Across markets and industries, one consistent hiring theme. It’s hard to find strong candidates. Big cities, rural communities, and everyone in between are struggling to find talented candidates or, sometimes, any candidates at all.
We know the talent is out there. But where? Where can you find your next great seller?
Look Internally
While there is no magical place where talented people hide, you might be surprised at the talent you find within your company and even on your team. Are you looking?
It’s a mistake to assume that a great employee in a different department would never want a job in sales or management. If you see traits in them that might indicate talent, ask (with their managers’ permission) to have them take a Sales Talent Assessment to see if your instincts are correct.
Succession planning is not just smart; it's vital. As managers move on or retire, who on the team or within the company can step up to take their place? Before that conversation, have a Management Talent Assessment on file for any team members who show leadership ability.
Referrals
The Superstar Study that is released each year shows surprising consistency. The leading way to find Superstars is with Referrals. In fact, for the 8th year in a row, the best way to find top talent is through employee referrals.
Why? Because Talent loves Talent.
Top sellers tend to gravitate towards friends and colleagues who share many of their talents and characteristics. So, tap into your teams’ networks. Look at your team's Talent Composite and find the talents that your most successful sellers share. Then, ask those successful sellers, who do you know that shows these talents?
You could even sit down with your top performers and craft a Recruitment Ad that would appeal to them and make them raise their hands. Then, ask them to share that ad with their network, specifically the people they think would fit with the job and team.
Look Outside Your Industry
The unstable job market of the last few years taught us many lessons, but one of the most interesting was that sales talent can be found in many industries outside of sales.
Teachers (who had to sell their students on learning), healthcare workers (who had to talk patients into completing treatments), and retired military (who had to be resilient and ready for anything), to name a few, were a surprising source of sales talent.
Traditionally, hiring managers list required college degrees and/or years of experience, but this can disqualify people who have sales talent but experience and training in other industries. So, think about leaving off these requirements for positions that you are struggling to fill.
Technology Can Help
Once upon a time, hiring managers and job seekers met up in the local paper's want ads. The Sunday paper and a Sharpie were the tools needed to find a job. Now, there are an endless variety of online resources to bring managers and candidates together.
LinkedIn constantly comes in at the top of tools for hiring managers to find strong candidates. Change your status to “hiring,” interact with people in your industry and network, feature blogs published by your company and content for your team, and experiment with advanced search features.
Don’t limit yourself. Post the recruitment ad you created that will appeal to candidates with the right set of talents on a variety of social media platforms and look into job boards as well. If your team is willing, ask them to post your recruitment ad on their social media as well.
Your next great seller or manager is out there, but they may not come looking for you. Be proactive and have your recruiting talents always alert to finding new candidates.
