what recruiters need to know about saas sales job

Learn How to Find and Hire the Best SaaS Sales Candidates

The U.S. is home to over 17,000 SaaS companies, leading the global standings by a staggering margin. The United Kingdom and Canada are tied for second place, boasting 2,000 SaaS companies within their borders. This remarkable disparity positions the U.S. as the hub of the SaaS industry, creating the conditions for a fiercely competitive job market.

Of all the roles that play a part in the success of SaaS businesses, sales positions, from account executives to sales managers, are among the most vital. Not only are SaaS sales roles essential amidst an increasingly competitive marketplace, but they are also among the more challenging jobs to recruit and retain. In fact, the average window to engage a SaaS salesperson between jobs is a mere ten days. 

So, with the SaaS market expected to climb in the coming decade, it’s more important than ever for recruiters to understand the shifting expectations and nuances of hiring SaaS sales positions. This pocket guide to recruiting SaaS sales positions covers essential tips and insights to help recruiters place top talent.

Common SaaS Sales Roles Every Recruiter Should Know

High-functioning sales teams must operate within a seamless system, with well-defined roles and clean hand-offs between each stage of the sales funnel. This level of efficiency and clarity is essential in SaaS sales teams, as sales tools, norms, and roles are constantly in flux while the industry matures.

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Here are three common SaaS sales jobs integral to every enterprise: 

1) Sales Development Representative (SDR)

Sales Development Representatives are primarily responsible for prospecting qualified leads, operating as inside reps focused on outbound sales opportunities. The sales development representative role calls for problem-solving skills to address objections on the fly, a capacity for empathetic interpersonal communication, and a patient persistence that isn’t easily deterred or deflated. An SDR, also called a lead generation specialist, engages potential sales-qualified leads, alleviates their apprehensions, and moves them into the next stage of the funnel through a hand-off with an account executive.

SaaS Sales Development Rep Salary – $58,088 + commission (avg)

2) Account Executive (AE)

Account Executives pick up where sales development representatives left off, managing a long list of vetted, qualified accounts. Account executives are the direct line of contact between potential customers and their respective SaaS solutions. This SaaS sales role develops a comprehensive understanding of each account’s unique needs, goals, objections, and success criteria for closing deals and enabling future sales. Account executives play the long game with prospective customers, fostering long-term relationships rooted in understanding and problem-solving.

SaaS Account Executive Salary – $80,531 + commission (avg)

3) Sales Manager

SaaS sales manager jobs are in higher demand than ever due to their significance as leaders in the success of SaaS companies. Sales managers oversee geographic regions instead of lists of specific accounts, building out their regional sales pipeline as they assist in developing adjacent sales channels for account executives. In addition, sales managers cultivate a dynamic customer community around their SaaS solutions, connecting leads with similar challenges and holding meet-ups and networking events to introduce potential customers to existing ones.

SaaS Sales Manager Salary – $110,000 and above plus commission/bonus

Essential Qualifications to Look for in SaaS Sales Candidates

While a degree in a technical field is a nice-to-have for any SaaS sales candidate, it isn’t a hard and fast requirement in most cases. A technical background can assist in grasping the subject matter and product knowledge needed to sell effectively. However, sales professionals can acquire this information through onboarding, company training, and field experience. Therefore, SaaS sales recruiters shouldn’t get hung up on candidates’ educational backgrounds. Instead, their focus should rest on soft skills and past sales performance.

Soft skills are essential and challenging to identify and assess in SaaS sales applicants. Ideally, candidates should possess a combination of soft skills like attention to detail, organized record-keeping, persistent follow-ups, a results-driven mindset, time management, professionalism, interpersonal communication, and rapport-building. In addition, candidates’ communication style, demeanor, follow-through, enthusiasm, and curiosity are all better predictors of their potential in a SaaS sales role than their educational background or listed accolades.

Tips for Sourcing and Attracting Top SaaS Sales Talent

SaaS sales recruiters have a plethora of options at their disposal for sourcing, attracting, and matching talent with opportunity. The bottom line? Recruiters should look for talent in their natural digital habitats – social media platforms, job boards, and professional social circles.

Did you know that 92% of recruiters globally use social media platforms to source top talent? Job seekers are flocking to their go-to social media platforms, like Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter, to scope potential opportunities. So, why not meet them there? An easy way to start your social media recruiting efforts is to observe successful strategies from other industry players – how they use social platforms to network, post, and engage with potential candidates. 

While cutting-edge recruitment methods, like AI-driven sourcing, matching, and screening tools, help automate the time-consuming elements of SaaS sales recruiting, the tried-and-true digital job board is still the ideal starting point. Job boards fall into two categories – universal and niche. Universal job boards, like Indeed and CareerBuilder, cut across industries and job types, while niche boards, like Dice, focus on a particular sector like tech, design, etc.

Referral programs are vital to any effective SaaS sales strategy regarding tried-and-true recruitment methods. Setting up an employee referral program is straightforward – set the referral rules, provide incentives to staff, and watch as qualified candidates fill the funnel. Referred candidates are significantly more invested in the target roles because the opportunity came through their professional social circle. Employees referring friends or peers have a vested interest in their success and thus won’t initiate a referral without considering long-term fit.

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How to Interview and Assess Candidates for SaaS Sales Positions

Remember those soft skills from earlier? The interview phase of the recruitment process is where those skills get assessed. Pointed, thought-provoking, and well-crafted questions are the tools recruiting managers use to determine a candidate’s fit for the role. Here are a few of our favorite interview questions for SaaS sales positions.

General Questions:

  • What are your weaknesses? How do you overcome them?
  • Describe something you’re deeply passionate about. Why?
  • What are the qualities of a great sales leader?
  • How do you deal with stress?
  • How do you prioritize your work?

SaaS-Specific Questions:

  • Tell us about the sales teams you’ve worked with successfully.
  • What are the most important sales metrics for you to look at daily? Weekly? Monthly?
  • What does a typical day look like for you as a sales leader or Individual Contributor?
  • How do you structure a pipeline meeting with your team as a sales leader?
  • How have you used data when making leadership decisions?

Deep-Dive Questions:

  • What would you do if you discovered that one of your top-performing representatives sends emails with consistently poor grammar and extensive typos?
  • What is your general approach when managing team members who are exceptional performers?
  • What are the fundamental metrics for a SaaS business?
  • What is the biggest challenge currently facing our business, and what can you do to address it?
  • How is selling SaaS different from other types of sales you’ve conducted?

Finding SaaS Talent

Want to ensure your SaaS sales team is poised for success? Apply the knowledge you’ve gained from this guide to source, attract, and retain top talent.

Need additional help? Create an account with Rainmakers and start browsing top candidates today!

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Recruit With Confidence

To fill sales positions successfully in 2023, hiring managers and recruiters must stay on top of the most recent trends and insights in the job market. Even before COVID-19, the work landscape has changed, and what was once considered standard is no longer the case. In addition, many employees have different priorities and expectations regarding work.

