10 years ago
January 7, 2015

6 Tips for Writing A Sales Job Description

Check out the following tips that will help you to write a professional sales job description for hiring great sales people.

Rhys Metler

Hiring sales people is not a task to be taken lightly. Great sales people make your job easier, your company more competitive, and your bottom line healthier. But how do you sort through your numerous sales job applicants to find those one or two superstars that you need? 

Don’t skimp on your sales hiring process. Putting a extra time and energy into hiring sales people will pay off enormously in the long run when you have ambitious and self-sufficient sales people working for you. This might mean that you put aside some of your own projects for a few days or getting some help with your sales job description. Remember that star sales people can be choosy, so they shop around for the best companies while they’re searching for a a new sales job. If your job description looks amateurish and sloppy, they may skip right over you. Check out the following tips that will help you to write a professional sales job description for hiring great sales people.

Tips for Writing a Great Sales Job Description

  • Start with an informative job title. The job title is the first thing sales job seekers look at. They have a lot of listings to look through, so they have to make snap judgments about whether or not to continue reading your posting. Therefore, be concise and specific with the job title. “Technical Sales Associate” is good; “Salesman” is bad (and sexist).
  • Use relevant keywords. As people look through job listings, they scan for keywords to match up their own expertise with potential jobs. Think about which keywords would be the most relevant for your company while on-boarding sales people, and include those keywords in your listing. This is especially important for online job databases that allow job seekers to search via keywords.
  • Avoid looking like spam. Overuse of ALL CAPS, too many exclamation points, symbols like * and ^, and the use of hashtags make your listing look like something that ought to go to your job seekers’ email spam folder. Keep it professional.
  • Tell why your company is great. As we talked about earlier, you need to use your own sales skills when hiring sales people. Highlight your company’s perks and talk up your company’s culture, but be absolutely truthful about what makes your company so great.
  • Describe the details of the position. Give your potential sales people a straightforward glimpse of their possible future at your company. What are the goals of the position? What regular tasks and responsibilities will the new sales person assume? Where is the job location? How many hours of work are expected each week? What’s the approximate salary? Are benefits offered?
  • Tell what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for more than a warm body, explain what you’re looking for. Include skills, education, work eligibility, and attributes. You can also include qualifications that would be nice to have but aren’t absolutely necessary, such as special certifications.

Once you’ve invested some time and thought into creating a well-designed sales job description, the resumes will flood in. If you also prepare well for on-boarding sales people, you’ll be in a great position to get your new sales star selling immediately.

Remember that sales people are skilled at selling themselves, so part of your job when it comes to hiring sales people is to be discriminating during the interview process. When hiring sales people, verify claims with hard data if possible, and ask hard-hitting, specific questions to those who seem more comfortable with generalities and future success.

Hiring sales people doesn’t have to be stressful and risky. Just prepare well and follow through.

Rhys Metler

Rhys is a tenacious, top performing Senior Sales Recruiter with 15+ years of focused experience in the Digital Media, Mobile, Software, Technology and B2B verticals. He has a successful track record of headhunting top performing sales candidates for some of the most exciting brands in North America. He is a Certified Recruitment Specialist (CRS) and has expert experience in prospecting new business, client retention/renewals and managing top performing sales and recruitment teams. Rhys enjoys spending quality time with his wife, son, and daughters, BBQing on a hot summer day and tropical vacations.

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