Recruiting sales agents
An employment agancy that specialises in headhunting sales agents needs to have exstensive and in-depth knowledge of sales and marketing systems in order to assess commercial profiles effectively.
Headhunting sales agents involves a special approach to recruiting. In our opinion, it is a complex activity which may require reorganisation of the sales process to ensure successful recruitment.
An employment agancy that specialises in headhunting sales agents needs to have exstensive and in-depth knowledge of sales and marketing systems in order to assess commercial profiles effectively.
Headhunting sales agents involves a special approach to recruiting. In our opinion, it is a complex activity which may require reorganisation of the sales process to ensure successful recruitment.
When headhunting sales agents, you first have to define the exact profile concerned and establish your requirements by drafting a job description. It’s good practice to prepare specific Job Descriptions detailing the characteristics of the sales agent / seller you are seeking to recruit, the salary and commission on offer, the methods you use for managing the sales network, and so on.
Channels for recruiting sales agents
Various channels can be used simultaneously for recruitment: announcements, specific databases and trade databases, direct contact with experienced agents, etc. The number of sales agents has decreased considerably in recent years; you therefore need to plan recruitment campaigns using various communication channels at the same time, to achieve the greatest possible exposure. Simply placing Wanted ads on a website may attract only very limited attention.
Before we begin the process of sales agent recruitment, we offer our customers the opportunity of sharing communications and headhunting strategies.
Selection interviews for recruiting sales agents
As a general rule, we plan a selection interview on the basis of the job description provided by the client, because the approaches, selection criteria and trends that companies use to recruit sales agents can be very different and vary depending on the recruitment strategies to be used.
There are companies that prefer to recruit sales agents/sellers who have previous sales experience in a specific field. There are also companies that want to exclude sales agents in a given field from the recruitment process. Every company has its own policy and its own system of recruiting and managing their sales network. One of our goals is to offer advice about and possible alternative strategies for headhunting sales agents, as and when this is required. It should also be borne in mind that the recruitment process for sales agents/sellers doesn’t end when the contract governing the working relationship is signed, but on completion of an initial period of work, during which you can observe the candidate’s sales potential in the field.
Managing the Sales Network
We believe that effective management of a sales network is just as important as recruiting new members of the sales team. A badly managed sales network can have a negative impact on the recruitment of new sellers.
We can provide a service that analyses sales network management processes, and aims to identify any weaknesses that should be corrected to improve the recruitment of new sales agents. An agent/seller tends to make their own assessment of the work environment and procedure for managing the sales network in the early stages, and if these are deficient, it can lead to premature deviations from the duties they are assigned.
If you have any questions or would like further information, please get in touch with us.
