The pandemic changed a lot about how businesses operate. How we hire people is at the top of the list. Sales is a very personable industry. There is a lot of interaction among sales reps with clients, vendors, and within their own sales teams. COVID-19 brought most of this interaction to a halt, like most other industries. This change also brought about shifts in how companies approach selling and the sales candidate hiring experience.

Here are three things the pandemic transformed in the sales candidate hiring experience:

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1. The Virtual Job Interview Experience

You may have had a well-thought-out candidate experience for potential reps. They come into the office, you do an interview, introduce them to the team members, and give them a sample of the company culture. The pandemic prevented this from being possible. So, the candidate experience needed to be shifted online. Sales employers were left with the need to find new ways to create a great experience candidate online. This came in the form of online interviews, virtual tours, demos, and meetings to give candidates an idea of what it’s like to work for the employer.

The focus on the candidate experience also shifted to focus on their digital skills and abilities. No longer were employers looking for traditional sales candidates. They needed a hybrid candidate with sales and technology skills.

2. An Increased Need to Show Digital Sales Skills

Sales has continued, but a lot of what sales reps used to do in person has shifted online. So, candidates have needed to show how they can sell in a remote environment. They need to exhibit the ability to do online demos, meet with clients online and execute the sales process with a greater reliance on online sales strategies.

3. Greater Emphasis on Tech Skills

There is no doubt technology has become a more important part of sales. But the pandemic thrust the two together faster than anyone expected. Technology skills became paramount overnight. Sales professionals need to not only understand the inner workings of CRMs and sales software but also how to sell in an online environment. Selling on video, email, or over the phone is very different than selling in person. Reps needed to understand how to best present themselves online and how to leverage tools like Zoom, Google Hangout, and other online tools to connect with prospects and clients.

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