To attract the best candidates for your open sales positions, knowing what current research has revealed is essential. You can also benefit greatly from the assistance of a top sales recruitment agency at your side. 

Here is some of what you need to know about hiring today.

1) The Job Market Favors Candidates

The first thing to be aware of is that most employers and recruiters have noted that the current job market is heavily candidate-driven. This means job candidates tend to be more in demand and can afford to be choosy when selecting whom they work for. Only about 30% of potential candidates are actively seeking work. The rest are already employed and reportedly not looking to move. This means you’ll have to make your offers attractive to entice them to work for you. 

2) Mobile Devices Drive Most Recruitment

Most applicants look for work using their mobile devices when actively searching for job searching. Nearly half of them do this every day. To let potential employees know about your open sales positions, having those positions listed on venues with easy mobile access is essential. Similarly, many active job searchers also use mobile devices to submit applications. Businesses would do well to see how they can make their hiring process mobile-friendly.

Also, you can leverage social media to help fill open sales positions. Over 80% of companies today use social media for recruiting. According to LinkedIn, over half of all active job searchers look for new jobs on social media such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Therefore, companies must take advantage of the power of social media and the reach of mobile technology to find qualified candidates.

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3) The Millennials Are Here (and Have Been)

According to Forbes, Millennials will comprise three-quarters of the workforce by 2025. However, 25% of those would reasonably be seen as job hoppers. To retain talented employees, no matter the generation, it’s essential to understand their needs and what they expect from employers. When hiring managers and sales recruitment agencies take the time to learn what motivates and appeals to employees, they’ll have an easier time retaining them and saving themselves the cost of finding new hires. 

4) Work Location Matters

COVID-19 gave many employees a taste of what alternative work environments can be like. As a result, a majority would like to see remote and hybrid work options continue. Glassdoor reports that 86% of employees today would select more remote work options, even if it’s just part of the time. 

Fortunately, many companies have discovered that remote and hybrid work does not negatively affect productivity or profitability. On the contrary, in general, it’s positively impacted the workforce, even if it’s nontraditional and still unfamiliar with many traditionally-run companies. 

The vast majority of remote workers reported higher productivity and greater job satisfaction. This statistic is getting through to many hiring managers who agree that remote and hybrid work will likely be an ongoing trend, and they need to be prepared to support this when hiring new staff. Upwork even goes so far as to predict that nearly a quarter of the workforce will be working remotely within the next few years. 

5) Workplace Culture Matters a Lot

Considering a company’s culture and values is now a top concern for many job candidates. Unfortunately, many employees are too ready to leave companies that don’t align with their values. LinkedIn reports that 70% of US employees would not put up with a poor workplace culture and that it would be a major reason why they’d change jobs. 

If you highlight your company’s beliefs and culture in your job description, on social media, and on your website, you’ll be more likely to draw in prospects who fit your company’s culture. This is especially true if you promote and follow through with a positive, inclusive work culture that fosters a sense of trust and sincere acknowledgment of hard work.

6) Diversity Is Key

Job seekers increasingly expect businesses to be more inclusive and diverse in all areas. Employers should use varied hiring techniques to attract job applicants since there are many advantages to diversity and inclusivity. Forbes reports that businesses with more diverse executive teams would likely experience above-average profits. 

Diverse companies also tend to outperform their less diverse peers and experience greater innovation and creativity, leading to better decision-making and a more positive work environment. In addition, according to the Harvard Business Review, companies with greater diversity in race, gender, and sexuality are 70% more likely to appeal to a broader market demographic. 

This is not lost on job seekers. Most report that a diverse workforce is a significant factor when evaluating a company’s job offer.

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7) Have a Great Onboarding Process

Finally, once you’ve found the perfect candidate for your open sales position, having an effective onboarding process is crucial—so much so that it can improve new hire retention by over 80% and boost productivity by over 70%. 

Building solid relationships with candidates is important for more than just the hiring procedure; it also affects how they view the business as a whole. From the very first day in a new position, an effective onboarding process aids in retaining and engaging staff. 

A lack of training may leave new employees ill-prepared for their jobs, lowering productivity, satisfaction, and retention. Therefore, the emphasis should be on practical onboarding training and solid communication to increase staff retention and get them motivated and productive.

Rainmakers: Your Top-Tier Sales Recruiting Agency

A company’s level of success is closely correlated with the level of skill its salespeople possess. To assist in guiding your business toward greater growth and profitability, think about speaking with an established sales recruiting firm like Rainmakers.

If you need help finding top sales talent for your company, quickly create a free profile with Rainmakers and start connecting with candidates!

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Invest In Your Sales Team

Working with a sales recruiting firm can provide various advantages to businesses of all sizes, both financially and in terms of operations. For example, they can increase cost efficiency, hire better candidates, and allocate resources more effectively.

Your decision to hire the services of an experienced sales recruitment agency will depend on various factors such as budget, urgency, positions needed, and your in-house capabilities. Outsourcing the task of hiring is often the best solution.

Here’s why.

Access To Top-Tier Passive Candidates

Because top-tier prospects are frequently not actively looking for work, they are less likely to respond to typical outbound recruitment efforts, such as social media posts and job advertisements. Therefore, using the services of a recruiter allows for a more direct line of access to high-quality candidates and provides greater value to the hiring process.

Access to a Larger Number of Qualified Candidates

One of the most significant advantages sales recruitment firms offers is the access they provide to a massive and consistently expanding candidate pool. In addition, experienced recruiters are always working to build their professional networks, which is one of the reasons why they can attract top-tier talent. Unfortunately, in-house recruitment teams may receive a different volume of responses for a job posting due to this lack of connections.

Comprehensive Market Knowledge

Professional recruiting agencies possess in-depth expertise about various industries, local employment conditions, staffing and recruiting trends, and other relevant topics. A skilled recruiter can also be an excellent consultant, offering first-hand, real-world knowledge that is not readily available to many in-house recruiters. This knowledge represents a significant advantage of working with an outside recruiter.

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More Efficient Recruiting, Screening, and Hiring

Because professional sales recruiting firms have access to an extensive network, this enables them to act promptly when identifying and vetting qualified candidates. Recruitment agencies maintain relationships with tens of thousands of passive applicants and stay current with their qualifications, education, and accomplishments. They keep detailed notes throughout the interviewing process and can help guide you in selecting top candidates who can be hired with minimal delay.

Eliminate New Hire Turnover

Several costs associated with a vacant sales position take time to be apparent, most notably the time and resources required to recruit, acquire, and train a new salesperson. In addition, if the new hire is unsuccessful in their role, the hiring process needs to start again with someone new. When a sales recruitment firm with a proven track record of success assists in placing the most qualified applicants in the relevant jobs on the first try, it enhances retention rates and reduces turnover.

Expertise On Proven Hiring Techniques

A good sales recruiting agency will use the insights gained from getting to know its clients to improve its recruitment efforts further. This includes learning about each client’s traditions and working conditions to find candidates whose particular skills match the qualifications required by each company.

