average salary senior account executive

Senior Account Executive Salary Guide

Senior account executives are experienced professionals working directly with customers. They handle accounts on behalf of the business they represent. So they meet sales targets for the company while meeting the customer’s needs.

Senior account executives excel in customer service, meeting sales targets, and developing a winning sales process. They know how to focus on the most important accounts, managing their own time. But, like other professions, they also need solid written and verbal communication skills.

To learn more about the expectations of being a senior account executive, the impact of education on salary, and how much that varies between regions.

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How Long Does It Take To Become a Senior Account Executive?

Including education, it can take up to 10 years to become a senior account executive. This includes the four years needed to get a Bachelor’s Degree and the six years required to get senior-level experience.

Ignoring the need for education, senior executives are expected to have (at least) five years of experience. Some companies might shaft this expectation by a year in either direction.

Not all pathways to becoming a senior account executive follow the same route. For example, talented account executives who adeptly meet sales goals and have exceptional customer service skills might claim the “senior” part of their title sooner.

Here are some skills senior account executives should focus on:

  • Leadership
  • Written communication
  • Oral communication
  • Negotiation
  • Customer relationship management (CRM)
  • Sales and sales strategy

Beyond account management and sales process skills, account executives also benefit from educational backgrounds.

The Impact of Education and Certifications on Senior Account Executive Salaries

Senior account executives usually have a Bachelor’s Degree in Business or a related field. But, like most professions, it isn’t solely occupied by degree holders. Others might have certifications, while some work on the merits of their experience.

Employers rely on educational background to determine salary. For example, the average associate’s degree holder makes in the mid $40 thousand while bachelor’s degree holders earn an average of $60 thousand. As a senior account executive, education might be the difference between someone who makes $60 and $80 thousand.

Certifications, however, are situational and don’t hold the same weight as an education.

Still, those who earn certification can bolster their knowledge while increasing their value.

For example, the National Association of Sales Professionals (NASP) has a Certified Professional Sales Person Course for nearly $700. Maintaining this certification can show a continued passion for pursuing industry knowledge.

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How Much Does a Senior Account Executive Make?

In the United States, senior account executives can expect to make just over $100 thousand on average annually. But this can range from $50 thousand to about $150 thousand. Industry professionals can expect this range to vary based on education, experience, and related skills.

Senior account executives don’t just limit themselves to a base salary. Some make bonuses, profit sharing, and commission rates. Here’s a breakdown:

  • Bonuses typically are an average of $25 thousand (can be as low as $0 and as high as $55 thousand)
  • Profit sharing averages at $18.5 thousand (can be as low as $0 and as high as $40)
  • Commission rates for senior account executives average at $40 thousand (usually between $10 and $80 thousand per year)

Not all senior account executives are built similarly, so the industry varies widely. Each company might share differing opinions on motivation or pay. This is why some companies offer profit sharing while others rely on flat salaries.

Account executives can help boost their pay by making themselves valuable. Before hiring, they can do this with experience and education. After hiring, they can display their expertise through results.

Senior Account Executive Salaries in Different Regions of the United States

According to our article on tech sales job salaries, the region with the highest pay for senior account executives is the San Francisco Bay Area. Senior executives (with six to seven years of experience) can earn a base salary of $92 thousand.

Using the same data, the region with the lowest-pad account executives is a tie between Austin, TX, and Boston, MA. The base salary in both locations is about $76 thousand, losing about $15 thousand yearly.

Here’s a look at a few more regions:

  • Atlanta, GA – $80 thousand per year
  • Chicago, IL – $88 thousand per year
  • Denver, CO – $89 thousand per year
  • Los Angeles, CA – $89 thousand per year
  • New York, NY – $89 thousand per year
  • San Diego, CA – $82 thousand per year
  • Seattle, WA – $84 thousand per year
  • Other locations – $79 thousand per year

All figures focus on base pay, meaning they don’t account for profit sharing, commission, and other bonuses. It’s also important to account for cost of living factors, which change depending on location.

