An amazing statistic. Only 25% of people who call themselves sales people, can actually sell. Working with that statistic as a base line, a company employing 5 sales people, run the risk that only one them will actually be able to sell. Recruitment is therefore a critical part of the sales leadership position. We have assembled a few tips that sales leaders can follow, to improve the talent hit rate.

• Start to look for sales candidates before you lose a salesperson because desperate Sales Managers, like desperate salespeople, never put their best foot forward.
• Resist the urge to grant face-to-face interviews to any applicants for the sales position in the first round of recruiting. We know... 'But this candidate is so good at getting through the screener and they sound great,' you say. We say you should stick to your RECRUITMENT PROCESS.
• Have a written COMPETENCY MODEL. Without it, you don't have a framework. Great companies all use a framework.
• Avoid using the strategy of recruiting away from your competition -- unless your company's product is so much better than your competitor's.
• Use a scientifically validated personality profiling system as a screening tool. It will eliminate 50% of the recruitment mistakes you make! That means you'll increase your success by at least 200%
• Only hire salespeople that 'love' money and 'like' people. It's a cruel, but true fact. Great salespeople love money and the things it can buy them. Sales people who are not in it for the money, have the wrong motivation.
• Aim to have 50 applicants (and never less than 25) for every position you hire for. Statistically, less than 25% of the people in the world who call themselves salespeople can really sell. Assume that half of your pool is made up of inexperienced salespeople. So, if you want to pick from 5 candidates, you're going to need these kinds of numbers.
• Send rejection letters to every candidate that is not selected. It's good manners. Additionally, you may need to hire them if your first hire doesn't make it.
• Resist the urge to go back to your old ways. It hasn't worked so far, unless you consider 2 out of 3 sales hires failing as a success.
• Seriously consider conducting a Recruitment Event as the first step in your process. It is by far the best use of your time and gives you access to a large number of applicants into your Recruitment Funnel.
• Think of recruitment as a process. Always remember 'the process is the solution.'
• Keep good records every time you run a Recruitment Event. Things to record in your process include: the ad, what media you used, placement in the media, external events going on (holidays, weather, natural disasters), names, addresses and phone numbers of all callers and who showed up for an interview.
• Spend sufficient time thinking and planning before starting the recruitment process. Are the new potential recruits going to have questions? Can you adequately position why you want to hire another salesperson?
• Consider seriously whether the ads you use are designed to attract the right candidates or are they designed to impress your management.
• Use every means possible to publicize the sales opening. It's not a secret!
• Have special 'recruitment' cards made up that you can pass out to people you meet who impress you.
• Seriously consider targeting retail salespeople. Their hours are lousy, they tend not to be well paid, and there's lot's of good raw material out there.
• Recruiting a new salesperson can also be called 'selling someone to come to work as your salesperson.' Prepare for your presentation.
• Become the best sales manager you can become. The best salesperson does not usually make the best sales manager.