How to better recruit for your sales team
Just as you maintain a pipeline of prospects, you should do the same with potential candidates.
How many times have you heard or said, “It’s all about our people.” It’s so true, you’d think we’d do a better job of adding new people to our team. However, most small businesses don’t do it often enough to do it well.
Here are some ideas on this subject I heard from advisors during a recent video discussion.
Plan to expand: Just as you maintain a pipeline of prospects, you should do the same with potential candidates. Keep a working list of the high performers in your market. Maybe even let them know you have a longer-term interest in them joining your team.
Related: 10 commandments of time management for sales professionals short on time
Redefine the role: Don’t automatically assume that your next hire will be for an existing job description. Step back and evaluate how you could improve the overall team’s effectiveness and efficiencies by making adjustments to the role to be filled.
Expand your search: Candidates expect flexibility regarding remote work opportunities. Use it to your advantage. Your next team member may be a time zone away. Not only can this improve the quality of the hire, it may also be much less expensive.
Insurance agency, market thyself: Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that a high unemployment rate will give you your choice of highly qualified candidates. You must market your agency and the position with a focused marketing strategy and plan.
Fit the existing team: The worst thing you could do is to bring a new team member into a culture where they don’t fit. Use your culture, values and organizational beliefs as the most critical recruiting filter of all. Ensure that the team understands how to work together and protect the culture most effectively.
Personality tests: Find a personality test and use it consistently. Have your current team members take the test to create a baseline for comparisons. Keep the test in perspective. Don’t automatically hire someone just because they test the way you want.
Successful onboarding: Even when you have hired the perfect candidate, success isn’t a sure thing. You must have a well-defined training and onboarding process in place. The highest performers want to see a clear path to success. It is a clear signal of your commitment to them before they commit to you.
Protect yourself from yourself: The hiring person often lets their competitive nature sneak in and may end up trying to sell the agency on the wrong candidates. Develop a series of exercises as an objective measure of the candidate’s abilities. This could include having the candidate analyze, in detail, a targeted prospect or create mini-marketing plans.
Talk them out of what?! Try and talk the candidate out of taking the position. Be very upfront about challenges and difficulties; force them to reflect on reasons they maybe shouldn’t take the job. If the candidate feels they can overcome those challenges, you significantly improve the chances they will.
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