Tips for Small Businesses to Hire Top Sales Talent

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As a small business owner, it can be difficult to find sales professionals willing and able to fit into your tight-knit culture. They may be used to more corporate settings with thick books of rules in place and Human Resources departments to enforce them. The benefits you offer—a less stringent work environment, a sense of community, and a sense of ownership in the business—are also a world apart from those that come with climbing the corporate ladder.

But this world of distance is, in fact, your advantage. It’s because you offer your unique brand of working culture that you can know exactly the kind of salespeople you’re looking for. Let’s explore this idea in greater detail.

Cast a Wide Net

It’s important to be purposeful in your search for incredible salespeople, but if the pool of candidates isn’t large enough, you’re likely to end up settling for a mediocre hire. This is why you need to consider a wide array of avenues to share your job opportunities so they reach those best fit to fill them.

⦁ Social media is a great way to maximize your reach while targeting relevant candidates through Twitter hashtags and Facebook groups centred on your line of business.

⦁ Communal hotspots like gyms, coffee shops, and rec centres with bulletin boards can lead to promising prospects.

⦁ You should also partner with an agency with experienced sales recruitment experts ready to understand your products and services and the personalities best suited to enhance them.

Stay True to Your Roots

Given all the hard work you’ve put into your business to build it from the ground up, it stands to reason that your salespeople should fit the bill in terms of how you serve your community.

If it’s at the heart of your business to go above and beyond for your customers, whoever joins your team should be prepared to do whatever it takes to put smiles on people’s faces.

If long days are the norm, then they should be ready to roll up their sleeves and clock in extra hours alongside you. Whoever your ideal candidate is, tailor your interview questions to fit their profile and theirs alone.

Be Willing to Lead the Way

Aligning your sales strategy to the needs and preferences of the people you’re selling to is common sense but rarely put into practice. Much too often, sales reps are overly aggressive and go in for the hard sell when a more nuanced approach would fare far better. This is especially detrimental when you live in a small town and everybody knows everybody.

A quality sales recruiter will always focus on candidates who can modify their communication style to the customer in front of them. And since you know your customers better than anyone else, you’re in the best position to train your new salespeople to manage the customer relationships you’ve been fostering since you first opened for business.

With a firm grasp on the core principles behind your business, and how they inform your level of service, all it takes is a little patience to find sales professionals ready to exceed your standards. The luckiest people are the most prepared, so trust the process and let everything fall into place.