The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

Each year, The Center for Sales Strategy’s Media Sales Report offers an up-close look at the evolving dynamics of media sales departments. The 6th annual report reveals important shifts in recruitment, structure, and compensation, and offers insights sales leaders can’t afford to ignore.

Here’s what we uncovered in the Sales Department section as well as what media sales managers should do about it.

Let’s cut to the chase—there’s no magic formula to building a successful sales team.

Unless, of course, you consider “hiring the right people” a kind of magic. The foundation of any high-performing sales structure starts with one thing: talent.

You can have the latest CRM, a killer product, and the best marketing team behind you, but you're spinning your wheels without the right people in the right roles.

Recruiting the right talent isn’t just important—it’s everything.

Having a talented team of salespeople is vital to driving growth and increasing revenue. While hiring top sales talent is essential, finding leaders with a natural ability to coach and develop them in the sales process can take your team to the next level.

These natural sales coaches possess a unique set of talents and skills that can inspire, motivate, and guide people to success. But how can you identify these hidden gems during the hiring process?

This week, I was reviewing a potential new hire with a client who is really struggling with finding talent to fill several open seats across her sales teams. As we reviewed the candidate, it was clear that the innate talent just wasn’t there for success in the role. Although the company had tried many different things to attract potential employees, nothing seemed to be working. 

I asked her how full the talent bank was, and she said, "Running on empty." 

We discussed the strategy of thinking about recruiting just like sales prospecting, something that must be done constantly, with dedicated time each week to build a pipeline of talent for current and future roles.

Attracting the brightest minds and best talent has become a fierce competition for organizations across all industries. However, conventional recruitment methods often fail to captivate potential candidates, leaving them disengaged and unmotivated. It's time to shake things up and inject some excitement into the hiring process.

Enter gamification—the art of blending game-like elements into the recruitment experience. By incorporating interactive challenges, immersive simulations, and creative quests, organizations can pique the interest of top talent while making the journey of finding the perfect fit an exhilarating adventure.

Gamification transforms the once-dull task of recruitment into an engaging and enjoyable experience that resonates with today's candidates.

In the travel industry, you want to be a “destination of choice,” meaning you are highly preferred or sought after by travelers for your attractions, amenities, and experiences. As an employer, you want the exact same thing.

But what does that mean for you? How can you be a destination of choice?

Remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. While one person might seek the rich history and cultural landmarks of London rather than the commercialization and street vendors of New York’s Times Square, another might be looking for a bustling, exciting experience and jump on a trip to New York. London and New York have very different brands.

There’s a whole lot more to recruiting the right person for your team than just matching resumes to job descriptions. It’s about cultivating experiences and creating an impression that goes beyond a mere transaction.

In today’s candidate-led job market, your company's reputation matters—a lot. Many of the people who have the power to influence your reputation are those you’re recruiting. It's not just about the role you’re filling anymore; it's also about building relationships.

But why should you really care?

In the “old days” (5 years ago), hiring a new employee meant meeting them in person, shaking their hand, and conducting a live interview.

Today, that’s not always possible.

For many, remote and hybrid models are becoming the norm, which means leaders must adapt their recruitment strategies to meet the unique challenges and opportunities these environments present.

Here’s how leaders can fine-tune their approach to attract and assess top talent effectively.

We can all agree that finding top talent is a daunting task.

It's essential for organizations to adopt innovative recruitment strategies to attract candidates. Leaders who create a recruitment strategy and think beyond the traditional approaches have been able to attract more top performers and build stronger talent banks.

The word “superstar” has a wide range of meanings for all of us. It might bring to mind a famous athlete or celebrity or someone we consider at the top of their game and well-known for their track record of success. 

But if there is one common thing every organization needs for success, it’s to have at least one sales superstar on their team. These are the sales stars who not only meet targets but also exceed them.  Their clients love working with them, and they retain and grow their clients year after year, all while finding new prospects and closing new business.