Building a Talent Pipeline

Effective recruiting is not an event, it is an ongoing process. Unfortunately, most employers only think about recruiting when there is an open position to fill. Approaching recruiting in this way can leave you struggling to locate the most highly-qualified and talented candidates.  However, if you build a talent pipeline, it will shorten the recuing cycle and put you in a position to pick and choose from top talent.

Direct Candidate Outreach

Social media makes direct outreach extremely easy. Basic searches can lead you to highly qualified prospects on professional networking sites like LinkedIn or even social media sites like Twitter. Join relevant industry-related groups to spot and connect with talent. When conducting direct outreach activities, resist the temptation to lead with a hard sell. Instead, ask the potential candidate a question, or pass along a link to an interesting article. From there, you can open the door to a conversation about potential future opportunities at your company.

Set Up An Employee Referral Program

Employee referral programs can be an extremely effective way to help build a talent pipeline. Referrals from existing, high-performing employees often make some of the best hires. They are more likely to perform better and stay longer than average new hires, and referral programs also help to boost employee morale. Remember, professionals often run in the same circles and the best way to locate a talented salesperson is often to ask another talented salesperson for a referral.

Host Industry Events

Networking events are great, but working a room can be a challenge. When you host a monthly industry happy hour, open house, meetup, or speaking event, attendees will seek you out. They will naturally want to know more about you, your organization and its culture. Be sure to invite relevant sales managers and leaders from the company so that you can connect them with potential future candidates.

Leave the Pipeline to the Professionals

Building a talent pipeline is a long game that takes a significant commitment of time and resources – resources that most companies simply don’t have. That’s where niche recruiters can come into play. These specialized firms have spent years in your industry and they’ve built an extensive talent pipeline. They have passive candidates on file who are currently employed and not looking for a new job, but who have indicated they could be persuaded by the right opportunity. Niche firms take the stress out of the recruiting process, because they’ve already done the legwork for you.

If your enterprise software company has struggled to build a strong pipeline of sales talent, the recruiters at Strategic Search Solutions can help. We focus exclusively on enterprise software sales, and our clients have access to our extensive talent network. Contact us today to learn more about our process and the ways in which we can help you improve your sales hiring process.

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