an ultra-high level of compatibility.

At that point, each eligible candidate is asked to complete a comprehensive skills assessment that tests 21 selling competencies to measure things like skill set, motivation, determination, and more.

Those that make the cut will then be shortlisted so you can schedule interviews and make your final decision. The streamlined, systematic, data-driven approach HireDNA takes makes it extremely efficient for SaaS sales candidate screening and has a very high success rate, with recruiters able to eliminate 96% of wrong hires. Further, 92% of candidates that are hired reach the top of their sales force within one year.

You can learn more about HireDNA’s screening process here.

2. Breezy HR

Like HireDNA, Breezy HR is an end-to-end SaaS recruiting tool that does the heavy lifting for you so you spend less time in the trenches looking for candidates and more time on shortlisting and interviewing.

It starts with advertising and attracting where you first create a professional, branded careers page to send candidates to. This can be fully customized and launched in less than a minute without any development knowledge and includes built-in analytics. Or, if you already have a careers page, you can use the Breezy HR widget to create a list of available jobs on it.

Once that’s set up, the software streamlines the process of getting your SaaS sales job in front of millions of potential candidates. After creating a job ad, Breezy HR will automatically post it on over 50 of today’s top job sites, such as LinkedIn, Indeed, Google, and ZipRecruiter.

As SaaS sales candidates start pouring in, Breezy HR has several different features to help you efficiently screen and manage them. For example, the AI-powered Candidate Match Score feature lets you identify the best of the best and instantly prioritize them for quick outreach.

Touchless pre-screening lets you send personalized questionnaires to top candidates, and “Breezy will automatically advance (or disqualify) candidates based on their answers.” Additionally, video screening lets you take it one step further by qualifying candidates with digital face-to-face recordings so you can get a better feel for their personality and style. Once you’ve created your shortlist, Breezy HR offers calendar integrations with Google and Outlook so you can effortlessly schedule interviews.

And with built-in analytics that measure pipeline performance, time to fill, and team productivity, you can identify inefficiencies to continually refine your SaaS sales recruiting process.

3. JazzHR

Let me start by saying that JazzHR is specifically designed for SMBs. So if you’re an enterprise company, this platform won’t have the type of scale that you need. But if you fall into the SMB category, read on.

JazzHR is a straightforward SaaS sales candidate screening tool that doesn’t have quite the same amount of features as HireDNA and Breezy HR, but it definitely gets the job done. It offers a custom careers page with branded templates to send candidates to.

There’s a streamlined candidate sourcing feature that lets you post a single job ad to numerous job boards and social networks. And there’s a built-in referral feature that lets you manage a company-wide referral program to tap into additional candidate leads. This combination allows you to build a strong initial candidate pool right from the start.

From there, JazzHR has ranking features that help you choose individuals who are best fitted for the position you’re hiring for and “organize your hiring pool based on your own criteria and decide who gets moved along in one centralized location.” There are comprehensive assessments with score-based evaluations that let you quantitatively compare top candidates. And after you’ve done your round of interviews, JazzHR assists hiring managers in ranking them one by one while implementing feedback.

Once you’ve made your decision, there are offers and eSignature features to expedite the formalities and ensure all the necessary paperwork is completed while staying fully compliant. In turn, this makes for a better candidate experience so you can get build strong rapport right from the start.

Put it all together, and this makes JazzHR a solid option that works well for many SMBs.

Finding Elite Talent with SaaS Sales Candidate Screening

Sales recruiting technology has come a long in recent years. While recruiters of the past often had to deal with a lengthy, convoluted process and rely on gut feelings that weren’t always accurate, SaaS sales candidate screening tools have been a true game-changer.

While there are numerous options available, HireDNA, Breezy HR, and JazzHR are three of the best overall and cover the full spectrum of candidate screening while also including other great features.

To learn more about why HireDNA is the industry’s number one sales skills assessment tool, check out this resource.

