How to Recruit Top Sales Talent

The challenges that so many businesses face are that they are purely results driven and many times ignore the importance of relationships and communication, which are ironically significant contributors to achieving results.

Having spent many years recruiting top sales people, I discovered long ago that in the recruiting interviews I had to find out a lot more about the person than what they and their resume were telling me.

I had to find out what their unique behaviours and attitudes were and whether they could fit comfortably into my sales team. I had to discover how good they were at developing relationships not only with clients, but with the rest of the team. I also needed to know whether they were hunters who were prepared to open doors anywhere and anytime or whether they were farmers who were great at developing existing relationships.

I learned early that good leaders are effective matchmakers – taking the right person with the right talents and matching that person with the right tasks and responsibilities. The perfect match builds a person’s self-confidence and makes him/her want to work harder. It is then not the leader who inspires. Rather it is the leader’s responsibility to help others inspire themselves.

Here are some points to ponder as you consider your team:

Have you reflected on why you are in your position?

Do you know what the unique behavioural talents of your colleagues are?

Do you know how to capitalize on the differences in your team?

Is everyone on your team committed to the business?

Do you know how to adapt your communication to address others on their terms?

Do your team members trust each other?

Do your team members work harmoniously, or is there a ‘them’ and ‘us’ attitude (I find this with so many of the teams that I train, sales and sales support or admin in conflict which hampers the results for everyone.)

Does your business (or the business you work in) have the right financial alignment to meet the needs of the team and its business goals

For many years I tried every tool on the market, but most were personality and not behaviourally based. When I visited Atlanta recently, I discovered that this tool had been developed and wanted to share this with all the CEOs and managers that I work with around the world. It will literally change the way that you look at recruiting sales people in the future.

Please take a look at http://www.salesrecruitmentdna.com/ as well as the recent webinar on how to recruit top sales talent.

Frank Furness CSP CFP TOT is a professional speaker and trainer specialising in technology, sales and customer service. He has educated, entertained and inspired audiences in 48 countries. Frank is the author of bestselling books ‘Walking with Tigers – Success Secrets of the World’s Top Business Leaders’ and ‘How to Find New Clients and Business’

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