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7 Strategies to Attract a Good Salesperson

Copier Careers® Insights^SM With The Cannata Report®

Read the full article at The Cannata Report

Quality candidates are out there, but why would they want to work for you? A good salesperson shouldn’t be all that difficult to find. However, finding a good salesperson looking for a first-time or new opportunity in the office technology dealer channel is more challenging, particularly in the current environment. So, what strategies can make a difference when recruiting? Our recruiters identified seven:

1. A Good Comp Plan: Candidates are usually looking for a combination of a competitive base salary, a ramp-up or a guarantee, a non-recoverable draw, and a book of business. “I’m not saying you have to give them a full-on territory, but something to incentivize them to move from where they’re currently at is really the only way that you’re going to attract someone from our channel or outside the channel,” explained senior vice president, Jessica Crowley.
2. Good Communication: Sometimes, the most effective strategies are the simplest to implement. We emphasized this point in a previous Copier Careers® Insights® column, but keeping the candidate engaged is critical during the interviewing process, which means the employer must be responsive. “I was talking to a candidate the other day who absolutely wouldn’t consider an offer because the client had gone silent for about six weeks,” revealed senior regional recruiter, Jenna Humbert.
3. Competitive Perks: PTO is an increasingly important perk, with more candidates concerned about work-life balance. They want to know if the employer is flexible and realizes the candidate has a life outside of work that’s important to them. “That’s usually one of the first questions we’re asked when we tell candidates about a company,” observed Crowley.
4. Reputation Matters: Candidates sometimes share concerns about negative stories they’ve heard about a company. “If a company has a reputation for treating their employees badly, or if the candidate knows somebody that worked there and had a bad experience, they don’t want to talk to them,” observed Humbert. “I usually say you need to form your opinion. Don’t go based on somebody else’s experience.” Once the candidate speaks with the client, 90% of the time, Humbert finds that it’s not what the candidate expected, realizing that, yes, it is better to form their own opinion.
5. Balance Youth and Experience: When someone tells Humbert they don’t want anybody with more than three years of experience, she tells them that they might be missing out on someone who still loves to hunt and find new business. “Maybe they don’t want to be in leadership, but they can still mold and mentor younger reps,” said Humbert. As she told one client, “What if that person is exactly what you need to build this territory and make the reps fall in love with the industry and stay in it?”
6. Have Realistic Expectations about Net-New Territories: If an employer expects an experienced rep to build a net-new territory, there has to be a realistic ramp-up in the quota expectations and compensation. “Why would they leave a six-figure position to start over with a minimal base? What’s the incentive?” asked Crowley. “Unless something happened with their current employer and they’re out of a job or their commission is cut significantly, or there was a management change, and they can’t take it, there’s no reason for them to make a move.”
7. A Willingness to Meet in the Middle: It’s extremely rare for a candidate to check all the boxes the client is looking for and a client to check all the boxes for a candidate. “If a client gives us a list of 10 checklist items that they must have on a candidate, our chance of finding all 10 is practically zero,” acknowledged president, Paul Schwartz. A realistic expectation is six or seven of those items.

Be sure to check out the full article at The Cannata Report