Why Creating a Clear Hiring Process Timeline Can Make Your Brand More Appealing to 83% of Sales Candidates

Posted on by hiredna

Searching for a sales job can be overwhelming and stressful. In fact, 73% of job seekers say it’s “one of the most stressful events in life.” As a recruiter, it’s important to simplify and streamline things to 1) improve the candidate experience and 2) increase your odds of acquiring A+ salespeople while building strong relationships right off the bat. And this often starts with creating a clear hiring process timeline.

In this post, we’ll look at some compelling data that shows just how important a hiring process timeline is, along with specific elements to focus on.

Putting Yourself in a Sale’s Candidates Shoes

Nearly everyone will perform a job search at some point in their career. And nearly everyone will experience the struggles that come along with it.

Searching for a new sales position marks a big life change. A person may need to give notice to their current company, figure out how to transition from their current job to a new one, switch up their daily schedule, or even move to a new city. Not to mention the potential financial strains it can create.

With this comes a lot of uncertainty and stress if a sales candidate is left in the dark about what’s happening with a potential employer. This is bad for everyone because, on their end, it hurts the candidate’s experience. And on your end, the friction it creates can sour what could have been a solid relationship.

Even if a sales candidate was initially excited about the idea of joining your team, they may end up going elsewhere simply because they weren’t sure about their status. In turn, quality candidates can end up slipping through your fingers, and in the long run, this can even hurt your brand equity if you get negative online reviews from resentful ex-candidates.

Looking it at like this, lacking a clear hiring process timeline is bad all around. However, when sales candidates know what to expect, it can create positive rapport and make things smoother for both parties.

What the Data Says

Now the question is, just how big of an impact can a clear hiring process timeline have?

According to SmallBizGenius, “83% of candidates say it would greatly improve the overall experience if employers provided a clear timeline of the hiring process.” Based on this data, you could create a pleasant experience for more than 8 out of 10 candidates by simply making the process more transparent.

In a world where many companies are struggling to create a positive candidate experience and 58% of job seekers say they’ve declined an offer because of a negative experience, this an extremely important stat to take note of.

To crystallize things further, here’s some additional data:

  • “52% of job seekers cite lack of response from employers as their biggest frustration
  • 75% of applicants never hear back from employers
  • 81% of job seekers say employers continuously communicating status updates would greatly improve their candidate experience” 

At this point, it’s clear that the vast majority of sales candidates want more transparency from employers and that offering it can have significant results. But how exactly do you go about that?

Elements to Include in the Hiring Process Timeline

For starters, you’ll want to give sales candidates at least a rough idea of how long your hiring process is. While the specific stages of recruiting can vary, the seven fundamental stages usually look something like this.

Seven Steps of Selection Process

So, for instance, when a sales candidate submits their application, you could send them an email outlining what to expect, what the next step is, and when they’ll hear from you next. Keep in mind you don’t necessarily need to include exact dates, but try to give them a basic overview of what your timeline looks like so you’re on the same page.

For candidates that make it to the interview stage, you’ll want to be more detailed with the upcoming phases in the process. This can include how many rounds of interviews there will be (e.g. an initial 15-minute Zoom call and a longer follow-up call if they pass), what will happen during each round, and how long it will take your recruitment team to make their decision.

This alone can make for a far better candidate experience and should help you avoid many of the common “friction points” that are detrimental to the process.

When it comes to sales candidates that have been disqualified, you’ll want to let them know as soon as possible that you’ve decided to move on. While this, understandably, can be difficult and no one wants to be the bearer of bad news, you never want to leave someone hanging when they’re no longer in the candidate pool. In this situation, you’ll want to thank them for applying and let them know that you sincerely appreciate their interest in your company, but you’ve decided to go with someone else who is a better fit.

If you’re not sure how to approach this, here’s a basic email template you can use.

10 Essential Recruiting Email Templates

Also, note that most experts suggest never going longer than a maximum of one week to follow up at any point in the hiring process.

