Recruiting Sales people
Discussion
Where do decent sales people look for jobs?
We've advertised on LinkedIn and that's too time consuming weeding the wheat from the chaff
Lots of our competitors are laying off staff
We're an IT Consultancy, but not particularly niche, advisory services mainly
We have plenty for the existing team to deliver, but looking to scale and take it to the next level, which means driving sales as step 1
Would prefer to avoid agencies (and we don't need to go there with the pros and cons of recruiters)
We've advertised on LinkedIn and that's too time consuming weeding the wheat from the chaff
Lots of our competitors are laying off staff
We're an IT Consultancy, but not particularly niche, advisory services mainly
We have plenty for the existing team to deliver, but looking to scale and take it to the next level, which means driving sales as step 1
Would prefer to avoid agencies (and we don't need to go there with the pros and cons of recruiters)
Big_Dan said:
Where do decent sales people look for jobs?
We've advertised on LinkedIn and that's too time consuming weeding the wheat from the chaff
Lots of our competitors are laying off staff
We're an IT Consultancy, but not particularly niche, advisory services mainly
We have plenty for the existing team to deliver, but looking to scale and take it to the next level, which means driving sales as step 1
Would prefer to avoid agencies (and we don't need to go there with the pros and cons of recruiters)
Am not a recruiter btw.We've advertised on LinkedIn and that's too time consuming weeding the wheat from the chaff
Lots of our competitors are laying off staff
We're an IT Consultancy, but not particularly niche, advisory services mainly
We have plenty for the existing team to deliver, but looking to scale and take it to the next level, which means driving sales as step 1
Would prefer to avoid agencies (and we don't need to go there with the pros and cons of recruiters)
Isn't the bold bit where a decent recruiter helps? A recruiter should be able to work with you to define a job description, advise salary budget, advertise and head hunt to match and ensure all checks are completed before presenting a list of suitable candidates.
I had a look at IT Sales jobs last week as I was considering a possible switch from Consultancy to Sales and found most of the info I needed on LinkedIn with a quick browse through Indeed.
The recruiter I spoke to for advice said there were so many people around that he could only get interviews for people who absolutely met the job spec and he seemed to know his stuff.
The recruiter I spoke to for advice said there were so many people around that he could only get interviews for people who absolutely met the job spec and he seemed to know his stuff.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Question was where do sales people look for jobs, myself and wife, both are, and both have only ever used known recruiters, or Linkedin. Obviously we've both got networks that have helped in many cases. And the current role I got after a company reached out to her on mat leave and she sent them my way, but LinkedIn is vital IMO. And obviously a good recruiter in the right industry too, I have used the same recruiter for my last two roles, and my wife has also used a guy that got me another job a decade ago. So they're useful, but less so in these times where companies don't want to pay out 10 grand for their services when they can do it themselves on Linkedin.Big_Dan said:
Is it common for permanent sr sales people to move Companies every 12 months? I'm seeing a lot of that and it seems like a red flag?
I'm trying to build a whole team - we have no-one at the moment - it's harder than I thought!
Having worked in IT sales (a mid-sized VAR) for quite some time now and having seen lots of “senior” IT sales people come and leave many businesses, they typically leave because a) they’re interested in increasing their salary as much as possible, b) they don’t deliver or c) there’s actually something wrong with the business they move to. Option b is the most common thing I’ve seen in the VAR space.I'm trying to build a whole team - we have no-one at the moment - it's harder than I thought!
I’ve worked for my employer for 9 years now (different positions, starting in a sales support role) and would be interested in the advisory services space at some point but I wouldn’t consider moving at the moment given all the uncertainty around COVID.
I see post-covid as a huge opportunity for us - we've been advising people on modern working and cloud technology for years, some we have fully transformed, others partially and others put it on the "too hard" / "don't trust it" pile.
Covid has proved why organisations need that flexibility.
Covid has proved why organisations need that flexibility.