Removes the Time Sink

When you spend countless hours posting job opportunities, sourcing applicants, and screening resumes, your time and energy divert from essential day-to-day responsibilities. In addition, most front-end hiring operations are handled by recruiting firms, freeing your internal staff to work on activities that will yield higher returns for your company.

Hiring Strategy Advice

How many employees should you hire to achieve your staffing objectives over the upcoming year? What qualities should you seek in a candidate for a particular position regarding skills and personality? Should you look for a traditional hire or a contract employee? If you’re unsure about your responses to these questions, a sales recruitment firm can offer valuable insight and advice to develop your hiring strategy best.

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What Is Recruitment ROI and How Is It Calculated?

Recruitment ROI (return on investment) is a metric that looks at the financial value added to your company compared to how much is spent on salaries and other benefits. Essentially, Recruitment ROI measures employee financial contributions against what it costs to bring them in, onboard them, and get them on your sales team.

HR managers look at several factors to help determine their Recruitment ROI.

Application Complete Rate

This recruiting metric reveals how many candidates complete your initial application form. If the application is shorter, more concise, and asks for more personal information, applicants may keep it. On the other hand, it may indicate a technical difficulty. A low application completion rate could suggest that you need to adjust your hiring process.

Offer Acceptance Rate (OAR)

An offer acceptance rate (OAR) displays how many people accepted your company’s formal job offer letter. A good OAR shows that the recruiting firm or hiring team has filled a pipeline with qualified candidates, had constructive and intensive meetings, thought about the up-and-comer experience, and helped the hiring manager make the right offer to the right candidate.

Time-To-Hire

Time-to-hire describes the time that elapses between a company’s initial contact with a job candidate and their acceptance of the employment offer. This can help measure the success ratios of the HR recruitment staff or recruitment agency.

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Time-To-Fill

Time-to-fill is the total amount of time you need to fill a particular position. This recruitment metric helps you plan your recruitment and can indicate when your recruitment process takes too much time.

Cost-Per-Hire

Cost-per-hire is one of the most important and frequently used hiring and recruiting indicators. Cost per hire is the dollar amount assigned to the company’s financial investments to attract and hire new employees.

Quality-To-Hire

Quality-to-hire measures the value a new hire adds to your sales team based on how much they contribute to your business’s long-term success. To count as a quality hire, the contributions the new hire generates while working for your company should be greater than the costs of recruiting them. Quality-to-hire metrics also help determine the effectiveness of your company’s hiring process.

Recruiting With Rainmakers

To make your job easier when looking for top-tier applications, reviewing resumes, and interviewing, consider working with a top sales recruiting firm such as Rainmakers. Their proven history in matching the best candidates with businesses means everyone wins. In addition, you can keep your staffing costs down with sales employees who are qualified, experienced, and committed to helping your business grow and succeed.

Create a profile with Rainmakers and start finding top candidates for your team!

how to streamline hiring salespeople

From Job Description to Onboarding: Mastering the Sales Team Hiring Process

A successful hire can significantly impact your company’s growth and profitability. Unfortunately, many companies can take over a month to locate, interview, and hire new sales staff because of the pressure to find quality hires. 

The problem is that the time it takes to bring in new sales staff can hinder your sales team’s ability to do their job effectively and result in lost potential revenue for the business. And a flawed hiring process will cost you time and resources.

This is why it’s critical to streamline your hiring procedure to make it more effective and efficient.

Here are some essential things to remember when building a better hiring process.

Know What You Want

Hiring new salespeople involves a significant financial investment. With this in mind, you should first create a detailed and precise job description.

Your ideal description should include particulars about the job profile and the skills necessary for the position. In addition, include related keywords so that your job posting will appear in the relevant searches.

When crafting your job description, consult with the relevant department heads in formulating an appropriate description. Concentrate on the characteristics and qualities you seek in the prospective employee and your performance expectations.

Qualified candidates actively searching for a new sales position will be more likely to apply if the job description is detailed and easy to understand. However, if you don’t take the time to do it right at the beginning, you could wind up spending a significant amount of time vetting a pool of poorly-matched applicants.

Check that the job description includes what expectations and relevant skills you desire for the role.

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Optimize Your Screening Process

Designing a complex round-by-round interview process only sometimes results in the best hiring. Instead, it can bury you in extra work while, at the same time, wearing the candidate out. However, if you plan your hiring process carefully, you can complete more work in less time and swiftly fill your open positions with successful salespeople

Phone screening is often an effective tool for determining if an applicant satisfies your fundamental requirements. You can use this screening to confirm the details listed on the resume, tell them about the position, learn about their expectations regarding compensation, and fill in any information gaps that may have come up. It’s also a great opportunity to “sell” the candidate on the opportunity and get them excited enough to continue the process. 

Moving forward, schedule the one-on-one interviews. Try to schedule up to three in one day. Write out your questions ahead of time and have all your notes prepared in advance. This gives the interviewee a good impression of the company and allows her to be more prepared. You can even share these questions with the applicants so they are better prepared. 

Following this, you can move on to a skills test and schedule an interview with executive-level decision-makers, if applicable.

Make Things Easier for Everyone

Leverage technology that makes organizing meetings, sending reminders, and scheduling candidate interviews simple. You can do this with any number of applicant tracking systems available commercially. Make the data shareable with other hiring team members, so everyone is on the same page.

Consider whether the platform (online or otherwise) the applicant is using to apply for the position is user-friendly and simple to use. Ask yourself if the details you request are necessary for a good interview. Make most of your questions that may not be answered by looking at their resume.

You can also make it easier for the applicant to find the posted sales position, to begin with. Choose a few well-known and related job sites to publish the advertisement on, use social media, and take advantage of professional forums like LinkedIn.

Evaluating the Candidate

Confirm prior employment experience and perform background checks when needed. Verbal and numerical reasoning tests can be helpful, as can tests on logical reasoning. It’s best to ensure that professionals conduct these for the most accurate results. 

Tests and background checks aside, consider the value a candidate will bring to the company and the technical qualifications needed for the position when hiring. Consider the candidate’s attitude and mindset to find a sales team member that will serve your company the best.

how to streamline hiring process

Specific Steps Companies Can Take to Streamline Hiring

You can simplify hiring and build a positive candidate experience by streamlining your process and respecting everyone’s time. Here are the specific steps to take:

  1. Recruitment – Go to where the candidates are. Check LinkedIn and social media, or use the talents of a professional sales recruitment agency.
  2. Screening – Choose the applicants you wish to spend time interviewing. Not every applicant who performs well during the screening process will be hireable.
  3. Interviews – The goal of the interview is to learn more about the applicant and decide if they are a good fit. The typical difficulties at this stage include first-impression bias, poor communication, failure to prepare targeted questions, and ineffective use of technology.
  4. Hiring – According to research, the time it takes to make a job offer after an interview is more than a month, which can, unfortunately, lower acceptance rates by 16%. Look to reduce the time it takes to hire new sales staff to stay competitive.
  5. Onboarding – Onboarding gives new employees their first authentic taste of a typical day at your company. Successful onboarding boosts worker satisfaction, engagement, and retention.