Salaries might also normalize between these locations as the trend of remote hiring continues. So, places typically paying their account executives low begin to catch up with other cities.

account executive salary by location

Benefits of Using a Recruiting Agency to Find Your Next Account Executive

Now that you know more about salaries, you are better equipped to post your listing on a job board. But before you do that, consider a recruiting agency instead.

Recruiting agencies have these distinct advantages:

  • Agencies are staffed by experienced individuals trained to find the right fit for your organization.
  • You can save time and money by not wasting time with many hires that don’t meet your needs.
  • Once you get through the hiring process, you can interview applicants who are actually interested in contributing to your business.
  • Recruiting agencies are built to quickly fill in crucial slots with employees who hit the ground running, keeping your organization moving forward.
  • Recruiting agencies can keep your listing confidential (for example, in the case where current staff members are not performing)

Senior executive positions require incredibly skilled individuals to fill the gap. Therefore, a recruiting agency is built to fill those positions with an experienced list of individuals.

Recruiting agencies can be your list makers when hiring a new senior account executive. This way, you can get a list of qualified applicants saving yourself some time.

Ready to get started? Start browsing open account executive jobs now, or connect with candidates with account executive experience who are actively looking for a new job!

Recruitment Consultants Benefits

How Recruitment Consultants Deliver Top Talent

If you want to find someone who meets and exceeds expectations when finding someone for a job opening, a recruitment consultant can help.

What is a recruitment consultant? It’s someone who helps you find the most qualified candidate for a job opening with any business. They work with companies and leverage their connections to find employees for employers.

If you are trying to find a recruitment consultant for your company, it helps to know what they do, when to hire them, and how to work with them. This article will review those three points and provide tips for selecting the best consultant.

Role and Responsibilities of a Recruitment Consultant

Like any profession, recruitment consultants will help with some things, but not everything. Finding out what recruitment consultants usually do in their position will save you some time and headaches.

Here’s a breakdown of the roles and responsibilities of most recruitment consultants:

  • Initially, consultants seek companies (like yours) to work with. They might do this as a freelancer or on behalf of recruitment agencies. Next, they’ll research your open job positions, company culture, and desired qualifications to develop the best sales pitch.
  • Once you hire them, consultants will advertise open positions on your behalf. You get exposure through job boards, websites, and networking events through their work.
  • Based on your requirements, consultants contact people who respond to these openings. They might even leverage their pre-existing network of employees. They will review resumes, conduct interviews, and administer tests based on your open position.
  • Consultants will also source proactively, finding “needle in a haystack” candidates who are perfect fits for the role. They will actively work to sell the candidate on the opportunity and get them into the interview process.
  • After interviewing potential candidates, consultants reach out to the most promising ones. They then inform potential employees of the salary and job benefits on your behalf. Then, based on your instruction, consultants can negotiate pay and benefits.

Recruiting consultants take over most of the roles of a hiring manager. Because they specialize in recruitment, they are usually more efficient than hiring managers.

Some consultants will help you through onboarding. This disincentivizes new hires from leaving, making them look better.

Because each recruitment consultant differs in their work, it’s better to ask them about their process.

Selecting Recruitment Consultants

Before running outside and hiring the first recruitment consultant you see, take some time to pick the right consultant. Much like hiring for an open position, hiring a new consultant requires careful consideration of your needs.

You already know one of these points: finding someone in your industry. But, outside of finding someone who knows your industry, you need someone who meets your needs. So, here are a few things to look out for:

  • Fits your budget. If you can’t afford the consultant, don’t hire the consultant. Be sure it fits your budget for hiring.
  • Experienced. Consultants with more recruitment experience are naturally better at their job. Mostly, this means they’ve gotten connections you might be able to leverage. 
  • Attentive and engaged. Like any new hire, you want to find someone who loves their work. Good consultants are good listeners and obsessed with providing great results for their clients.

Whether you hire a recruitment agency or consultant, you’ll look for the same things. You want your point of communication to fit your needs for budget, experience, and understanding.

