3 ways employers can attract the best sales talent

1. Build an Employer Brand

Top salespeople want to work for your company because of a great employer brand. Appealing to top salespeople requires that companies develop their employer brands with these aspects in mind:

Position the Company as a Market Leader

Top salespeople are always interested in working for industry leaders or high-growth companies dominating their sector.? There should be clear evidence of success and sales reps/VPs, etc., who are surpassing their quota. Companies interested in retaining top talent should be able to show their legitimacy through some of their current and future Logos as well as sales achievements and commissions sales reps and top sales executives have been receiving.

Emphasis on a Sales Culture

Outstanding sales reps want to work for companies that value what they do. Therefore, in order to recruit top talent, companies should focus on creating a pro-sales environment and culture in which the sales organization is valued highly at the company.

This shows prospective candidates that there is a strong foundation and support of the sales organization and willingness of a company to support the autonomy and ingenuity of their sales teams.

Career Track

Companies should provide a robust and generous career track to sales reps and their future career objectives. They should provide opportunities for senior management growth in sales (if that is their career objective) or senior sales positions in their industry vertical (if they are more oriented as a solo contributor focused on accounts and money).

Outstanding companies combine opportunities with fast career tracks, giving salespeople more freedom to take on bigger accounts and move into management opportunities.

2. Offer Leading Compensation

To attract sales professionals with strong records of success, companies need to provide competitive compensation.

Top-tier talent only works for above-average compensation that matches their skill set, experience level and selling potential. When targeting these salespeople, executives need to offer premium compensation with commissions that have an immediate impact on their income.

3. Show their importance in the Growth of the Company

Employees who have meaning from their work are three times as likely to stay at their company, while reporting higher job satisfaction and more engagement on the job. Hiring Managers need to recognize the role of these factors in motivating high-performing candidates to take on a new role and stay with the company.

Sales reps can be part of a growth story, helping to form a company from the ground up. Emphasize the opportunity for people to take ownership of their role within a company and have a long term impact.

Give the Best in order to Get The Best

Top salespeople are highly sought-after and receive numerous job offers from multiple companies. Competing for a limited pool of top-tier candidates requires that leaders show their employee brand, offer above-average compensation and stress the importance of impact they can make to the company in a meaningful way.