The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

In this episode, we’re exploring what smart sales leaders do before their top performers resign. 

And joining Matt is Beth Sunshine, SVP/Talent Services at The Center for Sales Strategy. 

Her contribution to the 2025 Talent Magazine highlights the importance of being ready long before turnover happens. And, here, she shares actionable ways to build that readiness into your talent strategy. 

Beth brings so much wisdom to the table, including: 

• Why it’s essential to protect the relationships with your people who leave, because “boomerang” employees are all too common 
• How, when it comes to referrals, vague requests get vague results  
• And, finally, why the only thing more expensive than making the wrong hire, is waiting too long to make the right one

In this episode, we’re diving into how identifying and leveraging innate talent (rather than just experience) can help leaders build stronger, higher-performing sales teams. 

And helping Matt unpack it all is Trey Morris, VP/Senior Consultant/Director of Training Innovation at The Center for Sales Strategy. Trey’s article in the 2025 Talent Magazine explores how smart hiring decisions can transform team performance, and, here, he brings those insights to life with practical strategies and real-world examples. 

Trey shares so many eye-opening tips, like: 

• Why hiring for raw potential often yields better results than hiring for polish or experience alone 
• How to spot innate talent during the interview process using tools like structured assessments 
• And, finally, why, every time you interact with anyone, you should ask yourself: “Is this someone that I could I add to my Talent Bank?” 

Ask a sales manager about the most important decisions they make, and you will probably hear about exceeding budget, growing market share, or achieving year-over-year growth. While those decisions are critically important aspects of the job, and they require a great deal of attention, none of them can be accomplished without an even more important decision being made first.   

The most important decision you will ever make as a manager is the decision of who to hire. If you don’t have great people working in the sales department, you can’t accomplish the rest. 

Think of the very best salesperson you have working for you. Not the highest biller or the person that has been there the longest. I want you to think about the best seller. Imagine if you had an entire sales department of people just like that. Would sales go up? Of course. 

If you want to accomplish more, there is something you can do about it. 

A bad hire can cost your organization more than just money—it can drain resources, damage morale, and hinder growth. 

Have you ever felt like being a manager is a lot like juggling? And right when you think you’ve got all the balls in the air… whoops!

When it’s the sudden departure of a top performer, it can make you literally drop everything!  

So, what can you do?

In today’s competitive job market, organizations are constantly looking for ways to find and secure top talent. Building a strong talent pool is the foundation of any successful company, and doubling that pool can be a game-changer for your organization.

With employers finding it difficult to fill positions, it’s even more important to have a talent bench to turn to when you have an open position. According to a Monster global report, 9 out of 10 employers are struggling to fill jobs.

When you adapt and expand your recruitment efforts, you will be ready for future openings and make smarter selection decisions.

The economic shifts we’re experiencing have reshaped the job market, making recruitment more challenging than ever. While some industries are tightening their budgets, the demand for high-performing talent remains fierce—and the best candidates have more choices than ever before.

Even companies that have historically received a steady flow of job applications may now struggle to attract top talent. To stay ahead, organizations must go beyond traditional hiring methods and refine their approach to recruitment. Here are five strategies to help you attract and secure top-tier talent in today’s environment.

During a recession, businesses must strategize their talent management to weather the economic downturn. 

Here are some of the best recession-ready recruitment tactics as it becomes harder to find talented people.

In the past year, recruitment has been an issue that has been part of every client call I have. It seems the biggest challenge is where to find the best people and how to attract them to leave their current position and join your team.

Here are some recruiting challenges I consistently face and some tips to overcome them.

Would you manage your people differently if you had your next Sales Superstar sitting on the bench, ready to jump in?

What if you had a Talent Bank full of these talented people?

If you are like most leaders, you would probably hold your people more accountable for meeting expectations, and you would refuse to tolerate poor performance.

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.

You’ve probably heard that wise Chinese proverb before. In the business world, the best time to start recruiting was before you had a job opening, but the second-best time is now.   

If you're a hiring manager, recruiter, or HR professional tasked with recruitment and selection for a sales team, your number one priority involves making sure you have the most talented people in the right places on your team. There is no doubt that matching talent to a task in this way will determine the success, or failure, of your sales organization.