As a recruiter, I recruit hundreds of salespeople every year. Although we do place advertisements on our website and one or two job boards over 90% of the salespeople I place are headhunted. Meaning that they are not looking for work – I regularly poach the best working salespeople from great companies. I don’t poach from my clients. The reason I take this approach is that I know that competent to great salespeople are never unemployed and rarely looking for work and here is why.
Competent salespeople know their industry
It takes sometime, maybe a year or two, but good salespeople, in the process of selling effectively, learn their industry and market. As a result, they develop great relationships with clients and competitors and so when they decide to make a change they simply pick up the phone and let their availability be known – the offers come quickly.
Competent salespeople are regularly offered employment
When good salespeople sell they naturally impress the buyer. Often the buyer is a senior manager or business owner and will say to themselves, ‘I need someone like this to sell for my business’! Good salespeople are regularly offered employment as part of the selling process.
Competent salespeople can sell themselves
Before a salesperson can sell a customer anything they must first sell themselves. This is an essential part of building trust and of the sales process.
If a good salesperson finds themselves unexpectedly unemployed they should be able to:
- Identify employment prospects
- Get past the gatekeeper to the decision maker
- Get an appointment
- Pitch themselves
- Get an offer
- Negotiate a job
If a salesperson is unemployed then the questions need to be asked:
- Have they not developed sufficient contacts in their industry? Why?
- Have they not impressed enough customers to get job offers? Why?
- Are they unable to sell themselves? Why?
- Do I want this person working for me?
The greatest thing about the sales profession is that those who take a professional approach to selling absolutely bullet proof their career – isn’t that a great place to be?
If you’re hiring a salesperson don’t you really want the best?
