How Sales Targets Begin with Recruitment Strategy

To sales leaders tasked with hard numbers aimed at profit margins and growth, recruitment may just equate to an unwelcome distraction – a necessary evil best passed along, and left to, the HR department. The thing is, the wrong (or right) people categorically impact company KPIs, sales culture, account retention, and even growth.

In fact, today’s talent-driven market demands a close relationship with your HR department. It’s worth its weight in gold, this partnership.

Having put that out of the way, this article is aimed to unveil trends that matter to sales directors looking to acquire and retain the best talent. So, without further ado, let’s take a grand look at what we have to say.

We start with this because remuneration has never always been the most important criteria for candidates, but it rarely does fall out of the top four in that regard. On one side of the coin, you have sales executives ready to ask for more, even at fairly junior levels. On the flip side, hiring managers identify that expectations don’t match commercial realities or visible skill sets.

Your most talented organizational fit is just as likely to gloss over your offering figures as much a newcomer with the potential to be a top performer. But this doesn’t mean that expectations must be met to stay competitive; just that it requires additional thinking.

Is it possible for sales leaders to work with HR to better leverage strong team culture, company brand, or powerful learning and development programs in lieu of a salary bump? Or, do you require adjustment in tandem to market realities? Of course, the latter’s only possible with a sound grasp around who’s paying what, and for whom.

Nonetheless, whatever the truth – it is a matter of cross-discussion between sales leaders and the HR function.

“57% cite hiring top performers as key to business success. But they’re just as unaware as to whether they’re hiring that top performer.”

                                                   – Mettl Survey on 1600+ Sales Leaders

If there’s one thing we’ve noticed, it’s that hiring managers continue to miss out sales talent because of an annoyingly long recruitment process. The longer you make them wait, the more likely they are to look elsewhere.

At the same time, the organization faces the dilemma of cutting time at the expense of quality within the recruitment process. However, the advent of assessment technology renders that notion irrelevant. Especially, with how it’s now possible to reduce cost and time while boosting the quality of hire.

Look at how Mettl helped Berger Paints not just hire the best salesperson, but the right one.

“45% cite that they have no idea why their top performers succeed. In fact, L&D programs often fail at identifying those competencies that make top performers, rendering programs useless for employees aspiring for the same.”

                                                    – Mettl Survey on 1600+ Sales Leaders

For all that effort you put into talent acquisition, it’s often more cost effective to retain and train. In August 2017, BMS Index suggested that salespeople are unlikely to last more than two years at a company. In terms of how it impacts your organization – these employees tend to take their skills and experience with them.

At the same time, dissatisfaction upon departure may pose a risk to your brand reputation. But research suggests that most attrition related departure focuses on career development or newer avenues to improve individual skill. This provides organizations with a reservoir of opportunities to tap strong employees with well-structured L&D engines that transition to long-term loyalty.

In three steps, to attract, engage and secure the right talent for your sales function is no easy job. But with an understanding of what your employees need along with business requirement, you acquire the opportunity to tailor the recruitment process on an individual level. That’s a brilliant experience to deliver, and in today’s world, the experience is exactly what talent desires.

We’ve based much of our findings on an extensive survey conducted by an internal team in 2017. You can find more insights here.