One of the biggest frustrations sales leaders face when trying to find the best sales candidates is simple:
“I can’t find enough good people.”
Finding salespeople who can truly sell—who can prospect, close, and create repeat customers—is one of the hardest parts of building a high-performing sales team.
The problem usually comes down to two challenges:
- Finding enough of the right candidates
- Making the right hiring decisions
The first step is sourcing.
Great Recruiting Starts With Prospecting
Too many recruiters wait for resumes to come in through job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed. That’s like a salesperson waiting for customers to walk through the door.
Great salespeople prospect.
Great recruiters do the same.
They move toward people, network, and identify lead sources. They build referral relationships and go where high-quality candidates already work.
Because the best candidates?
They’re already employed.
They are working somewhere else right now—and if you want them, you have to go find them.
Stop Waiting. Start Building a Network.
The strongest recruiting pipelines are built through community relationships.
Some of the best referral sources include:
- top-performing sales reps
- sales trainers
- Chamber of Commerce leaders
- BNI groups
- business owners
- community influence centers
These people regularly see talented professionals and can help point quality candidates your way.
This creates a major advantage:
You spend less time sorting through weak resumes and more time talking to strong candidates.
Quality Beats Quantity
Many managers lower their standards because they feel pressure to fill seats quickly.
That leads to poor hires, turnover, low morale, and wasted training.
Instead, focus on quality.
A strong referral network may reduce the number of interviews you do—but dramatically increase the quality of the people you meet.
That means:
- faster starts
- better retention
- stronger sales performance
- healthier team culture
Your First Recruiting Assignment
Ask yourself:
- Who already knows great salespeople?
- Who sees strong candidates every day?
- Who would be willing to help me find better people?
Start there.
Set meetings. Explain your culture. Share what kind of salesperson you’re looking for. Ask for help.
Build your first eight referral sources.
Join a networking group like BNI.
The Bottom Line
Great recruiting begins before the interview.
It starts with sourcing.
The best candidates won’t always apply online. They are often already working—and waiting for the right opportunity.
If you want better salespeople, stop waiting for resumes.
Start building relationships.
That’s where great recruiting begins.