I'm a senior IT salesperson, and work in the Cloud space (professional and managed services)
Decent sales people seem to know where they're going next, and don't trawl LinkedIn for opportunity. I must get 10 blanket approaches per week.
So the outcome of this is that the poor sales people and under-performers will reply to any approach, but the top sales people in industry do not. I'll check gartner reports and look for industry leaders in the space i want to work in next. I could get caught by a LinkedIn approach but it'd have to be very targeted, a very interesting role, and the recruiter would have have to done their research on me and explain why it's a good fit.
My advice to you would be to find the companies that you think you ideal candidates would work for, and try and find out who the best sales people in that org are, and approach them with a targeted named approach. I actually met a sales VP for a coffee, to discuss an opportunity before lockdown, simply because he messaged me directly as he'd heard i was No1 at my company, and was able to give me some detail around what i was doing.
Remember too, that top sales people who have been in industry for a while have a huge network of promoters that they would have worked with who are now at other companies. I have plenty of doors already open at all the bucket list CV places should i wish. You're also up against this.
Lastly, you're in the IT sector. The salaries and packages have increased by about 100% in the last coupe of years (mine has more than tripled! What other industry do you know of where that has happened?) and they continue to rise. Some of the packages are utterly bonkers. Are you sure you're competitive?
Decent sales people seem to know where they're going next, and don't trawl LinkedIn for opportunity. I must get 10 blanket approaches per week.
So the outcome of this is that the poor sales people and under-performers will reply to any approach, but the top sales people in industry do not. I'll check gartner reports and look for industry leaders in the space i want to work in next. I could get caught by a LinkedIn approach but it'd have to be very targeted, a very interesting role, and the recruiter would have have to done their research on me and explain why it's a good fit.
My advice to you would be to find the companies that you think you ideal candidates would work for, and try and find out who the best sales people in that org are, and approach them with a targeted named approach. I actually met a sales VP for a coffee, to discuss an opportunity before lockdown, simply because he messaged me directly as he'd heard i was No1 at my company, and was able to give me some detail around what i was doing.
Remember too, that top sales people who have been in industry for a while have a huge network of promoters that they would have worked with who are now at other companies. I have plenty of doors already open at all the bucket list CV places should i wish. You're also up against this.
Lastly, you're in the IT sector. The salaries and packages have increased by about 100% in the last coupe of years (mine has more than tripled! What other industry do you know of where that has happened?) and they continue to rise. Some of the packages are utterly bonkers. Are you sure you're competitive?
Edited by nick s on Thursday 3rd September 10:57
Edited by nick s on Thursday 3rd September 10:59
MrBarry123 said:
b) they don’t deliver
Option b is the most common thing I’ve seen in the VAR space.
While this is true in my experience it is not as simple as saying they don't deliver because they aren't very good. I've seen some pretty damn good sales folk seemingly fail in a new company - they quickly move to something that is a better fit for them and do really well once again. Option b is the most common thing I’ve seen in the VAR space.
Depending on the sector, it can take a while to build a pipeline and convert it into revenue. I've seen some folk get given nice chunky accounts to prop them up in the first few months while others are left scratching around in the dirt with a big target and no leads.
An old sales leader I worked with used to joke that he'd much rather have lucky sales folk than good ones! I think his view was that you needed that luck to going in order to be good. He quickly fired the unlucky ones!
Best performing sales folk need time particularly when entering a new industry / sales approach but you need to give them the tools to do this. If they don't think they can make their money, they'll quickly disappear off to somewhere they think they can.
Sales folk are coin operated....Good sales folk don't hang around waiting for the product to catch up. They move to where they can make the most money.
fat80b said:
MrBarry123 said:
b) they don’t deliver
Option b is the most common thing I’ve seen in the VAR space.
While this is true in my experience it is not as simple as saying they don't deliver because they aren't very good. I've seen some pretty damn good sales folk seemingly fail in a new company - they quickly move to something that is a better fit for them and do really well once again. Option b is the most common thing I’ve seen in the VAR space.
