10 years ago
January 5, 2015

How Staffing Agencies Recruit for Sales Positions

Staffing agencies specialize in helping organizations reach and recruit top sales talent.

Rhys Metler

The competition for top sales talent is heated in any market as organizations try to win over a limited number of truly great sales people. Staffing agencies specialize in helping organizations reach and recruit this talent before the competition has the opportunity, and in this way staffing agencies can make the difference between average and exceptional performance in your organization’s recruiting efforts.

Staffing Agencies Consult to Understand Your Organization’s Needs

The sales hiring needs of your organization are front and center for staffing agencies, as it is only by understanding those needs that a staffing agency can deliver highly qualified candidates for an open sales position. Being able to sell is not enough to make a candidate highly qualified so staffing agencies will consult with your organization as a first step, seeking to understand other qualifiers such as:

  • Your organization’s culture, to look for cultural fit in candidates
  • The long term goals and career paths for successful sales people, to ensure candidate longevity
  • Your company’s must-have and would-like-to-have qualifications for candidates

By being conversant in the specific and unique aspects of your organization driving the search for qualified sales people, staffing agencies can better qualify candidates and focus on only those who are an exceptional match for your organization’s needs.

Staffing Agencies Take a Two-Tier Approach to Finding Sales Candidates

It is fair to say that staffing agencies are ‘always on’: The search for qualified and talented sales people is never put on hold at a staffing agency. This helps staffing agencies build candidate databases of sales people with experience and skills at all levels and industries. However, successful staffing agencies know that it is not enough to rely on a candidate database to fulfill the needs of organizations looking to hire, and will also deploy custom search and recruitment efforts based on the ideal candidates that an organization is looking for.

This two tier approach allows staffing agencies to deliver the highest number of qualified candidates in the least amount of time, saving costs in the process. These cost and time savings benefit all parties involved, including your organization, the staffing agencies, and the candidates. Moreover, since these efficiencies enable candidates to meet with your organization with less delay, your organization is at less risk of losing out on a top candidate due to a prolonged hiring process.

Staffing Agencies Screen and Skills Test Before Referral

Before your organization is ever forwarded a candidate profile, your staffing agency has already ensured that the candidate meets expectations by administering thorough screening and skills testing. Staffing agencies know that their reputation depends on the quality of candidates they are able to provide, and are therefore committed to ensuring that every candidate referred is viable. The measures included in this process encompass:

  • Initial interviews by telephone and in person to gage who the candidate is and what the candidate is looking for
  • Screening that includes background and reference checks as well as personality and other profiles
  • Skills testing that takes the extra step to verify candidates’ backgrounds and abilities

Staffing Agencies Work Until the Right Candidate is Found

One of the major benefits of working with staffing agencies is that organizations are assigned a point person who will partner with them throughout the sales hiring process. When your organization works with a staffing agency that has experience and a strong reputation in sales hiring, you can be assured that the point person will not stop working for you until your organization finds the right candidate for the job.

Staffing agencies perform an important function in the sales job marketplace, and through their total focus on sales hiring are able to capture and relay efficiencies and savings to organizations looking to hire top sales talent. Don’t let your sales department miss out on the opportunity to hire top sales talent. Look into staffing agencies specializing in your sales areas for your next recruiting drive.

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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