Good salespeople are hard to find. Anyone who applies for a sales job must think of themselves as being pretty persuasive. So, it’s no surprise that when you look for quality salespeople, you’ll find no shortage of candidates who know how to sell themselves. But that doesn’t mean they know how to sell your product to your customers. And considering the significant amount of time and resources you’ll be investing to hire, onboard, and train potential candidates, it’s imperative that you can identify the difference. In addition, the turnover rate for salespeople is extraordinarily high. That’s why it’s wise to take the time to identify the qualities that will put candidates over the top and make sure the person you hire is the right fit long term. Because if you hire the wrong person, you won’t just lose the time and money you’ve invested in the hiring process; you’ll also lose the relationships and sales a better candidate would have brought you.
IN FACT, IT’S HARDER THAN EVER
But if weeding through a million charismatic potential candidates was beginning to worry you, there’s a more significant issue that might make that search even harder. With weekly jobless claims tumbling to historic lows and the “Great Resignation” giving job seekers more options and better bargaining power, you may not actually end up having a million options to choose from. And if your workload starts to outpace your ability to hire, employees who are subject to understaffed conditions are proving to be twice as likely to quit their job. All this adds up to an unfavorable situation for employers looking to staff and retain a workforce of talented and hard-working salespeople. Industry insiders even estimate that in today’s challenging hiring environment, it can take up to 90 days to find a qualified salesperson.
GOOD SALES TEAMS ARE LIKE ROME
In that, they are not built in a day. Regardless of the current climate, if you want to find the best candidates, you have a lengthy process in front of you. Once hired, the first 30 days of any sales person’s tenure will be spent training. After training, it will take anywhere from 3-6 months to develop their sales pipeline. So, you need to start looking for salespeople way before you need them. In fact, we think you should go even further. Shift your mindset to see hiring not as a short-term problem but as a long-term investment. Identify the right type of person and constantly be on the lookout for them. Build a pool of talent before you have vacancies. Don’t post a job listing and then hurry to hire someone. Be willing to wait for the candidate that checks all the right boxes. But start looking for them — now.
Looking for someone to help you attract and retain quality salespeople? Contact OSR today to find out how we help companies like yours build winning sales teams.