Depending on the sector, it can take a while to build a pipeline and convert it into revenue. I've seen some folk get given nice chunky accounts to prop them up in the first few months while others are left scratching around in the dirt with a big target and no leads.
An old sales leader I worked with used to joke that he'd much rather have lucky sales folk than good ones! I think his view was that you needed that luck to going in order to be good. He quickly fired the unlucky ones!
Best performing sales folk need time particularly when entering a new industry / sales approach but you need to give them the tools to do this. If they don't think they can make their money, they'll quickly disappear off to somewhere they think they can.
Sales folk are coin operated....Good sales folk don't hang around waiting for the product to catch up. They move to where they can make the most money.
- They are not supported properly by the existing sales staff
- Existing sales staff bully them
- They are told about lead generation teams but these don't exist and you're expected to generate your own leads from scratch
- Existing sales staff have the "good" accounts meaning it's next to impossible to make a lot of money.
nick s said:
I'm a senior IT salesperson, and work in the Cloud space (professional and managed services)
Decent sales people seem to know where they're going next, and don't trawl LinkedIn for opportunity. I must get 10 blanket approaches per week.
So the outcome of this is that the poor sales people and under-performers will reply to any approach, but the top sales people in industry do not. I'll check gartner reports and look for industry leaders in the space i want to work in next. I could get caught by a LinkedIn approach but it'd have to be very targeted, a very interesting role, and the recruiter would have have to done their research on me and explain why it's a good fit.
My advice to you would be to find the companies that you think you ideal candidates would work for, and try and find out who the best sales people in that org are, and approach them with a targeted named approach. I actually met a sales VP for a coffee, to discuss an opportunity before lockdown, simply because he messaged me directly as he'd heard i was No1 at my company, and was able to give me some detail around what i was doing.
Remember too, that top sales people who have been in industry for a while have a huge network of promoters that they would have worked with who are now at other companies. I have plenty of doors already open at all the bucket list CV places should i wish. You're also up against this.
Lastly, you're in the IT sector. The salaries and packages have increased by about 100% in the last coupe of years (mine has more than tripled! What other industry do you know of where that has happened?) and they continue to rise. Some of the packages are utterly bonkers. Are you sure you're competitive?
Hi Nick, in terms of the VP wanting to meet you for coffee, how did he hear about your success? Do you post deal success on Linkedin or is it by 'word of mouth' in the industry? Decent sales people seem to know where they're going next, and don't trawl LinkedIn for opportunity. I must get 10 blanket approaches per week.
So the outcome of this is that the poor sales people and under-performers will reply to any approach, but the top sales people in industry do not. I'll check gartner reports and look for industry leaders in the space i want to work in next. I could get caught by a LinkedIn approach but it'd have to be very targeted, a very interesting role, and the recruiter would have have to done their research on me and explain why it's a good fit.
My advice to you would be to find the companies that you think you ideal candidates would work for, and try and find out who the best sales people in that org are, and approach them with a targeted named approach. I actually met a sales VP for a coffee, to discuss an opportunity before lockdown, simply because he messaged me directly as he'd heard i was No1 at my company, and was able to give me some detail around what i was doing.
Remember too, that top sales people who have been in industry for a while have a huge network of promoters that they would have worked with who are now at other companies. I have plenty of doors already open at all the bucket list CV places should i wish. You're also up against this.
Lastly, you're in the IT sector. The salaries and packages have increased by about 100% in the last coupe of years (mine has more than tripled! What other industry do you know of where that has happened?) and they continue to rise. Some of the packages are utterly bonkers. Are you sure you're competitive?
Edited by nick s on Thursday 3rd September 10:57
Edited by nick s on Thursday 3rd September 10:59
Genuinely interested as I might be looking for another role!
Gassing Station | Jobs & Employment Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff