Discover the 5 Shocking Mistakes You’re Making in Sales Hiring

While hiring good salespeople is essential to the success of any business, you’d be amazed at the types of mistakes companies make when recruiting for these important jobs. In fact, CulverCareers has spoken with many businesses that fall into the same traps when attempting to hire people for their sales teams.

From poor job descriptions to low base pay, it is essential to be aware of the common pitfalls that come with recruiting salespeople. In this article, Culver will discuss the top 5 mistakes to avoid when recruiting salespeople, while also offering practical tips to help you develop more efficient hiring strategies. In turn, we hope you can improve your hiring process, increase the quality of your hires, and ultimately boost your company’s sales performance.

1. Poor Job Descriptions

One of the most common hiring mistakes that businesses make when recruiting salespeople is the failure to write quality job descriptions.

Be careful, as a poorly written job description can make your company look unprofessional in the eyes of qualified candidates. If the information in the job description isn’t accurate, it could be targeted at the wrong type of applicant. In order to avoid confusion and paint your company in the best possible light, clearly outline the responsibilities, required experience, and desired qualifications for the sales position.

• Failure to Address Personality

Especially when it comes to client-facing sales jobs, relying solely on resumes and hard data can be a costly mistake during the hiring process.

The best salespeople have sociable personalities and are able to “weather the storm” in the field – including the ability to shrug off rejection. When speaking with sales candidates on the phone and communicating with them through the interview process, take note of their likeability and general candor. Since a big part of sales is generating trust among potential customers, it’s critical that your sales hires have the right personalities.

• Don’t Use References

Failing to check references is another common mistake that Culver sees businesses make when hiring salespeople.

References provide valuable insights into a candidate’s past performance, work ethic, and ability to work with others. Especially with sales jobs, people are too quick to look at figures from sales performance and brush over the fact that a candidate might not be a team player or doesn’t do a good job of tracking their work on CRM software.

Take the time to reach out to previous employers or colleagues to gather feedback on the candidate’s sales abilities, professionalism, and overall work attitude. By doing so, you can identify any potential red flags and make an informed decision based on this information.

• Offer Low Base Salaries

Another common pitfall during the sales recruitment process is offering too low of a base salary.

Unfortunately, many hiring parties are under the impression that “hungry” salespeople should have no problem earning a majority of their income in commissions. However, Culver has seen time and again how this mindset turns away the best salespeople, while simultaneously bringing in underperformers.

To attract the best possible sales talent, you need to show candidates that you are willing to invest in them and provide security for their families. In the end, as long as you continue to underpay your sales team, you will continue to get lackluster results.

• Hiring Based on Established Clients

One of the worst approaches to sales hiring that Culver sees businesses do is only looking for candidates with established “books of business” in their industries. This method is a gross oversimplification of the sales process that negates many of the traits that make good salespeople – such as resilience, personality, and intelligence.

While it’s always nice to think that a new hire might bring in new clients, that is certainly nothing to hang your hat on. Rather, you should be looking for salespeople that are knowledgeable about your particular industry, while also being hungry to get out in the field and earn. All things considered, those salespeople who are able to consistently open new accounts will be of more value to you than someone with a few established relationships.

Get Started with CulverCareers Today!

Are you ready to transform your sales hiring process? Don’t let common hiring mistakes hinder your company’s potential. Contact CulverCareers today, the sales recruitment experts, and let’s work together to supercharge your sales team.