As the holidays wind down, it’s common to ease back into our normal work routines and start the year off slow. The year in a lot of cases doesn’t get started until the second or third week of January and by then you may have missed a golden opportunity to hire a great sales person. Companies that use this time wisely will end up starting the year off on the right foot. Here are three reasons why you should be recruiting sales people right now.

1. Activity

Like everyone else in the world, sales people use the holidays to reflect on their life, career  and current job. We know that 40% of sales people leave their job every year and a lot of them begin that process now. January 2nd is the busiest day of the year for people applying to sales jobs on our website. This tells you that sales people begin the New Year by looking for new opportunities. If you are not actively interviewing them now, you may miss out. So take advantage of the fact that thousands of great sales people are searching for sales jobs right now.

2. Fresh Start

Many organizations review their sales and hiring plans at the end of the year. By now, you know what problem sales people should go, which sales reps are on target or that you need to hire 3 more reps to hit your year-end sales goals. So don’t delay. By actively recruiting and interviewing sales people now means you will get jump on your plans.  Make the changes that need to be made. Get rid of the duds and replace them with better people now. There is no better time than the New Year for a fresh start for you and your sales team. 

3. Ramp Up Time

Because the New Year typically starts off slow for most companies, take advantage of the time to ramp up newly hired sales people. When things pick up later in the month, you won’t have the time to dedicate to the sales reps that you will now. Hire those sales people soon to take advantage of the slower time to onboard and train properly. If you do, you will cut down on the new sales rep’s ramp up time and get them producing revenue faster. 

Companies make a lot of excuses as to why they aren’t making hiring a priority during the holidays. The companies that do make sales hiring a priority will not only get the best sales talent, they’ll get the jump on their competition.