Finding sales staff - how can you secure good specialist staff?
A good salesperson is worth their weight in gold for your company - but how can you find them? - Find out here what is important in the search. Overview with all the information!
2 min
Florian Werner
Table of contents
Good sales staff are an important basis for successful sales. However, as in many other areas, the search for specialist staff is a challenge. In addition to sales talent, you also need to find a salesperson who is a team player and can identify with your products.
Finding sales staff - how can you secure good specialists? When looking for a good salesperson, you can use internal networks, social media, universities and colleges as well as job portals. A clearly worded job advertisement lays the foundation for finding suitable applicants.
In this article, we get to the bottom of the question of what makes a good salesperson, where you can start your search and how you can keep motivation at a permanently high level.
Preparation begins long before the search
If you ask around a little in the industry, you will quickly realize that the search for sales employees is a challenge for many companies. Job advertisements often take weeks to find, and positions remain unfilled. In order to find a salesperson, it is therefore important to start preparing long before the job advertisement for your company.
In general, three points are relevant in the search:
Preparation
Presentation of the company
Tender and offer
The right preparation
Also sit down with your sales staff. They can help you put together the right talent profile.
Tip: When compiling the budget for the search for sales employees, also plan a budget for coaching and training. It has often been shown that motivated talents who receive training become truly successful employees.
The presentation of your company
Finding an employee is a process in which both sides want to benefit. The bonuses mentioned above are just one of the things that can make your company attractive to skilled workers. But it is the overall image that should be convincing. Focus on the external presentation of your company.
Is the website up to date? What do the profiles on the business platforms and social networks look like? These are the first points of contact selected by interested parties. You can already increase interest in working for your company at this point.
Highlight the values of your company and emphasize the special corporate culture. Ask yourself what is important to you as a sales employee in a company.
Create an eye-catching job advertisement
Finding a salesperson is a challenge simply because the competition is fierce. Keep this in mind when you create your job advertisement. It's important to get all the information to the point. Salespeople are familiar with clearly formulated objectives. This is particularly helpful when creating job ads.
An overview of the requirements profile, the tasks and the expected processes will help applicants to assess whether they will fit into your company.
Also briefly describe your company and the corporate culture in the job advertisement. Refer to special features and expected career opportunities and bonuses.
The aim is to answer all open questions in the job advertisement in order to simplify the application process and speed up the search.
Contact point for the search for sales staff
You have made extensive preparations, generated a job advertisement and drawn a clear picture. But where can you find a salesperson now? Recruiting today can be done via various sources and it makes sense to use several of these sources at the same time in order to reach as many potential candidates as possible.
#1 Social media as an important cornerstone
Recruiting via social media involves low costs and little effort, but often has a great effect. Place the job advertisement on your website and then distribute the link on social networks. It is even better if you can also motivate your employees to post the job advertisement via their channels.
In addition to the company and employee channels, fan pages or groups are also a good idea. It takes a little more time and effort to find relevant groups. But it's worth it.
Use the channels of technical colleges, universities or trainee networks. Post in the social media section of regional media and in groups relating to sales. Note that sales has different names in the social networks:
Distribution
Sales
Sale
Sales talent
Large portals also have a presence on social networks. Social media has the advantage that you can interact directly with interested parties. Questions are asked under the posts and everyone else can see the answers. This shifts an initial part of the application process to the platforms.
It is even easier to find a salesperson if you contact them directly. Of course, you will also need a little time for this. In professional networks such as LinkedIn or Xing, you can use filters to search for suitable employees. You may even have received information about a particularly successful salesperson from another company.
Poaching is not prohibited by law. Individual offers are sometimes made to very successful specialists via social networks in particular. They can then decide whether the offers are of interest to them.
#2 Draw on company and employee networks
An obvious and yet rarely used method in the search for a salesperson is to use the networks of your own company or employees. Do you have satisfied employees and know that they would recommend your company as an employer? All the better! State in a letter that you would like to find one or more sales representatives. Ask for internal and external support for the search and recommendations.
Use your company's network. Are there employees in temporary positions who perform well and are suitable for sales? Are there any working students or trainees who stand out due to their outstanding performance? If you already have a sales department, you can ask your employees for recommendations regarding temporary staff.
#3 Publication of job advertisements via large portals
In order to reach a large target group of potential candidates, the job advertisement should be widely advertised. There are various online job and industry portals that are suitable for this. Costs may be incurred in some cases. There is no established evidence that you will have more success with paid job ads. However, depending on your budget, you can of course give it a try.
Not only the well-known providers are a good place to start. There are an increasing number of portals for students and graduates, where young people in particular are looking for job advertisements who are fully motivated after completing their training.
#4 Send tenders to educational institutions
Educational institutions, such as vocational schools or universities of applied sciences, are also a good place to go when you are looking for a salesperson. There is often an intranet through which vacancies are forwarded to students and trainees.
Especially if you are working with educational institutions, you don't just have to focus on regional providers. Young people who have just graduated often look for jobs all over Germany.
#5 Handing over the search to professional providers
Do you have a clear idea of what you want your sales staff to be like, but you don't have the time to take care of the search yourself? Have you ever thought about putting the search in professional hands? There are various providers who will search for employees for you and look for the best people in the industry. However, a certain budget is required for this.
What you should look out for when selecting applicants
Have you posted your job advertisement and are you receiving more and more applications? But how can you find the best salesperson among the applications? Of course, interviews are important. But a good pre-selection saves time. The following points are important for your sales team members:
The work ethic
Of course, you have to rely on the applicant's words when it comes to their work ethic. But a look at the references can also be very revealing. Is the salesperson characterized by persistence and diligence? Are they interested in attending further training courses and keeping up to date? These are important qualities in sales.
