Without sales, companies wouldn’t generate revenue! And with hundreds of thousands of niches and topics for sales professionals, creating an effective hiring strategy is critical for companies to fill their team with qualified and creative talent. In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald is joined by Jerry Brooner, President of Global Field Operations at Enable, to discuss his best sales hiring practices.
Finding and keeping good talent is a warzone.
- To be clear, there is no shortage of talent. But many hiring managers just aren’t searching in the right places for the right people.
- For example, hiring managers who look only in major U.S. cities completely ignore the rest of the country (let alone the rest of the world.)
- In reality, there are intelligent and capable people no matter where you go, and they all bring different perspectives to a team.
Jerry’s strategies to recruit a diverse team:
- First, think about what’s important for the company and the sales team. In most instances, that means a wider array of diversity and experiences.
- Jerry’s team searches not only in different states and countries but also beyond the major areas of those places. So, for example, when recruiting in the UK, they check locations besides London.
How to plan a recruitment strategy:
- Work backward. Look at your customers, your team’s territories and the industries those territories fall in, and look for knowledgeable people in those areas.
- Make entry-level jobs entry-level. Determine if the number of years of experience you’ve selected is essential. Most of the time, it isn’t.
- Look for accomplishments rather than years of experience to ensure everyone has an opportunity for consideration.
Addressing and fostering diversity in his own company:
- Jerry believes that diversity is his company’s biggest asset, but he acknowledges that you must prioritize it. Focus on a diversity of country, gender, and race to create a team capable of understanding and interacting with clients in prospects in a way that works best for them.
- Don’t look to fill a diversity quota; look to fill roles with good people. You just can’t get the best people by searching one location.
- If you’re hiring entry-level BDRs, don’t just go to the same three or four colleges. Instead, broaden your selections to find candidates beyond those institutions.
Jerry’s final word of advice? The sales profession is made better with a diverse group of people. In the long term, we’ll all be better for it. For more information or to contact Jerry, reach out to him at jerry@enable.com.
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This episode is brought to you in part by The Sales Evangelist Sales Trianing. Check out some of our upcoming programs designed to simplify selling and help b2b sellers consistently hit quota each month. Learn more here at ww.thesalesevangelist.com/upcoming-training or call 1-833-713-2343 for more information.
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This was a fun episode. There is a lot for us to learn and do to better improve each of our salesforces. Thank you, Jerry.