Best Way to Recruit Your Sales Team

There are two reasons for recruiting salespeople, either because one of the existing team has left, for whatever reason, or because you are increasing the number of people in the team. In both cases, the principles of good recruiting and selecting are the same.

The job description

It is essential to qualify the parameters of the job. A job description is a document which sets down the duties and responsibilities of the job holder. It relates purely to the job and not to the person. If a job description already exists, this is the time to update it or rewrite it if necessary. If there is no formal job description, then one should be compiled before beginning the recruitment process.

The main purpose of the job description is to provide both employee and employer with a shared understanding of the job. It is also a useful document for recruitment and staff appraisal.

While job descriptions will vary in format from company to company, they should all contain the following information.

• Job title – ie the title used within the company, which could be Sales Representative, Sales Executive, Area Sales Manager and so on.
• Reporting line the title to which the job holder reports and the titles of any jobs reporting to the job holder. This may also take the form of an organization chart.
• Purpose of job – a single sentence defining the reason for the existence of the job, eg for a sales person it might be ‘To sell the company’s products profitably to achieve agreed targets’.
• Key tasks – this is a list of the major duties and responsibilities of the job holder, eg ‘To maintain regular contact with existing customers’.
• Additional responsibilities – more detailed description such as ‘attend sales meetings‘; ‘ensure that the car is clean and presentable’.

It is essential that job descriptions are kept up to date to reflect the current demands of the job.

Who is the right person for the job?

Having defined the job, your next task is to decide on the right person to fill it. This is best done by completing an Employee Profile, a description of the ideal employee under specific headings such as:

• Age range – May be useful for compatibility with existing team and customer expectation. Beware of being too restrictive.

• Appearance – Subjective judgement related to the environment.
• Experience – Previous work experience necessary to carry out the job. Decide which is more important, sales or industry experience.
• Qualifications – Academic and professional qualifications. Do not request over-qualified people.
• Skills – Essential skills such as driving, typing, photography and so on.
• Health – That which is necessary to perform the job.
• Location – May be necessary to specify accessibility or local knowledge.