Sales Recruitment - the perils and the pitfalls!

Within sales recruitment there is often a tendency for the focus to remain on one or two strong players with the expectation that with these individuals in place, things will ‘sort themselves out’. Unfortunately, this ‘quick fix’ solution very rarely works. In fact, for sales recruitment to be successful, candidates must be both right for the position and fit into any existing team well.  

All candidates, including star players, must be carefully managed. There should be plenty of scope for them to grow and develop within the organisation. Involving top candidates in pitches and significant projects will increase loyalty and help them to feel a valuable part of the company — and transform their role from a job into a career.

Enabling existing and new sales recruits to reach their full potential is certainly one important aspect of team building that works when everyone pulls together. This approach will need to be monitored continuously to ensure it is working as expected and that the team (and as a result the organisation), is progressing. As part of the monitoring process, it is important to identify where current practices are ineffective and to make changes where appropriate. Careful analysis of which processes are not working and why will assist with decision making.

Hiring the wrong candidate for a sales recruitment position could potentially cost recruitment agencies in London thousands of pounds. What is more, poor hiring choices could lose an organisation valuable clients. It is vital, therefore, that a cautious approach to recruitment is adopted. Sales professionals are customer-facing and must have the ability to interact in such a way as to portray a positive company image. The wrong candidate could negatively impact the corporate reputation, which is subsequently difficult to counteract.

The very best sales people are few and far between. They are difficult to find and may be even harder to recruit. Once they have been recruited, there will be a fight to keep hold of them. However, ensuring there are lots of fresh opportunities within the company will go some way towards maintaining this objective. Effective induction and additional ongoing training and coaching are also important.