The headlines read:
“Jobs Go Unfilled as the Economy Expands,” and “Help Wanted, Without a Degree,” and “Companies Better Shape Up to Keep People!”
It’s wonderful to see so many people working.”According to the Wall Street Journal, “Job openings climbed to 6.7 million last quarter, the highest level since 2001.” Businesses are expanding operations and the amount of buyers in the marketplace are increasing. People want new homes and the gadgets to accessorize them. The things people dream of they are purchasing.
It’s all good, right? No, not if you’re recruiting salespeople.
Here are three recruiting problems created by a good economy.
- All the good salespeople or excellent candidates for sales have prospected for and found a job in sales.
- People left in the job candidate pool on average have a lower emotional intelligence regarding work and responsibility. (It’s easy to find a job.)
- If a company’s sales leader culture is poor and on-boarding development is bad or mediocre, people have job alternatives in which they can find relief.
What to do?
Prospect for sales candidates. Join networking groups, attend Chamber of Commerce functions, create centers of influence and recruit on LinkedIn. Go find employed sales reps and look for those who do not like their cultures and who have unfilled expectations. You will find them.
Be sure to screen for emotional intelligence and important character attributes (see my last post) like honesty and hard work ethic to guard against a poor hire. Develop screening steps and structures interviews that look for these traits and for personal responsibility and a concern for others. Make sure that the persons you recruit have a motivating reason to sell at the levels you desire. Do they have income needs or a competitive drive that will cause them to sell at or above your minimum standards.
Make sure your culture wants a salesperson to succeed. What does this mean? It means that leaders focus on training and developing salespeople to achieve the income levels necessary for their lives. The leaders dive into and help mentor the motivations and skills required for doing well and having a positive life impact. They also create career path specifics and reward progress. Mentors, mastery and future development are important to the young recruits available for hire. Build a culture that pays personal attention to them. They will notice the difference fast!
We like seeing people employed and doing well. We want to be a part of a growing economy with all its possibilities for dream fulfillment. But, it’s time to recruit with aggression and culture build with intention and attention. As today’s leaders, you can see this challenge and meet it. Plan to prospect employed salespeople. Recruit character first. Build a better culture. In these ways, you solve the hiring problems created by a good culture. Learn to do these important strategic objectives and find and keep good salespeople.