Every industry has its share of unique hiring challenges – including sales. Turnover in the sales sector is always high, which means managers are constantly waging a battle to recruit new talent while keeping their existing high-performers happy and engaged in their work.  Here are some tips to help managers walk that line and overcome some of the biggest hiring challenges that plague the industry.

Attracting Passive Candidates

Sales talent is a hot commodity. The rock stars are always employed, and luring them away can be difficult. Maintaining relationships with passive candidates is an ongoing process that involves a significant investment of time and energy. Once a big fish jumps back in the water to seek out new opportunities, you can bet your competitors will be circling the waters right next to you, hoping to snatch the candidate away from you. If you hesitate or make even the tiniest misstep, you could miss your opportunity to reel in a big fish.

Most sales managers and hiring managers simply don’t have the resources to stay connected to passive candidates. Partnering with a professional recruiting firm will give you that inside line to the top talent you’ve always had your eye on. Recruiters have the time and the resources to develop and maintain ongoing relationships with passive candidates, giving you an edge over your competitors when that talent is ready to make a move.

Bidding Wars and Counter Offers

Ask any successful salesperson why they do their jobs, and the answer is likely to be, “the money.” When it comes to landing top talent, hiring teams will pull out all the stops with compensation packages in an effort to get the candidate to follow that money. This can quickly lead to bidding wars between potential new employers – and the salesperson’s current employer can also get into the mix with tempting counter offers.

Not every firm can afford to wage bidding wars. They may be stifled by caps on commissions, restrictions on bonuses, or a significant lack of resources compared to larger companies. Overcoming this challenge requires creativity and outside-the-box thinking. Often intangible benefits like remote work opportunities or extended vacation packages can help balance out a compensation package.

High Turnover

Turnover in sales is as sure as the sunrise and sunset. There will always be open seats on the floor no matter how strong your culture is.  Headhunters and recruiters will constantly be nudging your top performers, managers will have to cut salespeople who aren’t hitting their numbers, and there will be salespeople who leave on their own accord for a variety of personal reasons.

This revolving door is, unfortunately, what leads to a cycle of bad hires in the sales field. Hiring managers can become obsessed with getting warm bodies in seats rather than spending the time and the money to connect with the right candidates. A professional recruiting partner can ease that strain and free the hiring team up to focus on other strategic initiatives. Recruiters can instantly improve the quality of new hires, and ensure your company is connected to a pipeline of candidates so no position ever has to remain unfilled – and they can do it all within a set budget to help manage hiring expenses.

Assessing a Candidate’s Motivation

Motivated salespeople are successful salespeople, but assessing a candidate’s motivation throughout the interview process can be difficult. Salespeople are trained to sell themselves, and many hiring managers have been burned by a candidate who seemed to be motivated and passionate, but whose actual efforts never quite measured up to expectations.  The strategic use of behavioral interviews can help asses a candidate’s motivation, as can thorough reference checks.

If your enterprise software sales company is looking to overcome hiring challenges like these, the team at Strategic Search Solutions is here to help. We can streamline your hiring process to conduct thorough interviews and reference checks, match a salesperson’s strengths to your needs, improve the quality of new hires, raise long-term retention rates, and help you negotiate strong contracts with candidates. For more information on our process, contact us today.