Stick an ad in the paper, write a catchy description for digital job boards, share the position on LinkedIn, and wait for the right sales candidate to walk through the door. That’s the sales hiring process many of us know and might be how we welcomed our most recent sales hire, but it’s outdated. Passive sales recruitment was born when Madison would knock on your door and ask if you’re interested in selling your house and Ben rubbed shoulders with everyone on the convention floor.
When the world was catapulted into the digital sphere, the role of the salesperson evolved, but many salespeople didn’t adapt and a lot were dissolved. Live tradeshows were abandoned, meetings moved into the virtual space, and driving to see a client in person became a thing of the past, much like Madison’s door-to-door prospecting. While some of this will return to normal, sales will be different moving forward.
In today’s market, the top salespeople, or Hybrid 3.0, know how to sell products and services virtually. They don’t need to grab coffee with the client or fly across the continent to shake hands to close deals. All they need is an internet connection and the ability to communicate effectively over email and in video conferences. Those are the salespeople you need on your team today.
But how do you find a Hybrid 3.0 and convince them to sell for you instead? With a revamped sales hiring process. We’ve created the C.I.A. method to help you attract the best salesperson for the job.
And here’s how you use it.
Creative
The best salespeople are already working. That means the age of passive recruitment where the right candidate applies to a static ad in the newspaper or online is over. Backed by an improved sales hiring process, your HR team needs to be creative in its outreach to potential new hires.
If you expect your sales team to prospect leads, your HR team should be doing the same. Sadly, most don’t, and even more actively recruit without sales leadership assistance.
Innovative
Ask yourself, “Does our compensation plan reflect the new reality?”
One of the most common issues we see in the sales hiring process is a pay scale that doesn’t match the job description. Salespeople today are expected to do more work across more channels (zoom, LinkedIn, in person, etc.) than those of the past. If you want to attract the right
salesperson, reflect the shift to digital in your job posting and pay for these new skillsets. Hybrid 3.0 knows what to do and how to do it. They demand and deserve better pay than Larry the Laggard 2.0.
As an example, if there’s a moratorium on cold prospecting, asking the sales team to smother current clients without changing their pay structure will have little impact. Instead, reward your team for upselling and cross-selling to existing clients with an innovative compensation plan. Does the behaviour you want to see show up in their compensation plan?
Agile
To attract an agile Hybrid 3.0 salesperson, you need an agile sales hiring process. Agility looks different for each company. For some, it means flexible hours while for others it means the ability to work remotely, or perhaps both. Are you and your organization prepared to be agile? Or are you stuck in 2.0 mode with Larry?
But don’t underestimate the power of immersing a new salesperson in your corporation. If culture is important to your business, consider having your new hire start in the office before transitioning to a more agile position.
Bad sales hires are expensive. To attract the right, Hybrid 3.0 candidate, you need to be creative in your recruitment, innovative with your compensation plan, and agile to meet your new hire’s workflow needs.
Learn how to identify and hire the best salesperson for your business by reading our blog, 3 steps to hire your best salesperson in today’s world.
Are you ready to leave Larry the Laggard behind and implement a sales hiring process to attract a Hybrid 3.0 salesperson that can ramp up quickly and connect your product or service with new and existing clients? Contact us today to learn more about our process. We guarantee your new hire and set them up for success.
Photo by creditscoregeek.com / flickr.com