Finding a recruitment consultant is similar to hiring for your open job role. The difference? Hiring someone to recruit means you are hiring a business you can review. In addition, consultants and agencies could be liable for damages if they give you a bad hire.

Do Recruitment Consultants Work?

Industries Where Recruitment Consultants Excel

Recruitment consultants excel in industries that require a high degree of skill. This includes technical skills requiring testing or startups requiring very talented people.

Here are a few examples of technical industries that usually use consultants:

  • IT
  • Cybersecurity
  • Medical
  • Semiconductors
  • Engineering
  • Renewable energy

External recruiters often have pre-existing testing methods able to handle technical jobs. This is much less expensive than the alternative of building your testing methodology.

For example, if you want to hire someone in SaaS sales, you can test their knowledge of Subscription as a Service product and terminology.

Alternatively, startups also benefit from using external recruitment consultants. This is because they have less room for failure, requiring incredibly competent people to fill those positions. Larger businesses have more room to fail and can leverage other successful business ventures.

Strategies for Collaborating with Recruitment Consultants

Once you find a recruitment consultant you like to work with, take steps to make your work comfortable. Below, you’ll find a few strategies you can use to work effectively with consultants:

  • Be clear about what you want. When hiring potential candidates, there are some must-haves and some flexible needs. Be clear about your requirements, especially when it comes to inflexible needs.
  • Find someone who works in your industry. Recruitment consultants come in many flavors, meaning they specialize in different sectors. For example, Rainmakers is a company that specializes in finding top sales talent.
  • Keep your hiring process simple. Overly complex hiring processes are confusing for new employees and consultants. By keeping things simple, you can retain more employees and better explain your needs to consultants.
  • Communicate regularly. Keeping an open and honest communication channel is crucial for new collaborations. Set up regular meetings with the consultant so you can keep up to date and check in to be sure everyone’s needs are met.
  • Check with HR. When onboarding begins, human resources will take over, getting the new employer up to speed. Be sure to check with your HR department to see if they have any input on collaborating with the consultant.

Establishing a strong relationship helps you collaborate better. So, please work with your consultants to be sure they (and you) can find the right candidate for any open position. You’ll find things go much easier in this case.

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Do Recruitment Consultants Work?

Recruitment consultants are a great way to find candidates quickly. When you can hand off duties like creating job postings and reading resumes, businesses can focus on where they excel.

If you want the right sales candidates for your business, click here to request an invite to our platform.

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Finding the Right Fit

As a business leader, you know hiring the right account executive is crucial to the success of your business. However, finding the right candidates in your search can take a lot of time and resources and, if not done correctly, can be costly.

Partnering with a recruitment agency to fill this critical role will help you avoid costly and time-consuming mistakes and ensure you hire the right person for the job. Here’s how recruiting agencies find account executives.

Understanding the Difference Between Executive Search and Staffing for Junior-Level Positions

One mistake many businesses make in their account executive search is utilizing the same recruitment process they use for junior-level roles. Unfortunately, this can lead to many underqualified candidates applying for the position, slowing your recruitment process.

Seniority Level of Account Executives vs. Junior-Level Roles

One of the most significant differences in an account executive search is the position’s level of seniority. Account executive positions are often highly specialized, senior-level positions that require the person who fills the role to have a proven track record of leadership combined with the ability to execute long-term goals and business operations. As a result, finding these candidates takes a much more focused approach than finding applicants for junior-level roles.

Active vs. Passive Candidates

When searching for a junior-level role, typical recruitment efforts generally only include active candidates, those actively seeking a job. While limiting your scope to only those actively seeking a job may work well for junior-level roles, recruiting a senior-level account executive means attracting passive candidates, those currently employed at other companies who would be a perfect fit on your leadership team.

Another key difference in searching for an account executive is the geographical reach of the right candidate. While junior-level roles may be adequately filled with local candidates, searching for an account executive should go beyond your local market. The geographical scope for an account executive should be national and international to find the right person for the job.

