Six steps to attract top sales talent

No matter what industry you’re in, the question remains the same: how do you attract the best salespeople to help drive business growth, leads and revenue? Before you can develop high performing sales teams, you first have to put the right people together. To help you succeed in finding and hiring the top sales talent, here are six clear steps you need to take to attract the best people into your business to help your sales team thrive.

#1 Develop a clear people development strategy 

One common topic that tends to come up during the interview process is career growth. Candidates want to know the natural progression of the role they are interviewing for. Yet for many businesses this almost never makes it into a job ad, let alone the screening process. For hiring success, discuss career paths with potential candidates, and share examples of employees who joined in similar roles who have recently been promoted and achieved great things within the company. These real-life case studies will help show candidates the reality of a career in your company and assure them that there are opportunities available. 

What our experts say... 

Companies need to have attractive job descriptions that talk about the opportunity for employees to develop. Communicating career development opportunities during the interview process is also key. You want your candidate to see the company culture, as well as get a feel for the team, environment, key business objectives and values from the off.

- Matthew Drewell, Senior Business Manager, Michael Page Sales 

#2 Share examples of how your company promotes diversity and inclusion

Before you welcome a prospective candidate with a dry line about the importance of diversity and inclusion, take a step back and look at your organisation from the perspective of an employee. The extent to which your company embraces D&I can have a powerful impact on their career and daily life. It can help foster a positive work environment for everyone, which should always be a strategic goal. 

When it comes to topics as important as this, it's not enough to hint at what your company is doing to stay competitive. You need to devote time in each interview to emphasise your efforts and show prospective candidates you take diversity seriously down to how you hire, who is allowed to contribute, and who you promote. Are you installing gender-neutral bathrooms? Do you provide flextime off for non-standard holidays? Do new hires have a voice in decision-making? These are important signs to job seekers that 'diversity' is not just a trendy slogan. 

#3 Promote your company culture  

It’s important to let candidates know what the working environment is really like so they can make a subjective decision on whether it’ll be the right fit for them. If you have core business values in place, use these values during the interview process to show candidates that you're a company who practices what they preach. 

What our experts say... 

Onboarding has been done remotely throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, so candidates have had to really trust the culture they were joining more than ever before. As the restrictions are relaxed, my recommendation to clients would be to do at least the final stage interview in person. You need to make sure the candidate is comfortable with all areas of the new job, the office, the balance, the line manager, the team, a feel for targets, and employer expectations. Although relationships can be formed over Teams or Zoom, long term relationships are built on face-to-face contact.

-    Matthew Drewell, Senior Business Manager, Michael Page Sales
 

#4 Sell your community impact 

We see an increasing number of candidates asking how potential new employers are making a positive social impact and how they as individuals would be able to make their own social impact too. The bar is rising, and candidates now expect employers to go far further than issuing mission statements, introducing office paper recycling initiatives or making contributions to local charities. 

Highlight your organisation’s community impact to potential employees and discuss your core business values and ethics. Sell these important factors about the way you work and how the business is thinking about their impact on the environment. How the business cares about their reputation and how they are perceived in the open market are questions important for top talent. At the end of the day, candidates want to be proud of who they work for, so you need to sell it to them. 

#5 Offer hybrid working 

 We’ve seen first-hand how much employee expectations have changed around hybrid and flexible working since Covid-19. It’s up to you and your business to understand and adapt accordingly. We recently conducted extensive research surveying over 200 job applicants in the sales sector to find out exactly what they want from their employers. Register for your free copy of our guide, Talent Trends: The Hiring Landscape in Sales, to discover key insights into what top sales talent want from future employers. 

#6 Offer more than just a ‘competitive salary’ 

In 2021, salary is far away from the top point for candidates who are now looking for non-financial benefits to be included in their package as well. Here are some of the top benefits top talent are looking for in addition to their salary: 

• A vibrant company culture
• Career progression and challenges
• Visibility across the business
• Creative perks such as Friday lunch clubs, gym memberships and free exercise classes 
• Personal benefits such as pensions, childcare vouchers, private medical and dental insurance

To keep and attract top talent, companies should give more than just a ‘competitive salary’; instead, look at your entire package to make sure it’s competitive and enticing enough to attract the best salespeople. 

What’s next?

When trying to attract top sales talent, it’s crucial to be mindful of what candidates want and to take the time to find out what’s important to them as individuals when considering a career move. Have an important sales role you need to fill? Request a call back with one of our expert consultants to who can help you find the right person for your business.