Finding Top Talent with Rainmakers

The process of hiring top-tier salespeople should be a manageable burden. But, at the same time, successful hiring will greatly impact your business’s culture and success. 

This is where you should consider the help of a professional sales recruitment firm for your hiring needs. An experienced sales recruiting agency such as Rainmakers can help guide your company to further growth and profit by finding and matching the very best sales candidates with your company. 

Ready to start building your dream sales team? Create a free account with Rainmakers and start browsing candidates!

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Streamline Your Sales Hiring with a Sales Recruiter

Finding quality tech sales representatives or management can take work. There’s a high demand for top talent, and many skilled prospective candidates may be currently satisfied with where they are. You must find that talent, reach out, and draw them to your company.

It’s essential for your business’s success to source top talent on your team. The issue is that many small and medium-sized enterprises don’t know how to approach this. Networking yields some results, but this approach doesn’t do enough to attract top talent to your door in the long run.

That’s when working with a sales recruitment agency can make a difference. Here’s how. 

1) They Connect You to Candidates Not On the Job Boards 

A sales recruitment agency can connect with other professionals and find talent not listed on active job boards. Salespeople confident in their abilities tend to only show up on job boards. Instead, they go directly to recruiters and wait for the right employer to get in touch with them.

When you require a top-notch sales representative or sales manager, a recruiting agency will match you up with the best candidates for the position. They are constantly networking, making connections, and interviewing potential employees, so they have access to talent that you do not.

2) You Need New Talent Right Away

How long will it take to find new sales talent and get them on the job? It could take a month or more. You could be missing out on potential sales as you go through the long process of searching, interviewing, and hiring.

This procedure can be sped up by a sales recruitment firm, cutting down on the time it takes to source and onboard a new hire. In a matter of days, not weeks, a professional can have qualified candidates waiting for you at your desk.

3) You’ve Got Enough Going On

Finding applicants involves more than just advertising open positions and hoping someone with the necessary talent will express interest. You must develop a strategy to source candidates effectively, which takes time.

Building applicant personality profiles and thoroughly analyzing the job specifications are just the beginning. Finding passive candidates and ensuring the caliber of those who advance to the top of the list are the main goals of talent sourcing.

The truth is that you don’t have enough time to handle everything. You’re too busy building the kind of company that attracts top talent. Hiring an experienced, well-connected sales recruitment agency to manage your sales candidate sourcing frees you up to take on other tasks, such as increasing your company’s revenue.

4) They Have Industry Expertise

An effective sales recruitment agency will have specialized professionals who work with clients in various industries. Work with a recruitment agency that is familiar with your particular business sector. They will be able to provide you with industry-specific information about sales trends, salary levels, and the skills necessary to be successful in your industry. 

Recruiters that specialize in specific fields also have access to individuals whose skills are relevant to those same fields.

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Agency Recruitment Vs. In-House Recruitment

The entirety of the hiring process can be a very stressful, time-consuming, and expensive endeavor that, if not handled properly, can have far-reaching repercussions for both you and your company. Most employers—including internal HR Teams—say that recruitment is part of their job that causes them the most stress.

The time may have come to consider outsourcing this process to an agency specializing in recruitment. This company could relieve some of the burdens and enable you to return to the vital work of building your business.

Here are some benefits and drawbacks of working with a recruiting agency instead of tackling the task alone.

Using In-House Recruitment

There are some pros to handling sales staff recruitment yourself. First, you remain in control of the entire search and hiring processes and don’t pay agency fees. You can also personally review all the candidates to see how well they fit into your company’s culture. You also decide when and where a job posting is made. 

On the other hand, the time spent posting, searching, vetting, interviewing, and hiring takes a considerable amount of time. This is time you and your team can better spend developing and selling your products or services. The process can take even longer if you’re handling recruitment all on your own. 

Another drawback is your limited knowledge of companies with many qualified salespeople employed who may be interested in new opportunities. That makes it more challenging to fill the post you are looking for successfully. 

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Using a Sales Recruitment Agency 

One of the first and most important advantages of a sales recruitment agency is that you will get access to a team of experienced recruitment consultants rather than just one individual who will be trying to find your candidates. Also, professional recruiters have access to a broader pool of qualified applicants. Recruiters spend their days contacting hundreds of new people monthly via social media and job-hunting websites, fostering new relationships. As a result, even if a good candidate is not looking right now, a recruitment consultant will typically be the first to know when they are looking or open to a better offer.

While internal HR teams deal with many tasks daily, the sole mission of recruitment agencies is to locate high-quality candidates with the skill sets and attributes needed to satisfy your business’s needs.

The only real drawback is that you will have to take some time to nurture a relationship with your sales recruiting agency so they fully understand your business’s culture and needs. And while it’s true there is a fee for their services, in nearly all cases, this fee only comes into play after your ideal candidate accepts a job offer and starts work.

Rainmakers: Your Premier Sales Recruiting Agency

The level of expertise possessed by a company’s salespeople directly correlates to that company’s level of success. Consider conversing with an experienced tech sales recruiting agency such as Rainmakers to help guide your company to further growth and profit. 

Contact us today to learn more about how we can help.

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Avoiding Hiring Mistakes: What to Look for in Sales Candidates

What should you look for when recruiting sales professionals? What qualities should they possess? How can you tell if a potential hire will succeed or if they are just good at doing interviews?

There are several time-tested traits you should keep an eye open for. By selecting sales reps with these qualities, your business will be more profitable and more likely to succeed. Consider reviewing these traits among your current sales staff to see who might need some coaching. 

Consider the following candidate traits and skills:

They Understand the Importance of Following Up

Effective follow-up is one of the abilities that separates the all-stars from mediocre sellers. 

Deals are closed through follow-up, so if a candidate understands this as early as the hiring process, you can be more assured that they will be effective at following up with clients and sales. 

As essential as conducting follow-ups is, how they do so is also an important indicator of success. Avoid candidates who give off a strong sense of desperation and argumentativeness. 

A Thick Skin

A strong sales close consists of three components: asking early, asking frequently, and accepting the answer “No.” Unfortunately, some salespeople become agitated when a customer rejects them—some end a call with an abrupt hang-up or by taking on a hostile tone.

A good salesperson understands that they may need to move more quickly or that the customer has legitimate reasons for hesitation. They know how to get past a “no” and how to ask, “What’s the process we need to go through to get you ready to buy?”

Or, an insightful salesperson knows when it’s time to move on and not let it threaten their ego or sense of self-worth. In any of the above cases, the best salespeople also know when not to burn any bridges with poor responses to rejection.

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They’re Proactive and Ambitious

Top performers are inspired by an intense drive to succeed. As a result, they react favorably to competition, which you can leverage using friendly sales contests, and take great satisfaction in closing deals. 

While some individuals may find the sales process tiring, a top-notch sales representative will feel invigorated by the challenge and always be on the lookout for the next big sale. 