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Understanding the Needs of Your Company: How to Define Your Account Executive Hiring Requirements

The first step in hiring an account executive is defining the role’s requirements and determining the specific skill set you seek in a candidate. An account executive typically helps your business grow existing accounts, generate new accounts, eliminate competition, and use data to drive decision-making. Here are some essential skills and requirements for senior account executives:

Leadership and Management Skills

Because account executives are often in charge of a team of entry-level, junior-level, and mid-level positions, your account executive must be a highly skilled leader and manager.

Analytical Mindset

Part of the role of an account executive is to set and track measurable goals for their team and their company. Therefore, account executives need to be able to read and interpret data and generate reports on their team’s progress toward those goals.

Project Management Experience

Overseeing a project from start to finish is complex and needs someone with interpersonal skills to get the job done. Adaptability, empathy, focus, and resourcefulness are just a few. In addition, these interpersonal skills help them communicate effectively with stakeholders, management, and the various team members involved in the project.

Proven Track Record of Success

Account executives need to have a track record of reaching goals and successfully executing projects throughout their careers.

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How to Stand Out as an Account Executive: The Role of Transferable Skills

You need to highlight your transferable skills to stand out as an account executive. One of the best ways to do this is by managing up: being the most effective employee you can be and creating value for your boss and your company. Managing up helps you stand out from management and set yourself up for future success as an account executive.

Two Keys to Manage Up

  1. Develop influential internal allies who will advocate for you.
  2. Develop a compelling narrative surrounding your job performance.

Here’s how you do it:

  1. Send your manager a narrative pipeline update. Your update should include the week’s goals vs. actual sales, best and worst-case scenarios, the upcoming week’s priorities, and potential threats to meeting your goals.
  2. Communicating bad news. Do it often and early. Contrary to what you might think, managers need to know when something isn’t going according to plan to decide what to do if required. 
  3. Prioritize 1:1 requests. After the routine items are taken care of, it’s time to talk with your manager about new project ideas you have, requests for different resources, and other account strategies. Make sure you track your progress toward these goals in a shared document.
  4. Be proactive by anticipating and meeting your manager’s needs. This takes knowing your manager’s needs and delivering on them ahead of time.
  5. Think cross-functionally. You can help several other departments with their goals as an account executive. This is how senior-level account executives operate and how you should, too. Help out the marketing team, product team, sales team, and others. It will go a long way toward your career success.
  6. Ask for feedback. Many managers are open to giving direct feedback, so ask questions with specific information in mind that allow them to be straightforward.
  7. Consistency. Be consistent with your managing up steps so your manager knows they can expect it from you.
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How Much Do Account Executives Make?

Several factors determine an account executive’s salary, including the geographic location of their job, the size of the company they work for, the company’s job sector, and the account executive’s experience and education. Part of an account executive’s salary may be commission-based, and they could be eligible for bonuses depending on performance and revenue generated. These positions often also include benefits such as medical and dental, paid time off, and stock and retirement options.

The top earners live in states such as California, Nevada, Massachusetts, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.

In the United States, an account executive can expect to make a base salary of $68,715 annually, with the low-end being $34,938 and $135,145 on the high end/ of that average. 

The Importance of Partnering with a Recruiting Agency:

Whether you are a company looking to fill an account executive position or a job seeker looking for an account executive role, partnering with a recruiting agency gives you an advantage. Recruiting agencies are staffing experts with one goal: finding the right candidates for a company’s position.

Partnering with a recruiting agency has several advantages over traditional recruitment:

  1. Access to top-quality talent and jobs
  2. Insider information on the role and candidates
  3. Assistance with the offer and negotiation process
  4. Helping candidates and companies prepare for interviews

At Rainmakers, we go beyond resumes and LinkedIn profiles to find the best account executive candidates. As a result, you can be confident knowing we match candidates to the role, helping companies hire the best person. 

Our sales recruiters can help you find talent that matches your account executive role. Contact us today to get started!

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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.

recruiting agency roi investment

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!

how to hire the best sales team

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.

why work with sales recruiters

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.

how to build a sales team

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.