Recruiting for Sales Positions for Your Company

If you’ve worked in corporate America long enough, you’ve probably heard the phrase, “Sales keeps the lights on.” There’s a grain of truth to that, but making the wrong sales hires or losing great candidates to competitors can depress morale, impact client relationships and damage your bottom line, whether it’s quarter- or fiscal year-end, especially at the enterprise level. On the other hand, for small businesses and start-ups looking to attract great sales talent, it’s often hard to compete on salary alone against larger, more established brands with deeper pockets. Recruiting for sales positions in today’s highly competitive, candidate-driven market can be one of the toughest assignments for talent acquisition teams and hiring managers. With that in mind, Glassdoor asked 1,000 male and female sales professionals about their job search plans and how they like to be recruited. The full survey results are collected in our Resourceful Recruiter’s Guide to Recruiting Sales, a free PDF you can download and share. Beyond compensation As it turns out, money isn’t everything to sales professionals, despite the general perception they’re only in it for the “the deal” and commission plan while humming an “always be closing” mantra. In fact, our research revealed that seventy-eight percent would likely accept less to work at a company selling a compelling product or service. That’s good news for scrappier, more nimble businesses able to a dangle a potentially game-changing technology carrot in front of candidates. Forward-thinking recruiters are also beginning to see how they can leverage other factors, including social media and company culture when promoting open sales positions. For example, seventy-one percent of sales professionals said they would take less to join an organization with a great culture. And forty-nine percent find social media outreach from other sales professionals at the company hiring an effective way to learn about new job opportunities. Meanwhile, here’s the naked truth on what would cause your sales pros to start looking elsewhere. Whom does sales trust? We also looked at the top influencers you need on your side to successfully recruit for sales positions, from friends to former co-workers. Eighty-six percent of sales professionals are more likely to apply to a company that a friend recommends. In addition, when sales professionals are making job decisions, they look to the following sources for more information:

• Ninety-seven percent read online reviews about a company before accepting a job offer
• Fifty-eight percent trust former work colleagues
• Fifty-one percent trust current work colleagues

Do’s and Don’ts for recruiters Seventy-six percent of sales pros told us they value recruiters that are transparent about the pros and cons of different companies. Some of the anecdotal comments we collected were quite compelling. Here are few examples: “Mention up front the benefits of switching from current company. If compensation offered is not more than what I’m making now, I would love for recruiters to mention why the move is still a better opportunity for me.” “Don’t pester me to call you and then disappear.” “Don’t embellish the job or the opportunities for the position. Be honest and forthright.” Gender differences Perhaps not surprisingly, there are deltas between male and female sales professionals’ compensation preferences. Knowing these can lend recruiters a strategic advantage in attracting and retaining talent based on gender. As our chart shows, commission, company perks and health care are more important for women than men.

To close the deal In summary, if you’re a hiring manager or recruiter, to recruit your next sales professional, we have three tips: 1) Be transparent about the pros and cons of the company and open position; 2) Make sure your base salary is competitive for the industry you are targeting (after all, compensation does count); and 3) Highlight the values of what they will be selling at your company. If you need additional help getting started, then here's an account executive job description template. Next Step: Grab our free Resourceful Recruiter’s Guide to Recruiting Sales, packed real-world lessons for attracting and retaining best-fit sales talent, whether you’re an established enterprise or up-and-coming small business.