Accepts Feedback Well

This can be tricky. Everyone says they’re open to feedback—and some will actively seek constructive criticism—but many push back or ignore feedback. Unfortunately, this means problems with performance or teamwork may end up continuing. 

What’s worse is that it can be challenging to identify those who are serious about accepting and taking advantage of feedback. If possible, look for instances where the candidate can demonstrate integrating feedback into improving performance. 

Solid Communication

An effective salesperson needs excellent communication skills. They need to talk a good game, have empathy, be good listeners, and have solid writing skills—particularly when composing emails. 

When communicating with prospective hires, listen to how they speak. For example, are there many pauses, mumbled words, or confusing phrases used? Likewise, are their email communications clear and free of typos or poor grammar?

All of this counts. Your salesperson is a representative of your company, and the first impression many customers have with your company is through your representatives’ phone calls and emails. 

A Positive Attitude

Much of a salesperson’s time is spent interacting with several different types of people—not just prospects but coworkers, management, customer support, and others. They must therefore exude a positive attitude that uplifts anyone with whom they come into contact.

In addition, the candidate should be open to new experiences, accepting of others, and genuinely interested in developing relationships. This can be tricky to determine during an interview, but try to understand the candidate’s energy level at work.

what are the most desired traits in a salesperson

What Are Some of the Biggest Red Flags To Look Out For?

There are a few negative traits you may want to watch when conducting interviews. In addition, certain warning signs can inform you what candidates will likely not be a good fit for your company. 

  1. They lack professionalism – This should be pretty easy to spot. A professional candidate speaks well, dresses well, and conducts themselves like they are trying to make a good impression.
  2. They are risk-averse – Candidates who take a long time to come to a decision—particularly a big decision—may have similar problems going after big-ticket customers. You want a salesperson who is willing to take some risks.
  3. They seem to have little self-awareness – Asking candidates about their biggest strengths or weakness are valid interview questions. However, candidates who take too long to come up with an answer or a weak response may have some blind spots when it comes to how well they can perform or suffer from a lack of honesty about themselves.
  4. They don’t have a growth mindset – Ask the candidate when was the last time they learned a new skill or did something to improve their performance. Salespeople who don’t look for ways to change or advance themselves do not do well in long-term sales positions.
  5. They confuse confidence with arrogance – Be mindful of whether a potential sales hire seems too confident. It can be subtle, but some people turn confidence into a sense of arrogance, making them more challenging to coach. They can also be less receptive to feedback.
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Common Mistakes Made During the Recruitment Process

You need a solid hiring procedure with checks and balances in place if you want to recruit well. Here are some common mistakes to avoid. 

  • Writing unclear job descriptions – A job description should tell the prospective salesperson what the job is like, what you’re looking for, and what qualities and experience are desired.
  • Running a disorganized interview – It’s essential to prepare for each interview. Have your list of questions ready. Ensure the person you’re meeting with matches up with the resume in front of you. Be prepared to answer the most likely questions the candidate will have.
  • Hiring based solely on a resume – A resume is just a summary of where the candidate worked and what they did there. While a resume might list the skills and attributes you’re looking for, that’s no guarantee that the job candidate actually possesses them. Take time to ask detailed questions and learn about the person behind the resume. 
  • Poor time management – If you have several interviews scheduled that day, ensure you’re leaving enough time in each interview to get to know the candidate and let them get to know you and your company. Avoid situations where there is not enough time to ask all the important questions.
  • Taking too long to make a decision – The best sales candidates are only on the market for a short amount of time. Additionally, every day that sales position is unfilled, the company is losing out on significant potential revenue. Make sure you set up a process, stick to it, and move quickly when you have a candidate that checks all the boxes. 

Sales Recruiting with Rainmakers

How well a firm thrives depends on how skilled the salespeople are. To build your business, consider talking with an expert tech sales recruiting firm like Rainmakers. To learn more about how we can assist, create an account!

guide to evaluating salespeople

Evaluating Sales Potential – Checklist for Hiring Managers

One of the most challenging tasks Sales Managers must deal with is evaluating a candidate in a job interview. With entry-level positions such as Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) and even Account Executives (AEs), many won’t have a wealth of sales experience. On top of that, entry-level roles tend to get a lot of applicants, and trying to isolate the best candidates from the crowd is challenging.

The good news is that there are reliable ways to evaluate sales candidates at every stage, from initial screening to final interviews. 

Here are some essential recruitment tips for hiring managers.

evaluate a potential hire

Reviewing Resumes

While the stack of resumes on your desk is daunting, there are simple ways to identify the best candidates among job applicants. First, use this method to kick off your screening process:

Does It Look Professional?

A resume’s format can disclose a lot about a job seeker. For example, a well-structured resume with few or no spelling errors suggests the individual is committed, detail-oriented, and possesses a sense of professionalism.

Was It Written For Your Company?

Check the candidate’s cover letter and job objectives. Does the candidate seem to understand your business, or does it seem they sent the same resume to dozens of companies? Give preference to candidates who have done some research and know your company’s needs, history, and mission. 

Reviewing Work Experience and References

Every candidate should have at least a little work experience or an internship for you to review. The candidate’s work experience can provide insight into their values, work ethic, and skills.

When considering a candidate, contact their professional references to learn more about them. Avoid candidates who provide only personal references.

Reviewing Skills and Experience

Your company’s product or service may require technical knowledge or industry experience. Therefore, favor those applicants who already possess the abilities and expertise you need.

Keep an open mind when looking at skills and experience. You may discover unique yet promising skills that could prove helpful. They could even provide some fresh perspectives to your sales team.

Did They Try To “Game” the System?

This is a relatively recent phenomenon in which some applicants may try to embed specific phrases into a resume that aren’t visible to human readers but are picked up by hiring software looking for particular keywords.

While the technical know-how to pull this off may seem impressive to some hiring managers, it does suggest a certain lack of ethics and respect for the hiring process. Proceed with caution.

Are There Numbers and Metrics In The Resume?

One of the most foolproof ways to assess a sales candidate is by the numbers they have produced in past roles. This might mean emails sent, revenue produced, or contracts upsold. 

A good sales candidate should never be shy or try to hide their numbers. In fact, they should be proud of any quotas or goals they have beaten in the past. 

The Initial Interview

An initial interview—phone or in person—will assist you in deciding if a candidate is right for your department. Here are some things to consider. 

Do They Come Across As Professional?

Look at how the applicant conducts themself. This will demonstrate how they will come across to potential clients. Professionalism is a must. So are punctuality, sincerity, and politeness. All the better if the candidate also demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of your business’s products or services.

In many ways, an initial interview is a sales pitch. Use that perspective to help assess the interviewee.

How Well Do They Communicate on the Phone?

Many sales or hiring managers conduct initial interviews via phone. This provides an opportunity to see how well a candidate communicates by phone. Considering many sales calls are started this way, it’s an essential skill to filter for. Also, have the applicant leave a sample voicemail message. This, too, will help you see how effectively they can communicate with prospects.

