If you’ve been asked to recruit the perfect sales team, don’t panic. It’s a tall order to attract the right sales candidates. But if you follow a logical plan and use the right tools, your chances of success will dramatically increase.

The Job Description

Before you start the recruiting process, review the job description you plan to post. If your organization is growing rapidly, the responsibilities of your new sales reps may be different from what their predecessors were doing. You may have instituted a different work process since the pandemic started. That change should be reflected in the job description. If you expect your reps to work primarily from a remote location, specify those details in the job description.

You may also want to restructure your department. It may be time to hire your first ever sales engineer. If you’re not certain about the typical sales engineer’s responsibilities, work with an HR professional to decide what you want this person to do. Establishing responsibilities will help you determine salary ranges and may help you understand how much experience your new sales engineer should have. 

The bottom line is that a well-​written job description will attract high quality job seekers.

Fielding Candidates

Sales managers use a variety of tactics to recruit candidates. Networking serves as the top method (56%) for sales managers. If they’ve been watching an individual in another organization, they may try to convince them to apply. 17% of sales managers have no qualms about poaching reps, according to our research.

It’s also helpful to talk with colleagues in professional associations about potential candidates. The drawback with that strategy is managers may equate a suggestion with a recommendation. You can’t assume that a rep who has done well at one company will become your next rain maker.

Assessments

You can increase the chances of hiring great sales reps by requiring each candidate take a sales assessment test. The results of the assessment will reveal whether a candidate is a hunter or a farmer. And you’ll know if the prospective rep who looks great on paper has the ability to conduct a good needs analysis.

Using the assessment results, you can also determine how well your candidate will do using your sales methodology. If you favor the Challenger model, you’ll want to know if a candidate is a hard worker or a lone wolf.  You’ll also know how a candidate is likely to behave when they are under stress.

Interview

The interview is a can’t‑miss step when you recruit the perfect sales team. Too many managers go into the interview blind. They decide they will ‘wing it’ based on how the candidate answers questions. Some amount of flexibility might be good while interviewing. But you should take the opportunity to question candidates based on their assessment results. If the details show they have trouble closing deals, present them with a situation and ask them to explain how they’d see it to completion.

You won't often have a chance to recruit the person sales team. Use all of the best tools to increase your success rate.