Part I: Sales recruting, Easy or Difficult?

There is an old adage in politics; “If you want a real friend, buy a dog.” Well in the world of sales recruiting the line goes this way, “If you want a real sales recruiter hire a salesperson.”

While recruiting (or “staffing” if you still refer to IT as “data processing”) has traditionally been the domain of Human Resources its location is misplaced especially when it comes to sales recruiting. Human Resources organizations, because they are typically charged with administration, cost control & risk mitigation, tend to treat recruiting as an administrative function and are more inclined to hire people who simply facilitate the process rather than drive it.

All recruiting is sales and sales recruiting is particularly unique.

Our experience shows that the most effective sales recruiters are those who most closely match the characteristics of an enterprise technology salesperson. There are several reasons why, which we’ll discuss in a moment, but the most salient characteristic is what we call Discernment.

Discernment is the ability to assess situations and people quickly and accurately. Discerners are good problem solvers, they’re analytical and think strategically. Judging talent is the single most critical ability an effective recruiter brings to the game. In this capacity an effective recruiter acts like the sales organization’s Director of Player Operations... scouting for talent and building a championship team.

So how do we define what we need to look for in a sales recruiter?

In following our own selection methodology we begin by defining the nature and requirements of the role and study the operating environment to construct a relevant profile or competency model.

The model consists of three dimensions:

• Abilities
• Chemistry
• Experience

For the purpose of this discussion we’ll narrow our focus to the key elements of the Abilities dimension. The Abilities dimension of the profile defines the traits & skills required to effectively perform the role of sales recruiter for an Information Technology company.

Comming soon: Part II - Analyse Sales Models

Source: By Ross Rich, Managing Principal, Selection Strategies, Inc.