Do They Possess the Traits You Value Most for Your Sales Team?

Effective sales departments prioritize skills like drive, thoroughness, and communication. Create a list to score candidates on your top sales rep attributes. You can use these scores to help compare and contrast various skill levels if you have multiple applicants.

Ask Challenging Questions

How well does a candidate respond to difficult questions? Can they think (and answer) under pressure? Consider asking how they deal with rejection. Ask them about how they managed to learn a complicated skill. Ask about past challenges and how they overcame them. 

The classic “what would you say is your biggest weakness?” question may seem cliche, but it helps learn how self-aware and open to feedback a candidate is. It also demonstrates how seriously they respond to the question and how honest they are.

how to build your sales team

The Later Stage Interviews

After interviewing an exhaustive list of candidates, you can narrow the search and bring in only the most promising candidates for a more in-depth discussion. 

Ask for a sales demonstration.

Before they come in, request that candidates prepare a sample sales presentation. This should ideally be for one of your products or services so the candidate can display their knowledge, or they could choose something entirely different to see how well they can convince you to buy something you’re unfamiliar with. 

The actual purpose of the demonstration is to see how much sales potential they have. It may be challenging, but it can give you a good feel for their fundamental sales abilities and their approach to the challenge and the process.

Take on the role of a potential customer who objects to the sales pitch. Take into account how the candidate responds to these concerns. Do they listen well, or do they immediately go on to the pitch’s next section?

After the presentation, provide the candidate with practical criticism to determine whether or not they are coachable.

Ask Out About Long-Term Goals

When you hire a new sales representative, you expect they’ll find a way to grow with your business. So inquire about the candidate’s long-term objectives and passions. Are they hoping to take on high-ticket clients? Are they interested in management? Do they have a particular affinity for marketing or customer service?

Think about how realistic these objectives are. Can you see this person progressing within your business?

Conduct a Culture Check Walkthrough

Talk a walk through the company and introduce the candidate to others. Try to hit different levels within the company, such as other salespeople, receptionists, factory floor employees, and members of upper management. 

Can you see this candidate blending in with your culture, or do they withdraw when the CEO or a Senior Sales Manager is around? Remember that a candidate’s capacity for good communication with management can indicate their potential for interaction with sales prospects.

Offer the candidate the chance to see your business in operation. Invite the applicant to listen in on a sales call with one of your Account Executives. Their follow-up questions will reveal a lot about their sales philosophy and suitability for your business.

Also, after the interview, ask the people who met the candidate on your walkthrough for their opinions. Even though, as the hiring manager, the final decision is yours, input from others can always be helpful. 

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Recruiting With Rainmakers

Following the above should handily assist you in finding the ideal applicant for your open entry-level sales representative position. The most important factors to remember are the candidate’s professional demeanor, applicable skill set, and cultural compatibility.

When faced with many applicants, consider hiring recruitment specialists such as the ones at Rainmakers to help make your job easier. They have a proven history of matching ideal candidates with the best businesses, so everyone wins in the end.

Sign up and connect with our team today to learn more.

tips for sales hiring managers

A Guide To Finding The Best Sales Talent

Right now, tech sales professionals are in high demand. As a result, better sales professionals are getting calls daily from recruiters and businesses. To get the best tech sales professionals for your company, you must apply your recruiting process correctly. 

Here are some practical hiring tips to help you land the best of the best.

Be Effective In Selling the Position

When contacting a potential sales representative, try to make your message personal. Experienced professionals will recognize generic templates and will be less likely to reply. 

Include details about the corporate culture and any unique benefits you offer. Remember that people often change jobs because of toxic workplaces and poor management. Highlight your company’s strengths in positive workplace culture and supportive management. 

You can include salary information, but remember that you need to offer competitive rates as talented sales staff are likely already well compensated. 

find best tech sales talent

Clearly Define the Position Offered

Be forthright about the qualities you seek in a tech sales professional, and highlight any essential qualifications. Start by outlining the knowledge, abilities, and character attributes required for the position. This is not only for the prospective employee but also for the hiring manager. 

This allows you and your potential recruit to be on the same page about what the position requires and what will be expected.

Defining the position more clearly will also make keyword searches for candidates easier if you’re looking for candidates on sales databases or LinkedIn. For example, If you’re looking for those with experience in hardware, communication, or SaaS technology, use those terms when searching. That will help you find the right candidates to approach.

Keep An Eye Open For Quality Traits

Talented technology salespeople require unique skills to sell more difficult products and services. Therefore, look for these key attributes when reviewing candidates.

Proactive Sales Mentality

Look for candidates who have proven to be self-starters and highly motivated. This will give them an advantage in prospecting, cold calling, pitching, and selling your products or services. 

Proactive salespeople tend to find making new sales exhilarating. As a result, they are more likely to go for closing big deals and then quickly move on to the next one. 

Persuasiveness

Look for persuasion and conversational sales reps. Even though your products or services may be complicated, a talented sales rep must be enthusiastic and be able to transmit that enthusiasm to the customer. They should also be well-informed about what you’re selling and prepared to respond to any questions or hesitation from the customer without coming on too hard. 

hiring salespeople tips

Flexible Thinking

Complex modern technologies and solutions require a comprehensive knowledge of the industry and an ability to find creative solutions to customer issues. You don’t want salespeople who get stuck thinking or doing things only one way. 

Look for salespeople who can address challenges from several angles and be able to accommodate or change their approach as needed. When holding mock sales sessions, look for sales professionals willing to ask questions and work with the client to solve their problems.

Making the Best Offer

Many salespeople in tech earn well into the six figures annually, with a base income between $40,000 and $100,000 plus and incentives and commissions from hundreds to thousands of dollars. If you can’t pay competitively, your candidate will go elsewhere. Consider consulting a compensation consultant or salary guide to see what competitive pay is in your area and industry.

Also, consider what other incentives you can offer to help draw a potential star candidate further into the hiring stage. These days, flexible schedules, remote work, and sign-on bonuses are popular with employees. 

Don’t Wait

When you get a response from an ideal candidate, act quickly.

From opening interviews to making the official job offer, you’ll want the process to be smooth, efficient, and with little delay. So stay in touch with your candidates during the entire hiring period and keep them informed on the timeframe for recruiting decisions. Remember, they probably have other options and recruiters reaching out to them. So the sooner you can make an offer, the better.

how to find best salespeople candidates

Common Hiring Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Sometimes, businesses get so focused on selling their products and services that they don’t spend an appropriate amount of effort finding the right salespeople. Here are some mistakes some businesses make and how they can be avoided.

Failure To Plan

When hiring a sales rep, skipping the planning stage can frequently lead to problems. 

Plan out every step of the hiring process, from promoting sales positions to selecting and interviewing prospects, hiring top talent, onboarding, and considering how long it will take to train and prepare new sales hires for the workplace.

Hiring Sales Reps Who Frequently Change Jobs 

At first glance, someone with a varied job history may seem appealing due to extensive experience working for various businesses and industries. 

