Sales

Industry spotlight

As the saying goes, ‘nothing happens without a sale’. We believe it too, as we advertise a lot of sales roles across sectors.

Frustratingly, high demand isn’t always met with a ready supply of good quality candidates. This makes it hard for employers to filter and find the best candidates, which means staff turnover remains stubbornly high. Because of this, many employers advertise for roles continuously so they can cherry pick the best candidates as and when they appear.

The best thing about recruiting for sales roles is that almost anyone with the right attitude can do it, meaning there’s a huge resource for employers to tap into. On the other hand, it means adverts generate a lot of applications that need to be filtered. This is where [Shortlist+], our clever telephone screening service has proved invaluable for busy employers as it quickly helps identify a candidate’s attitude and soft communication skills.

Outbound telesales is the most common role we help recruit for, mostly because it’s easy to attract trainees and many sales cycles are shortening. There’s less demand for field sales roles now as so much of it is now done virtually rather than face to face. When field sales roles are advertised though, employers are being more flexible and aren’t asking for industry knowledge as a prerequisite.

Because of the growing influence of marketing and support tools, we’re noticing a real demand for candidates who can use online chat tools where they can provide the information and support to help close sales. This extends to aftersales service roles too, as businesses better realise the value of customer satisfaction for maximising referrals and upsell opportunities.

Basic salaries are generally increasing. Businesses now realise it’s not worth advertising commission-only roles and those offering good (but realistic) bonuses are seeing a much better response. Gone at last are the days of fantasy OTEs!

It is however still tough to tempt good sales people to leave one role for another, as typically it means they’ll be starting from scratch each time. Employers thus need to incentivise them not just with good salaries but also with career progression, which is why adverts need to really sing and stand out from the pack. Great differentiators include clear concise language that explains why a product or service is better than its competitors and so is easier and more lucrative to sell.

Of all the candidates we encounter, sales people tend to be the most cynical – perhaps because of the daily hardships of dealing with the public! – so job adverts need to be really compelling to garner the right candidates.

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