Wrapping Up

A poor sales candidate experience can be toxic to everyone involved. It leaves a sour taste in the mouth of what could be a rockstar salesperson. And it can hurt your company if you lose out on top-tier talent to competitors. Fortunately, this is often avoidable by creating a transparent hiring process timeline.

Doing so puts you on the same page with sales candidates and drastically reduces the likelihood of friction arising, as they’ll know what to expect every step of the way. From putting in their application to scheduling an interview to making your final decision, you’ll have close communication throughout.

If you’re looking to fill your pipeline with leading sales talent while cutting your hire time in half, check out HireDNA. Recruiters that use it eliminate, on average, 96% of mistakes and lower turnover by more than 33%.

2023 Sales Recruiting: What Changes to Expect This Year

Posted on by hiredna

Sales recruiting is always evolving. But you could argue that it’s changing at a faster rate than ever before in the 2020s. And 2023 is no exception. As we settle into the New Year, here are some key changes to expect for 2023 sales recruiting to put you at the top of your industry.

A Heavier Use of Recruiting Automation

Recruiting automation isn’t exactly new, and many companies are already using it in some capacity. For reference, recruiting automation software saw a CAGR of 1.9% from 2015 to 2021. But it’s expected to gain even more momentum in 2023 and beyond. More specifically, “the global market is predicted to surge at a CAGR of 2.7% and record sales worth $660 million by the end of 2032.”

2023 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for the growth and expansion of recruiting automation, where its capabilities will continue to evolve, and more companies across a wide variety of industries will implement it. So if it’s something you’ve considered using but haven’t pulled the trigger on yet, now is the perfect time to do so.

In terms of what you can do with recruiting automation, the applications are far-ranging. With HireDNA, for example, you can use it for everything from pinpointing your ideal candidate and sourcing to screening and interview scheduling.

Not only does this save time, it can dramatically increase productivity and performance, with 80% of executives believing it gets results.

Using Data-Driven Matching to Find Ideal Sales Candidates

In the past, a lot of recruiting was done the “old school” way, often relying on a gut feeling when trying to figure out who the best candidate for the job was. But in recent years, there’s been a big shift to taking a more data-driven approach to things. And 2023 appears to be the official boiling point for this.

While tapping into a wealth of personal experience, especially if you’ve been sales recruiting for years or decades, is certainly helpful, studies have found that data-driven companies are 3X more likely to achieve long-term success and make better decisions than those that don’t leverage data.

So what exactly does data-driven matching look like in 2023?

A prime example is using a matching algorithm to analyze key data points, such as work style, sales process, quota attainment, team environment, and compensation to objectively evaluate sales candidates to see who’s the optimal match for the role you’re looking to fill. HireDNA analyzes over 20 data points to show you the whole picture, which allows you to find the best of the best without having to rely on your intuition.

Besides that, HireDNA offers scienced-based assessments where 21 core selling competencies are evaluated, such as motivation, desire, and coachability to accurately predict success.

Putting this technology to use when many other companies are behind the curb is nearly guaranteed to give you a palpable sales recruiting advantage in 2023.

Focusing More on the Sales Candidate Experience

In mid-2021, I wrote a post about the sales candidate experience, saying it had become more important than it was in the past. To quantify, “59% of candidates abandon a job application due to bugs, issues, or complexity of process,” and “42% of candidates with a negative experience won’t reapply to your company.” On the other hand, “38% of candidates who are satisfied with their experience are more likely to accept a job offer.”

Fast forward to the start of 2023, and the sales candidate experience is even more critical and an area of recruiting that companies are placing a growing emphasis on. Fortunately, creating a great sales candidate experience isn’t rocket science. It just boils down to the following fundamentals, such as:

  • Optimizing your website to prevent bugs and needless complications
  • Not making forms any longer or more complex than they need to be
  • Being transparent with candidates, letting them know what stage they’re at in the recruiting process, where they stand, and so on
  • Keeping interviews simple and straightforward

You can learn more about how to improve the sales candidate experience here.

