During the recession, many organizations were forced to make staff cuts. Now as the economy improves, the race is on for organizations to fill new sales openings with better sales talent. Attracting top producers is difficult in any job market, since top producers are likely already employed; this makes them more passive in a job hunt, meaning you not only have to find this better sales talent but make them excited about the potential of working for you. However, there are three proven ways to attract better sales talent that you can implement right away to improve your results with these highly qualified individuals.

Sell the Benefits of Your Organization

If you want to attract better sales talent, try thinking like a top producer looking for a new opportunity might. What does he or she want from an employer that isn’t being provided now? Your task is to convince that better sales talent that the grass really is greener on your side of the fence. Benefits of working for you could include:

• Better compensation
• Openings for advancement
• Ongoing training and improvement opportunities
• A record of employee recognition

These individuals might be hesitant to move companies unless your interest in them is genuine and the benefits of making a move are clear. Think of what differentiates your company and focus on the benefits your target will find most attractive. You have to sell the salesperson if you want to attract better sales talent.

Use a Recruiting Agency

Most organizations have two or three go-to recruiting channels, but in order to find better sales talent firms need to expand their recruiting effort and use a more creative approach. Top salespeople are less likely to be actively looking for a new position, and even if they are, they are not likely to use career websites oriented towards entry level openings. These individuals are most often found through established recruiting agencies, which leverage all available channels to find the best qualified individuals for their candidate pools:

• Employee recommendations and other industry networking
• Sales specific website classified and/or partner ads
• Social media
• Job fairs
• Career websites

It is easiest to navigate and leverage the leads uncovered with a multi-channel recruiting approach with help from experienced recruiters. Recruiters can devote their working hours to finding better sales talent for you on all channels, freeing up your time to focus on only the best applicants.

Always Have an Opening for Top Talent

One of the biggest mistakes in the war for better sales talent is letting proven talent walk past your firm because you don’t have a published opening. Unfortunately, the best salespeople don’t time their job hunts to when your firm happens to be hiring. This means that in order to attract and retain top producers, you should be open to hiring a top candidate at any time. Your top producers cover their base salaries many times over, so don’t let a top producer who can do the same pass you over for lack of an established salary requisition. The best way to lose out on better sales talent is to tell talent you’ll call them back “when there’s an opening.”

If you want to attract better sales talent to your firm, you need to go where your ideal candidates are likely to be, entice them with the advantages of your firm, and sign them on when you have an opportunity. In any job market top producers are highly sought after, and these individuals never have to wait long for an offer. Using a recruiting agency is a sure way to attract better sales talent, and recruiters can also help hiring managers excite candidates about a position, as well as alert hiring managers to available top producers.