Respect for customers
You've probably already experienced it yourself when an overly eager salesperson has annoyed you rather than convinced you of a product. To find a good salesperson, you should make sure that they have the right balance between offer, respect and assertiveness. Re-enacted sales scenes can be helpful in the application process.
Cultural fit between company and salesperson
An interesting aspect when selecting a salesperson is the cultural fit. Even though sales often involves working directly with customers, the ability to work in a team is also important. Cultural fit refers to the question of whether the existing team, the corporate culture and the new salesperson harmonize. The better the cultural fit, the greater the likelihood that you will find a salesperson who will stay with the company for a long time.
Adaptability
Adaptability does not mean that applicants should not have their own opinions. Instead, it is about adaptability towards customers. A good customer relationship increases sales in the long term. It is important that your employees can adapt to situations and different customers. The customer's needs should be recognized from the very first interview so that they can be addressed.
Market knowledge
Successful sales employees keep an eye on market developments in the industry and are always up to date. This enables them to provide customers with comprehensive advice.
Know trends
The current situation on the market is one thing, but what about trends? Many customers today are well informed and know their way around. It is important that your sales staff can still offer them added value.
Letting ideas develop
A sale is successful above all when the customer is satisfied with it and has the feeling that they have really made a good decision. This does not happen if they feel under pressure. Instead, good salespeople ensure that images and ideas arise in the customer's mind during the sales pitch and that needs are awakened.
Willpower and commitment
The greatest sales talent is of little use if a sales employee shows little willpower and commitment. Setbacks should be used as motivation and not as a sign of failure.
Tip: Plan regular training sessions for your sales staff that deal with the topics mentioned above in order to promote, support and develop their skills. Investment by a company - beyond salary - makes for excellent employer branding and increases the likelihood of employees appreciating your company.
Career changers in sales - does it make sense?
It seems logical that you are looking for trained salespeople to expand your team. But what about lateral entrants? Especially in times of skills shortages, it's good to expand your radius. Not everyone with a talent for sales automatically works in sales. It would be a shame if you overlook such a talent because you are focusing on training. Distinguish between "hard skills" and "soft skills". Comprehensive training seems perfect. But it is of little use if the applicant has no sales talent.
However, an outstanding sales talent's lack of experience can be built up and additional skills can be imparted through training and further education. There may be an opportunity to turn a career changer into a valuable salesperson for your company.
Motivation for your sales employees - how to promote success for your company
Motivated employees are the most important basis for increasing sales. Although this does not only apply to sales, it makes it clear that you as an entrepreneur have a major influence on the success of the company.
Motivation is encouraged by the fact that your employees can make a difference and you also give them responsibility and a leap of faith. It has been shown that in these cases, even rejections and unsuccessful sales talks are perceived as a learning effect rather than as unpleasant.
Companies can create various motivational opportunities to encourage sales staff. We have put together an overview for you.
Retain good salespeople with career opportunities
Finding a good salesperson is time-consuming and often costly. An important tip is to keep your sales team together as much as possible and ensure low turnover. Career opportunities within the company are a helpful pillar.
If you have a lot of talent in sales, you don't always want to swim in the same direction. Make sure that your sales employees have the opportunity for professional development. This includes further training opportunities, training courses and salary adjustments. Taking on personnel responsibility can also be a motivation.
Regular employee appraisals will give you a good feel for what your employees want.
Do not use recognition too sparingly
Recognizing your own successes is a great motivator. It shows your employees that their achievements are being recognized. It is an art here to know the difference between recognizing performance and responding to sensitivities.
In sales, it's all about performance and achieving targets . Recognition does not only apply to the sales department itself. Appreciate the achievements of individual employees too. Word gets around and ensures that your employees speak positively about the company - even to the outside world. If a sales position becomes vacant, it may even make it easier for you to find a salesperson.
Consider flexible payment
Fairness always has different faces, especially when it comes to salary. In many companies, it is common for sales staff to work with a fixed salary and commission . There is a reason for this. Imagine that every salesperson in your company receives the same amount but does not perform the same. Frustration is inevitable.
With a basic salary and performance-based commission, successful sales staff are automatically recognized and motivation remains at a high level. At the same time, you get a good idea of which salespeople really perform.
Finding and retaining sales staff is a process
As you can see, working with the existing sales team can also have an impact on your image as an employer. Preparations for the search for new successful salespeople for your team therefore do not just begin with the completion of a job description.
Everyone wants to be part of a successful team with a good atmosphere and sufficient motivation. Satisfied employees are often a trigger for specialists to become interested in your company and want to become part of the team themselves.
Conclusion: Finding successful salespeople is an investment for your company
Salespeople are heavily involved in whether your company's turnover increases, decreases or stagnates. This makes it all the more important to find the right salesperson who can convince through motivation, charisma, knowledge and tenacity.
Nowadays, there are various ways to do this. Approaching potential applicants directly, for example at job fairs, is just as much a part of this as a comprehensive search via the Internet.
There is a shortage of sales specialists in many industries. It is therefore important that you are already convincing as an entrepreneurial brand and that specialists want to work for you. Create attractive offers and pay attention to good marketing - also with regard to your presentation as an employer.
We at MORE have already gained extensive experience in this area and are happy to support you in building an employer brand and thus also in the successful search for specialists.
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