Using Branding as a Sales Recruiting Strategy

When most people hear the word “branding,” they think about it in a marketing context. And they wouldn’t be wrong. However, in 2023, branding is also starting to be used as a key part of a sales recruiting strategy.

Consider this. 82% of sales candidates now take a potential employer’s reputation into account before applying.

If their research yields positive results where multiple employees — past and present — sing your praises saying you’re an amazing company to work for, it’s going to help you get your foot in the door with elite talent. If, however, your brand reputation isn’t so great, it’s going to have the opposite effect.

That’s why it’s important to 1) recognize the correlation between branding and recruiting and 2) take measures to improve your brand reputation if it’s lacking. Or, if your brand reputation is solid, you should work to reinforce it to further capitalize on the momentum.

A good resource for learning how to win with employer branding and recruiting is this blog post from Recright.

Winning at 2023 Sales Recruiting

Every new year comes with its own unique challenges. But on the flip side, it also comes with distinct opportunities.

2023 sales recruiting looks to be packed with a lot of changes, but I feel the four listed above are some of the most pertinent. Getting on board at the start of the year and capitalizing on recruiting automation, data-driven matching, the sales candidate experience, and branding as a recruiting tool should put you ahead of the game and ensure you have a steady pipeline of qualified talent.

To learn more about how HireDNA works and how it can help, specifically with recruiting automation and data-driven matching, book your live demo today.

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

Posted on by hiredna

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.

60% of Candidates Ditch the Application Because it’s Too Long or Complex: How to Simplify the Job Application Process

Posted on by hiredna

Say there’s an ultra-talented salesperson who found your job posting and is highly interested. They begin filling out the application and are chomping at the bit to enter the candidate pool. But after being bombarded with questions and encountering needless complexity, they ditch it without ever completing it. This happens more than you may think, which is why it’s crucial to simplify the job application process.

Here’s how to do that.

Putting Yourself in an Applicant’s Shoes

Time is valuable. And while most applicants don’t mind answering a few questions to provide essential information, it’s another story when you’re talking about question after question. Or, if they have to provide excessive personal information that isn’t really necessary at this point in the hiring process, create an account to log in, or generally be hassled by needless complexity, most will quickly sour.

To quantify, a study found that 6 out of 10 salespeople will ditch an online job application when they feel it’s too long or complex. And, it’s important to note, that some industry experts say this rate may be conservative. While we may never know the exact number, it’s safe to say that a large percentage of great candidates are lost every day simply because of long-winded or overly complex online job applications.

Therefore, fixing this issue should be a top priority for sales recruiters. Here are some specific ways to simplify the job application process.

Keep an Application to 5 Minutes Max

Let’s start with the obvious. First, you’ll want to reduce the length of time it takes to fill out an application.

According to a study that tracked half a million job seekers completing online job applications, “recruiters can boost conversion rates by up to 365% by reducing the length of the application process to five minutes or less.”

Five minutes should be the absolute maximum amount of time it takes, as there’s likely to be a sharp drop-off if it goes longer than this. But how exactly do you go about that?

I like the advice that talent management systems manager of the Pulte Group Tiffani Murray offers. She says, “ask yourself what kind of information you really need upfront to decide if you want to move candidates to the next step. You need their name, contact information, and a resume or LinkedIn profile. If you have an application process that is five or six screens deep and a candidate is filling it out on a smartphone (86% of candidates use this device), in many cases they’ll drop off.”

Remember, you have plenty of time to have shortlisted candidates elaborate on their qualifications and experience later on. The initial goal is simply to gather the essentials so you can filter through applicants.

Offer Autofill

Another common annoyance that turns many applicants off is having to fill out contact information and work history manually. Having to enter the same data over and over again can be incredibly frustrating and quickly adds minutes to the process. Fortunately, there’s innovative technology that can eliminate this time-consuming step.