The truth is that people who switch employers frequently may have a poor aptitude to work as a tech sales rep. In addition, job-hopping can indicate they need help sticking with one employer for an extended period or have trouble working with sales teams and customers.

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Not Taking Advantage Of a First Phone Call

Conventionally, hiring managers prefer to meet with candidates in person. Doing so, however, misses an excellent candidate review opportunity.

Tech sales representatives frequently speak with prospects and customers via phone. For that reason, you want to be sure they have good phone skills. By making your first contact with a potential sales rep by phone, you’re in a great position to evaluate how they might come across to clients. 

This first call also gives you a chance to get the candidate excited about the opportunity. This will make them that much more interested in moving their schedule around to accommodate the rest of the interview process. 

Having a Chaotic Onboarding Process

You want new tech sales representatives to hit the ground running. Unfortunately, many businesses have an onboarding process that has either slowly become bloated over the years or needs more clarity in organization and communication. 

Review your current onboarding process for new employees and ensure it’s up to date, lists responsibilities clearly, notes the chain of communication, and how the sales team functions. The less confusion at the start, the more likely you will retain your new tech sales rep.

Working With Rainmakers

A talented tech sales representative is essential to how well a business succeeds. Consider consulting with an experienced tech sales recruiting agency to help advance your business.

Connect with Rainmakers today and start finding top sales talent.

finding the best sales recruiter tips

Finding The Best Sales Recruiters

Job searches are many things. Among them, they are tedious, frustrating, complicated, and lengthy. This applies not only to job seekers but recruiters as well. According to the job review website Glassdoor, each corporate job attracts an average of 250 applicants for one opening.

That’s a lot of resumes to go through.

If you’re a business looking for qualified tech sales personnel, it behooves you to find that perfect recruit in as little time as possible so they can begin earning. But, simultaneously, you want to feel confident you’re hiring the best person for the position. We are in the sales recruiting business and know the best of the best.

Here is our list of the 10 Best Sales Recruiters in the US.


The Best Sales Recruiters in the US

1) Rainmakers

The leading tech recruiting platform hiring tech and SaaS salespeople.  Rainmakers brings data into sales hiring and utilizes the latest sourcing technology to help companies build their sales teams efficiently. Hire qualified and diverse salespeople through a quick and scalable platform. They offer both self-service and managed solutions. Operates US-wide.

Learn more: rainmakers.co

2) Hirewell

Hirewell is a Chicago-based talent solutions provider.  They have over 200 recruiters globally, focusing on sales (15+ sales recruiters).  They work with hundreds of companies across the US, ranging from early-stage tech companies to enterprise tech organizations. Hirewell helps companies hire one-off sales executives and build out teams of SDRs, AEs, and GTM teams. Hirewell also partners with companies for their sales hiring efforts through its OnDemand Recruiting offering, where it embeds a Hirewell recruiter into its recruiting function.

Learn more: hirewell.com

3) The Collective Search 

Boutique agency specializing in sales hires for venture-backed SaaS/tech companies. They are known for their incredibly personal, meticulous, caring approach to each placement, emphasizing personality/culture fit. Strong, loyal community of sales professionals who care about thriving and succeeding. Started in SF and now have a presence on both coasts.

4) True Search

A diversified recruiting agency with a focus on working with venture-backed tech companies. They have a broad focus across many disciplines, including sales, technology, and finance. 

5) Betts Recruiting

Betts recruiting focuses on sales, marketing, and executive hires for Venture Backed startups and technology companies

6) CloserIQ

The firm is HQ’d in New York and has a strong presence with East Coast employers. They specialize in Sales, Technology, and Executive Search.

7) HuntClub

An executive search firm with a strong focus on Go-To-Market leadership

8) RJR Partners

A traditional executive search and recruiting firm with experience in sales, marketing, and product, among others. 


What Is a Tech Sales Recruiter?

A sales recruiter is a specialist who works with businesses to find the best candidates for sales positions of all levels, from Sales Development Representatives (SDR) and Account Executives (AE) to Sales Managers and VPs of Sales. To match job seekers with the appropriate opportunities, they work with applicants to determine their skills, experience, and goals.

Tech sales recruiters specifically aim to help salespeople with experience or interest in technically-oriented businesses—whether they be focused on hardware, software, cybersecurity, SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, telecom, or more—find the best opportunities by introducing them to jobs and organizations they may not have been aware of.

They accomplish this by leveraging excellent communication and networking skills, industry knowledge, and the ability to match job seekers with hiring managers.

best recruiting agency for salespeople

How To Find a Recruiter for Your Business

Finding a sales recruiter isn’t as difficult as one might imagine. Here are the key points to keep in mind.

Industry-Specific or General?

If you’re looking for a sales position that doesn’t require much-specialized knowledge, you can go with a recruiter that works with all sorts of applicants. This can be advantageous because it gives you a larger pool of potential applicants. The downside is that you may get more misses than hits if your company focuses on specialized knowledge, such as tech.

If you choose a recruiter, such as Rainmakers, specializing in tech-related positions, you’re more likely to get promising candidates right from the start.

Long Term or Short Term?

Generally, there are two types of recruiters—staffing agencies and permanent placement recruiters.

Staffing agencies hire for temporary or temp-to-perm hourly positions and then contract them to employers, collecting a percentage of the hourly fee as a markup.

Permanent placement recruiters focus on long-term hiring opportunities. The recruitment agency finds, evaluates, and represents talent, while the hiring manager hires the prospect as a full-time employee.

how to find best sales recruiters

Researching Recruiters Online

You can find many professional sales recruiters in various areas. Two top places to start would be Google and, perhaps better, LinkedIn. Start with some keyword searches that apply to your business or the specific sales position you intend to fill. Some examples might include:

  • “Sales recruitment”
  • “Talent acquisition”
  • “Headhunter sales tech”
  • “Sales executive recruitment”
  • “SDR hiring”
  • “Account Executive/AE tech hiring”

Word of Mouth

One of the best and most reliable ways to find a trustworthy recruiter is to contact your professional network. If the hiring manager of a business in the same industry as yours reports success using a particular recruitment platform, it’s a good bet you may as well.

The Top Recruitment Markets

You’ll want a recruitment agency with knowledge and access to candidates in the top tech sales markets in the country. Ensure your recruiter knows where to find potential salespeople in major U.S. cities like San Francisco, Austin, Chicago, New York City, Denver, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Raleigh.

best tech sales jobs near me

What Are the Best Recruiting Tips For Tech Companies?

Hiring the best tech salespeople is not easy. However, top performers are in high demand, and working in the tech industry can be particularly challenging. Here are some tips that should better your chances of locating and hiring the right people for your business.

Clearly Define the Position

Be straightforward about the qualities you’re looking for in a sales professional before you start recruiting them. Similarly, have clear job descriptions available either as part of a hiring pitch or easily located online.

Lay out the knowledge, abilities, and other attributes required for the hire to succeed. When these are in place, it will be simpler to evaluate each candidate.

