Should sales training be part of your recruitment strategy?

Looking to recruit a new sales team? Well, why should a target candidate work for you? 

• Do you pay generously?
• Do you have an interesting product to sell?
• Do you have a great company feel/culture that employees live for?

Even if it’s all of the above, it doesn’t necessarily mean your offer is more attractive than the next.

Below, Richard Palmer, founder of sales training organisation, Sure Train, provides a few tips that could make your offer more attractive:

Many employers will look for established, proven sales people who have a history of delivering on their sales targets. As a result, there is often the feeling that they do not require sales training and will slot directly into your team, with the right amount of product education.

However, you are missing a golden opportunity to not only attract that top sales person but also to build a platform for retaining them long into the future.

Unfortunately, many employers see sales training as a solution to a problem, rather than an ongoing beneficial activity. I am often called into companies when an issue has been identified. Either sales have dropped generally or specific sales people are not performing. The problem with this approach is that damage has already been done. Those lost sales may not be recoverable and the repeat business they could have brought to the company lost forever. So, the business is already on a downward slide before training is sourced to solve the problem.

Let’s liken this to a sports team. Top sports people do not train only when things are not going right. they train continuously in the skills that keep them at the top of their game. That is how we should be working with sales people. provide them with regular, focused and beneficial training that will keep them performing to their maximum capabilities and prevent that slide.

So, back to recruitment. A top sales person will be attracted by a continuous, forward looking development programme. They understand the need to regularly look at their skills and hone them through training. If you can add this benefit to your recruitment process, you will increase the chances of bringing in high quality people who will want to perform for you and stay with you.

Call Sure Train on 0800 840 1501 to find out how we can support your ongoing training programme.