Autofill grabs key information that’s been previously entered like name, email, address, and phone number, and automatically inputs it in a form so an applicant doesn’t have to. Rather than having to meticulously go through the process of entering information one at a time, an applicant can input everything with a single click or tap.

As for specific software for enabling autofill, one of my favorites is ExactHire, which allows you to quickly and painlessly set up autofill without requiring a login for applicants. This brings me to my next point.

Never Require a Candidate to Create an Account or Ask for References

One mistake I refer to as “the kiss of death” for sales recruiting is requiring a candidate to create an account, as this can instantly kill any momentum you’ve gained so far. And even the most engaged, highly interested candidate will likely bail at the sight of this. Therefore, I suggest avoiding this at all costs, as you’re likely to have countless elite talent slip through your fingers.

Also, asking for references right off the bat can be a serious roadblock to candidates completing an application. Again, I like what Tiffani Murray has to say about this. “Why not wait to ask for references when you reach the offer stage? You don’t need to add that information burden to candidates when a high percentage won’t make it to an offer.”

Automate Candidate Screening

Finally, I’d like to point out that cutting-edge software is now available that allows you to automate candidate screening using data science to match candidates to the role, culture, desired experience, and skills. HireDNA, for example, assesses a salesperson’s core selling skills and capabilities to ensure that they align with what you’re looking for.

While this doesn’t apply directly to streamlining the job application itself, it greatly optimizes the overall hiring process and increases the chances that only the best of the best will apply. In terms of success rate, companies that use HireDNA to automate candidate screening go on to have 92% of suggested candidates reach the top of their sales force within a year.

Simplify the Job Application Process for a Win-Win

While you certainly want to get enough information to get a baseline reading of a salesperson’s knowledge and experience, you should avoid going overboard with needlessly lengthy or complex applications. After all, this is merely the first step where you begin filtering through applicants to decide who moves on to the next round.

With data proving that at least 60% of candidates will bail with a long, drawn-out application process, it’s important to work out any kinks. Fortunately, this is relatively easy to do by keeping the application to a max of five minutes, enabling autofill, not requiring candidates to create an account, and not asking for references. Further, you can streamline things even more by automating candidate screening with a platform like HireDNA, which you can request a demo for here.

 

Simple Ways to Automate Sales Recruiting Without Sacrificing Quality

Posted on by hiredna

On average, it takes sales recruiters 41 days to fill a position. Without some type of strategy in place for streamlining things, the process can be incredibly time-consuming and clog up internal resources. Fortunately, there are several ways to automate sales recruiting that can save you a massive amount of time without sacrificing quality.

Here are some specific techniques I suggest.

Use a Sales Recruiting Platform to Rapidly Fill Your Talent Pipeline

One of the most time-consuming parts of sales recruiting is simply filling your talent pipeline with quality candidates. Between creating job descriptions, finding job boards, posting on job boards, filtering through candidates, and so on, this can quickly eat through your workday and can be especially problematic for smaller businesses that lack a formal recruiting department.

A great way to get around that is to use a technology sales recruiting platform like HireDNA.

With HireDNA, you create an ideal candidate profile based on your specific hiring criteria. Then, using cutting-edge technology, it identifies both active and passive candidates who match that criteria to fill your pipeline. From there, HireDNA screens and assesses candidates to pinpoint the ones that are most likely to succeed and delivers the cream of the crop to your inbox. At that point, you simply choose who you want to interview.

Rather than meticulously moving through the recruiting process like had to be done in the past, HireDNA offers an ultra-streamlined approach that helps you find elite talent, essentially serving it up on a platter for you.

Companies that use it are able to cut their hiring time in half, with 96% of suggested candidates reaching the top of the sales force within their first year.

