Sales people wanted - experienced sales person - Sales Recruitment

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Sales Recruitment - making the right people choices

Sales Recruitment In these times of “credit crunch”, apparently impending doom and gloom, recession, or even (?) depression, the decision to invest in the appointment of additional sales resources, is a significant one for most companies, especially companies in the Small and Medium sized market sector (SME’s).

It is, therefore, more critical than ever that the correct recruitment choice is made. The costs of an appointment mistake to an SME business can be crippling and at Aorta Sales we are often called in to recover the situation following not just one, but two, three, and in one recent case four hiring mistakes. Each one, of course, costs thousands of pounds in wasted salary, car expenses, desk costs as well as time that can’t be recovered. Add to this the opportunity cost of the actual sales that the correct resource, if appointed, would have made plus the negative effect of the undermining of confidence and goodwill that the business suffers, as staff turnover (and lack of discernable sales success) is seen to increase and costs add up beyond measure.

There is no short cut to effective recruitment, yes you can be lucky and there are people who have a good track record of recognising excellent sales people and know almost immediately that they will make the grade. Many of us pride ourselves on being a good judge of character. Enjoy it while you can. One wrong sales recruit undoes at least 5 good ones !!

We all know the old adage about there only being one chance to make a first impression and most managers make up their minds within the first two to three minutes of meeting a candidate. Worse still for an SME Managing Director who is not used to recruiting and managing sales people; his or her assessment of whether the individual is “right” or not, may actually come down to whether they are the same personality type as the Managing Director / Owner themselves. Not an ideal solution. As, I believe, Einstein said “The kind of thinking that got you into the situation you are in; is not the kind of thinking which is sufficient to get you out of it”.

Thorough due diligence of any new applicant is necessary, intuition and personal judgement only reduce the likelihood of a successful appointment.

Some fundamentals; first of all. Number one: the job specification. Take the trouble to define and write down (really think about!, don’t just copy some old document) just what the ideal candidate should know, the role and responsibility they will be required to carry out and the personal attributes that will make the difference between success and failure. Make sure that potential candidates have the chance to review this before coming to interview, in this way some unsuitable candidates will rule themselves out of the process, and if you are using a Recruitment Agency it is fundamental in allowing them to do a better job.

In addition to the job description and the interview, in my view, some attention should be paid to personal capability. Fundamental ability around the “three R’s” are often overlooked in the twenty-first Century, but the spell checker and calculator only go so far in protecting the image and professionalism that you probably want to project.

The salary and commission plan are also important elements which will contribute to defining the future success (or otherwise) of the appointed sales resources. Remuneration and incentive plans are massive subjects in their own right (call us for help if you need it), but perhaps the most important element and one of the most frequently overlooked is to absolutely ensure that the individual rewards match the objectives and rewards of the company itself. So often, we see compensation plans which reward the individual whilst the company suffers.

Beyond that, it gets tougher as we week to evaluate sales competence. Putting aside the tissue of cv fabrication and the references (if taken up) from old colleagues and family friends, how will the individual perform in the cold light of day and the heat of the battle?

At Aorta Sales Limited and our sister company SalesSense we have some significant tools for measuring sales competency, including our highly acclaimed Sales Exam.

Take a look now, or call / contact us for more information.

For any questions related to sales, sales recruitment, sales support, in fact, sales anything!! email SalesHelp@aortasales.co.uk or telephone 0845 330 7992 and ask for “The Sales Guru” (we know who we mean! – but if you want to save his blushes and ask by name, then it’s John Bycroft!) who will either answer all of your questions, or point you in the direction you need.

An holistic approach to Sales - Aorta Sales Limited

Jon Davey is a Social Media Director based in Windsor, Berkshire UK.

These short videos aim to both educate those interested on how to boost their social media profile, both online and offline, while at the same time helping Jon's own profile by being indexed rapidly by the search engines and YouTube.

Social Media is made up of two words ... social & ... you've got it media ! This means that it is not just about online marketing, offline is key as well. Your goal should perhaps be to recognised online by your industry and locally offline.

Please review one or two of the videos below, score them on You Tube and add your comments ... it all helps ... they are in reverse order of popularity when last checked inorder to help the lesser clicked!!

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