Pre-interview stage
Sales is arguably the most important department of any business, although marketeers would disagree with this bold statement. Therefore, it is imperative that you recruit the best sales team possible to ensure your business achieves its strategic goals.
Planning is important when you are embarking on a recruitment drive, so you need to make sure that you devise an accurate job description, you know the different positions you need to fill and the type of candidates you are looking for.
The job description needs to reflect the duties and responsibilities of the position you are advertising. You will need to adjust the description accordingly if you are recruiting for different positions within the sales team.
Additionally, you need to clarify exactly what you expect from a candidate in relation to professional experience, qualifications and knowledge. By researching the sector you operate in you will be able to find out what salaries your competitors are paying for similar roles.
Where you advertise for recruitment is important and the more mediums you use, the greater number of applicants you will receive, and the calibre of candidates is also directly related to this decision. Some examples of where you can advertise include specialist recruiters, job sites, trade journals, social media and LinkedIn.
The interview process
Once you’ve sifted through all the applicants you can make an initial shortlist of prospective candidates and organise telephone interviews as the first stage of the interview process. Telephone interviews are ideal for selecting sales candidates because, if successful, their role will often involve phoning prospects and customers.
During a telephone interview you will get an insight into how comfortable candidates sound on the phone. Although you can allow for some nervousness because of the situation, you should be able to decide whether their voice sounds strong, clear and authoritative or is it weak and difficult to understand. This type of interview should give you enough information as to who has the necessary qualities to get through to the next stage of the recruitment process.
For any candidates that you thought were ideal candidates before the telephone interview but didn’t quite match your expectations then give them the benefit of doubt and include them in the final shortlist where the real screening begins.
Another method of interviewing a large number of candidates quickly is by conducting a group interview which demonstrates team working skills and leadership qualities.
The final shortlist
The face to face interview process needs to be structured – where each candidate is asked the same question and the interviewers assess each response afterwards. Asking the correct questions is very important because the questions should be tailored specifically to towards your criteria checklist. Remember that the questions shouldn’t purely be about having the necessary professional experience and skills for the role because, surprisingly, the main reason new employees fail is because they don’t fit in with the culture of a business. Questions that should reduce the risk of this happening include:
Why do you want to work for this company?
What is the most important aspect to you in a job?
And how do you manage a harmonious work-life balance?
Along with questions, candidates should be given a task that mirrors what a salesperson would do in the actual job. This has been proven, when used alongside a structured interview, to make the hiring process more successful in selecting the right client.
A winning formula of experience and skills
Remember when selecting your final group of candidates that teams work more effectively and are more robust when they are made up of a mixture of different skill sets and experience levels. An inexperienced salesperson that has the necessary drive and skills will develop faster working alongside a more experienced team member and will still be an integral part of the sales department. Sales is renowned for having a high percentage of staff turnover, so, if and when members leave your business it shouldn’t have a significant impact on the business if you have a team with a diverse range of skills and experience.
Once you have selected the successful candidates remember to check their referees personally and make the offer immediately, because a talented sales team is a valuable asset to any business, and you wouldn’t want a competitor snapping them up before they sign the contract. Once everything has been signed you can look forward to putting your perfect sales team to work and watch your business grow.
The Business Butler Expert Panel in your area
And remember, if you still need help, speak to our Expert Panel in your area: https://www.businessbutlerswansea.com/business-experts/ Whether it’s any sort of recruiting advice or HR issues, we have Business Butler Verified Experts near you for every area of expertise. All initial consultations are completely free.