• 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.