Recruiting and retaining top sales people is a constant, never-ending battle for sales managers. When you recruit the best sales people, you can sell more products or services, and in turn, increase revenue for your company. But it’s not so easy to recruit the best sales people. As very few reps have what it takes to really make a positive impact on your sales targets, they’re in high demand.

But if you use the strategies we’ve listed below, you can start to successfully recruit the best sales people for your company in order to strengthen your sales force.

Recruit All the Time

Recruiting top talent won’t happen overnight, which means it needs to be an ongoing process. Don’t just start looking for a replacement when one of your sales people decides to leave. The time constraints and urgency will cloud your judgment and make you settle for mediocre candidates. Don’t go for convenient hires—go for ideal hires. If you compromise with a less-than-stellar new hire, you’ll be dealing with the consequences for a long time to come.

Rather, you should be creating an inbound marketing system that attracts top sales people. Work on your brand identity. Update your website to highlight your brand’s values and culture and show off the rewards that sales people can have when they work for you. And, create a section on your website where candidates can apply for a position at your company whenever they want to. When you’re not pressed for time, you can wait to recruit the best sales people instead of settling for the mediocre.

Create a Referral Program

You should be incentivizing your current sales people to always be on the lookout for top talent. They should be rewarded handsomely for tapping into their own networks and recruiting great sales talent on your behalf. Your current staff members already know what your organization is about and they can spot the people who will succeed in your environment.

Use Sales Assessments

It’s not easy to be successful in sales. Most people don’t have what it takes to. Instead of recruiting based on your gut, use sales assessments to profile strengths in a quantitative fashion. They’ll help you predict success factors and filter out the applicants who are less likely to show real talent.

Focus on Fit

Much of what makes sales people great at their job can be learned. With an effective training and development program, you can teach new hires the skills they’ll need to succeed. So what you should be really focusing on during your interviews is cultural fit. When you recruit a candidate who has the same values, ideals, and goals as your organization has, you have a better chance of hiring someone who will be happy to work for you, who will be dedicated to the job, and who will stay with you for the long haul.

Put Them to the Test

Before you hire anyone, you should be putting him or her to the test. During the interview, have them pitch you your own company to see how well they can sell. It will not only give you insight into their sales skills but also show you how prepared they are, how well they handle pressure, how well they communicate, and how much research they’ve done about your organization, which will tell you how interested they really are in the job.

Work with a Sales Recruitment Agency

The recruiters at a sales staffing agency used to be sales people themselves, so they know exactly what to look for when they recruit new hires—they can spot the gems and weed out the bad apples. Plus, they only are paid when you hire someone, so they’ll be really motivated to recruit the best candidates. A sales recruitment agency will also have the time, resources, and skills to make the right choices, so you can reduce your turnover rate.