Send Pre-Screening Questions and Automate Candidate Ranking

Most of today’s applicant tracking systems (ATS) have robust features that can help a great deal with automation. One of which is pre-screening questions where you create a handful of key questions and send them to promising candidates. After a candidate provides answers, they’re automatically scored and ranked based on customized criteria. That way you can quickly take filtering one step further and trim your list of candidates back to the best of the best.

If you currently use an ATS, check to see if it offers this feature, as it can significantly reduce the time you spend looking through resumes.

Automate Candidate Reminders and Status Updates

Keeping candidates in the loop with interview reminders and status updates about where they’re at in the hiring process is important for providing a positive experience. But if you’re doing everything manually like sending email or text updates one by one, it’s can be a huge time drainer. Not to mention it can eat up a ton of “cognitive bandwidth” having to remember who you need to reach out to and when.

Another way to automate sales recruiting is to provide candidates with reminders and status updates with software like Pipefy.

One of the core features of Pipefy is workflow automation where you can set it to automatically send status updates and follow-ups. You can, for example, use email templates for outreach based on different scenarios. Information is pre-populated so that it’s customized for each candidate and the position they’re applying for. And when used at scale, companies have been able to reduce their time-to-hire by up to 80%.

Use One-Way Interviewing

Interviewing candidates is obviously a critical part of the sales recruiting process. But I think we can agree that it’s also one of the most time-consuming. With many interviews easily lasting 30 minutes, this can quickly eat through your day, especially if you’re interviewing several candidates at a time. Besides the actual interview itself, you also have to prep, assess the results, and more.

An absolute godsend for automating this part of sales recruiting is one-way interviewing where candidates record answers to a series of questions for you to look over later on. Not only does this allow you to get the critical answers you need from candidates, it lets you move through the process much quicker, and you can batch your reviews to accelerate things even more.

There are several platforms you can use for one-way interviewing, but one of my personal favorites is Tribepad, which features:

  • “Unlimited multi-media questions
  • A searchable template library
  • A drag-and-drop interview builder
  • Heaps of configuration and branding”

Record Your Training Program

For my final strategy, let me first say that even the best-recorded training program probably won’t be able to match a one-on-one or even a group training program led by a sales manager. And while you may not be able to cover all the intricacies and nuances, a recorded training program can still be highly effective for explaining key points and getting reps up to speed.

It’s just a matter of being realistic about what you can adequately cover in a series of training videos and properly executing. For example, giving new sales reps an overview of how to use your CRM software or project management solution can usually be efficiently done through recorded videos. So can going over scheduling, company culture, expectations, and other topics you would cover in a welcome packet. An added plus is that your reps have a dedicated resource they can reference at any time whenever questions arise.

As for platforms, I find Loom to be one of the best if you just need to record some basic videos.

Automate Sales Recruiting While Maintaining the Utmost Quality

Recruiting a talented team of sales professionals is a necessary precursor to success. But it can also be a big time drainer without the right plan in place. Luckily, technology has been a game changer for sales recruiting, and there are numerous ways to get more done in less time without it compromising the quality of your hires. In fact, it’s often the opposite where brands that intelligently use automation see better results than those that don’t.

To see HireDNA in action, reach out to us today for a free demo.

Hiring Your First Sales Leader? Here’s How to Handle the Process Strategically.

Posted on by hiredna

Choosing your first sales leader is exciting, but it can also be a little nerve-racking. With so much riding on their success, it’s a critical position you want to find the ideal candidate for.

In this post, I’ll explain how to handle the process strategically and provide helpful tools to dramatically increase your chances of choosing the right sales leader.

Identify Critical Traits

Before you do anything, it’s important to figure out exactly what you’re looking for in your first sales leader, as this will impact your job ads, interview questions, and more. While what is considered ideal traits will vary from company to company, there are nine attributes to look for across the board, including trustworthiness, being a natural motivator, and being an excellent communicator.

This graphic is a great starting point for coming up with your list.

9 Traits of a Sales Leader | The Sales Hunter

Keep in mind that you’ll also want to consider cultural fit and what type of personality will mesh the best with your existing sales team. Once you’ve got a tangible list of traits ironed out, the rest of the hiring process should be a lot easier. This brings us to the next step in the process.