Use a Personal Approach

When reaching out to a potential hire, address them by name and avoid any appearance of their name being inserted into a form. While talking about compensation is important, don’t forget to speak about company culture and the unique benefits of working for your company.

Many leave their positions due to poor compensation and a hostile company atmosphere. Put the candidate’s worry to rest by selling them the benefits of hiring with you.

hiring a tech sales recruiting agency

Don’t Make Them Wait

It’s become almost a bad joke—the amount of time and number of hoops candidates have to jump through to go from initial interview to final hire.

That won’t work for tech sales positions that are in high demand. You want to streamline the process or, at least, ensure the candidate knows where they are in the hiring process and the expected timeline. Tech sales candidates are likely considering several offers. You don’t want to draw the process out so long that you lose a potentially great new hire to another company because you didn’t move fast enough.

An experienced recruiting agency like Rainmakers can help make the hiring process quicker, so this is less likely.

Make the Right Offer

Many tech salespeople start with a basic salary between $40,000 and $92,000, with incentives and commissions ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars, with many earning over $100,000 annually. If you can’t give competitive pay, your candidate will go elsewhere.

Also, consider additional incentives or benefits during the offer stage to help close the deal. You may even want to consider a sign-on bonus.

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Should I Connect With Recruiters On LinkedIn?

The short answer? Absolutely.

There are several reasons why looking for recruiters on LinkedIn is a good idea.

LinkedIn is the largest platform for professionals of all types worldwide. As a result, it’s often the first place companies list open positions and where hiring managers begin looking for potential candidates. Likewise, it’s where many sales professionals post their availability or interest in looking for a sales position.

Because LinkedIn is so large, it can be daunting to look for candidates individually, no matter how narrow you make your keyword searches. By looking for a professional recruiting agency on LinkedIn, you can find the right agency for your business to help you in your search.

Sales Recruitment Solutions At Rainmakers

Rainmakers accepts only quality applicants, so you can be confident that you’re interviewing the top sales talent around. In addition, when we look at potential candidates, you can see all their sales stats, such as performance, what they’ve sold, and who they’ve sold to. This allows you to save valuable time by quickly identifying candidates with the skills, experience, and fit you’re looking for.

Contact us today to learn more about how we can help fill your tech sales needs.

sdr plan guide

Sales Development Representative Compensation Guide

On-target earnings (OTE) are a great way to motivate sales development reps (SDRs). This policy will help them perform better and generate more sales-qualified leads. If their base salary and variable pay depend on performance, they’ll work hard to meet their goals.

You must consider several factors for a sales compensation plan to be effective. Failing to do so risks demotivating or depressing your SDRs—which could hurt profits and employee retention.

However, when done right, SDRs can become productive and motivated and create more sales opportunities.

But what goes into effective commission plans? What should you consider when developing yours? In this post, we’ll look at these questions in more detail and give you the steps you’ll need to follow to build your company’s sales development compensation plan.

What makes commission plans effective? What should yours include?

Here are some ideas.

tech sales jobs salary

Why Have a Sales Development Compensation Plan?

Before discussing how to create a sales development compensation plan, let’s review why you would want one to begin with. These are the main benefits of having a well-thought-out sales compensation plan.

  • Incentivizes SDRs
  • Increased transparency
  • More structure
  • Easier planning and budgeting

Now that we understand why let’s look at the how.

Building an Effective SDR Compensation Plan

Some of the following steps may vary based on your specific needs. Some businesses may not need all the steps, while others may need more.

Determine On-Target Earnings

On-target earnings (OTE) are an SDR’s annual base salary plus on-target commissions (OTC). Consider national, local, and regional average SDR OTE. Glassdoor and PayScale can help you calculate an accurate price estimate.

From there, you can adjust the OTE based on the following factors:

  • Experience
  • Job complexity
  • Product
  • Benefits gained
  • Employee Attrition rate
tech sales hiring

Decide Upon Pay Mix

Pay mix is an SDR’s base salary to variable pay ratio. This reflects the risk of earning the OTE. For instance, some SDRs could perceive a 40/60 base salary/commission pay mix as too risky.

If your base salary is too low, SDR motivation and company performance will suffer. If your base salary is too high, your SDRs won’t gain if they hit their goals. Keeping SDRs productive requires the right pay mix. Like OTE, you can check national, regional, and local averages to compare prices. In the Tech and SaaS world, we find that 65 – 75% base is fairly common.

Measuring SDR Performance

After determining OTE and pay mix, decide how to measure SDRs’ performance. On what metric will your quotas be based? Finally, focus on revenue-generating activities for these metrics.

Focusing on a metric like call volume emphasizes quantity over quality. For example, an SDR can make 50 calls per day without generating a single sales opportunity. Therefore, it’s better to use a metric tied to quality, such as sales qualified prospects (SQO) and sales qualified leads (SQL).

Setting Quotas

As an example of setting quotes, we’ll look at the SQO metric.

SDRs, on average, usually generate seven SQOs per month or about one every three working days. You can set quotas and adjust as necessary from this average, depending on your company.

When setting quotas, ensure they’re realistic. According to research, 68% of SDRs meet their quotas. With that in mind, you should aim for an achievable quota between 60 and 70% of your SDRs.

tech sales careers

Thresholds and Accelerators

Using thresholds and accelerators can improve SDR performance. They can recognize high-achievers and motivate low-performers.

Thresholds are minimum performance levels below which an SDR does not earn any commission. Typically, this threshold would fall between 40 and 50%.

On the other hand, Accelerators motivate SDRs by increasing commission rates once they meet their quota. Say an SDR’s quota is nine SQLs per month, and they’re paid 70/30. With accelerators, you can increase the commission for high performers. 

Establishing a Performance Period

After tackling the above tasks, determine the period over which you’ll measure SDR performance. SDRs can achieve results faster than sales reps whose commissions depend on closed sales. Usually, this will be monthly, with commissions calculated at the end of the month.

Testing Your Compensation Plan

After planning, you can execute. But it’s a good idea to test your plan before implementing it on SDRs. This will show you how well it works and if you missed any issues when developing the compensation plan.

Use historical data to test your plan’s parameters. If historical data is not available, try using hypothetical SDRs. After getting the results, you should be able to determine if your pay is competitive and sustainable.

tech sales jobs

The One-Size-Fits-All Problem

In short, one size does not fit all.

As good an idea is to research what other companies are doing and paying, copying them may not work well. Instead, it would help to consider individual factors such as your business’s size, market maturity, product maturity, and customer segmentation.

More importantly, as your sales teams and company mature, you should be prepared to tweak your SDR compensation plan to keep ahead of the game.

A Plan In Action

Depending on the scale of your business and the number of SDRs you have, you may find it challenging to keep up on all the calculations at first. That’s why it’s essential to have your plan laid out in advance, tested, and adjusted where necessary.

The result should be a satisfied SDR crew who are motivated to work on developing your sales and who feel encouraged by upper management.

If you need help assembling a sales team that fits with your compensation plan, let Rainmakers help! Start browsing for applicants now!