Filling Sales Vacancies with the right people

I've recruited for all kinds of roles throughout my career to date. Filling Sales vacancies with the right people is possibly the most difficult of all. For many jobs, technical capability to perform the role is the main criteria and this can be determined by a brief overview of a candidate's experience on their CV. In the case of sales jobs, there are many more complex questions to answer before having any degree of conviction that a given candidate will deliver the results you require.

Considering sales vacancies and whether somebody is likely to have the capability to deliver sales is relatively straight forward. They either need to be able to demonstrate experience on sales jobs, or be able to demonstrate the transferable skills which will lead to sales success. Unfortunately, people who, on face value, should be able to perform a sales role well, often don't for a variety of reasons.

Success in sales jobs require sustained levels of motivation to be able to consistently achieve targets. Many people are charismatic with a genuine flare for sales but simply don't have the discipline to maintain beyond a certain point. In short they get bored. The question here is how quickly, the answer to which lies in their past. In addition, there are many other invisible factors which can destroy motivation in otherwise good candidates, such as dramatic changes in personal life, bereavement, divorce, health issues can all have broad ranging effects.

One of the most basic rules when looking to fill sales vacancies is that history has a habit of repeating itself. In and individual has performed a number of sales roles over several years, for example, staying no longer than 2 years in each role, it's a fair bet they'll stay for 2 years and move on again. The good news here is that it's such a consistent rule that you need not delve into the reasons for previous movement. The question you must answer is, 'is two years long enough for you to justify recruiting'.

Filling sales vacancies with the right people is particularly treacherous if you don't have any experience of sales jobs yourself. Perhaps you are an expert in your field, have set up a business using your expertise, but to further expand you now need someone to sell your product or service. It's a critical investment that can't afford to fail, but how can you be sure about getting it right. Sales people are, after all, often gregarious outgoing persuasive people. I've seen many a sweet talker full of hot air and utterly lacking in substance. For this you must turn to sound basic principles.

Write yourself a shopping list. What basic experience would you like? What traits would you like in your employee? What do you need them to be able to achieve and in what timescale? Once you have these details to hand be methodical in looking for 'evidence' of what you require at interview. Remember, past behaviour and traits are likely to be an accurate predictor of future behaviour. Look for past events which will reveal your candidates capabilities (or not), their behavioural traits and their personal traits.

The way in which they have made decisions in the past will be consistent with the future. Have they stuck to the task when the going gets tough, or do they cave in at the first obstacle. Are they completely honest or do they tend to embellish situations which then don't stack up when you probe for evidence? And, of course, does their past show consistency in achieving sales targets. People with a history of successful behaviours and winning ways in any walk of life are likely to continue to produce successful results in sales jobs.

When you advertise your sales vacancies, ensure you ask for what you want. Ultimately your applicants will reflect what you ask for. Write an advert around your shopping list and insist candidates expect to have to demonstrate all at interview.

For me, your safety net requires a bit of a ruthless streak! Even the most experienced person interviewing for sales vacancies can get it wrong over one or even two interview stages. However, once you have appointed, if you have got it wrong you will begin to sense this at a very early stage. The mistake is not acting on this instinct. If in the early stages you decide they're not what you thought they were, resist the temptation to let it run to try and prove your recruitment decision right after all. Tackle problems head on as soon as they emerge. If this doesn't produce the changes required, cut your losses and then start again.

People should be at their sharpest, their best in the early stages of a job. However, they are at this stage, they are more likely to get worse than better.

Good luck.

John