How to hire the best sales talent

It’s crucial to approach hiring with a strategic mindset, as it can make or break the future success of your team and business. Therefore, it’s important to follow best practices for an effective hiring process.

So how are you supposed to hire the right person? Here are some best practices for an effective hiring process:

1. Define the job requirements: Before starting the hiring process, it is essential to define the job requirements and qualifications for the position. This will help to ensure that candidates have the necessary skills and experience required to perform the job. Along with this, ensure you have set expectations for the first 3, 6 and 12 months of what success looks like in the role.
2. Understand Market Rates: Organisations should be aware of what the going base rates for sales professionals are. As of today (2023), entry level is $60-80k. Mid level is $90-110k and senior level (5 years +) is $120k-180k. If we look at those with enterprise level experience, going rate is $150k+. Typical commission rate is a 60/40 split. So if your REALISTIC OTE is lower, you should look at increasing the base, if it’s higher you can play with decreasing the base. If you find a good candidate that you think is going to be an asset to your team, you should compensate them accordingly. Studies have consistently demonstrated that companies who prioritise their employees’ well-being and offer fair compensation tend to create a higher retention rate and foster a positive company culture. This is because when employees feel valued and respected, they are more motivated to work harder and contribute to the overall success of the company. By prioritising employee satisfaction, businesses can create a more loyal and engaged workforce that is committed to achieving shared goals. If you don’t prioritise these things, candidates will likely be poached within the first 3-6 months by a company who is willing to treat their employees properly, your candidates will likely underperform because they feel they’re not being appreciated, there will be lower employee happiness/satisfaction and also lower employee focus and attention.
3. Resumes/Interview process: Sometimes, salespeople are really good at interviews but bad on the job and sometimes they’re bad at interviews and good on the job, just be aware of this. The better questions you ask, the better answers you’ll get and the more likely their true self will come out. Try and stick to 3 interviews tops. The first to get to know them and make sure they are a culture fit. The 2nd, more technical and in the 3rd (if needed) a sales role play.
4. Headhunting: In our experiences, when it comes to mid-level/senior hires, most of the time the best sales professionals are not on the job market. They’re already working and making sales. Don’t be afraid to do some headhunting on LinkedIn and even other social media platforms like Instagram.
5. LinkedIn: Especially for a sales professional, these days being effective on LinkedIn is an excellent sales strategy/tool. Check out their LI activities/actions and see how they operate & brand themselves in the market.
6. Question/References: These days, most candidates will find a good reference. They can be valuable in giving you an indication of their past experiences and clarifying that they’re not a serial killer. We recommend asking candidates these questions usually at the 2nd/last stage:

• What would your current/past manager say about you?
• How did you fit in your current company culture/or enhance their culture?
• Then with their permission, call their current/past manager or someone who knows their manager and ask them those same questions to make sure there’s consistency in answers.

By having a well-designed hiring process & strategy in place it can help organisations find the best candidates quickly and efficiently, and ultimately help you find the needle in the haystack to ensure your companies success.