Create an Ideal Candidate Profile

Based on the information you’ve generated from identifying critical traits (which you can think of as a rough draft), use it to create a fully fleshed-out ideal candidate profile. The more detailed the better, as it will provide a clear template to draw from when later assessing sales leader candidates for a position.

Along with the attributes I discussed earlier, some elements to include in your ideal candidate profile can include:

  • Education
  • Selling and leadership experience
  • Industry experience
  • Candidate demographic
  • Location
  • Hard skills
  • Soft Skills

One thing I’d like to point out here is that some sales recruiters get too hung up on looking for candidates with industry experience that they miss out on potentially A+ talent. I’ve found that, in many cases, candidates with proven sales and leadership abilities can make for excellent hires even if they don’t necessarily have direct industry experience. My philosophy is that it’s easier to train on products than it is on sales and leadership.

So this is something to keep in mind if you find a candidate who looks promising but lacks direct industry experience. Check out this article for more info.

Build Your Talent Pipeline

Now that you have a clear idea of the type of candidate you want to be your first sales leader, it’s time to build a talent pipeline to help you procure a true rockstar. There are several ways to go about this, including:

  • Recruitment marketing on job boards
  • Paid advertising on search engines and social media
  • Recruiting internally
  • Getting referrals from current employees
  • Email newsletters
  • Engaging passive candidates

Like any other aspect of sales recruiting, building a talent pipeline will likely require trial and error until you find the right formula. A great way to streamline this part of recruiting is to use a platform like HireDNA.

HireDNA used powerful technology that identifies and engages both active and passive candidates that match your ideal candidate profile, allowing you to cast the widest possible net with maximum efficiency. With it, you can tap into a national network of experienced sales recruiters to quickly fill your pipeline.

So if you’re struggling in this area, using a platform like HireDNA can be a huge help.

Screen and Assess Candidates

At this point, you should know the critical traits you’re looking for in a sales leader, have developed an ideal candidate profile, and have a talent pipeline in place. And that’s half the battle. Now, it’s time to screen candidates and evaluate them based on your specific criteria to find the right fit for your unique selling environment.

Given how overwhelming this phase can be, I usually suggest using technology to streamline it to A) save time and B) increase your odds of success. One way to go about this is by using an applicant tracking system (ATS) to filter through candidates and organize them so you can narrow your talent pool down to the best of the best. G2 has a great resource that covers some of the top applicant tracking systems.

Another way is to use HireDNA to screen and assess candidates using data and science to better predict the likelihood of success. This looks at numerous core competencies like motivation and desire to determine the top candidates for a sales leadership role to ensure you’re never “going on a hunch,” but rather making assessments based on concrete data.

To save even more time, HireDNA delivers qualified candidates right to your inbox for maximum convenience.

Interview and Hire

From this point, the heavy lifting is done. Now it’s just a matter of shortlisting the cream of the crop and interviewing the candidates that check the right boxes.

Note that interviewing for your first sales leader position will likely look a little different than if you were interviewing for a regular sales rep position and will be more extensive. Venture capital firm Stage 2 Capital suggests conducting two interviews, with the first being with your CEO/founder and marketing leader.

Then, if they pass their first round, the second interview will be a group meeting with your sales team and executive team and another with your CEO/founder.

This, of course, may not be the exact formula you want to take, but I think this is a good template to borrow from. And you can always refine your strategy later on when you hire again.

Finding the Perfect First Sales Leader

A sales leader is a pivotal position, and whoever you hire will have a ripple effect throughout the rest of your company. So you want to get it right. By taking a strategic approach as I’ve outlined above, you can methodically move through the process to ensure a strong candidate pool and narrow it down until you have a winner.

To learn more about how HireDNA can help you find sales leaders and schedule a live demo, reach out to us today.

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.

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.