As a sales manager you can find yourself pulled in many different directions particularly if you have a large sales staff or if your sales team is spread over a large geographic area. When you are in the position of having to fill a sales vacancy, it can become very time consuming and frustrating. This is one of many reasons that you should consider using sales recruiters. Although the fees for sales recruiters can sometimes seem high, the cost of your time, combined with the cost of a personnel search and the cost of leaving a territory uncovered can be far higher.

There are several reasons that, as a sales manager, you should consider using sales recruiters.

1. Unattended Territory. The minute your sales area becomes vacant you start losing money. Obviously, new opportunities for growth will be missed. You also need to consider who is going to offer your current customers the support that they need. If you call upon sales people from other areas to cover the vacant area it can hurt their productivity. Moving people around to spread them out over larger areas to cover vacancies can actually reduce sales and cost you more money in expenses. Using sales recruiters can help you cover this area more quickly and efficiently.
2. Internal Costs. Although it may seem counter intuitive, using sales recruiters can actually save your company money in the long run. An intensive search is costly. The process is lengthy. You have to consider the cost of reaching potential candidates, initial screening by Human Resources, sales interviews and follow-up interviews. This needs to be done for each qualified candidate. Using sales recruiters relieves you of most of these costly processes.
3. Losing Focus. As a sales manager you are responsible for making sure your current staff is working at full efficiency. Your sales staff will continue to need your support, input and supervision. Your Human Resources department is not sales oriented. They can screen potential candidates, but the bulk of the process will fall to you and that can be extremely time consuming. It’s far too easy to lose focus and put the needs of your current sales people on a back burner until you fill the vacancy. Using sales recruiters allows you to maintain your focus on sales.
4. Reserves. Sales recruiters are constantly recruiting. They are likely to have qualified people readily available. Their profession is based on knowing where to find competent, experienced sales people that could be perfect for your sales team. The top performing sales person that you are looking for may already be employed with another company and not even be aware of the opportunity at your company. Sales recruiters use outreach sources and networking to reach these top performers and can sell them on the benefits of your company.
5. Evaluation and Assessment. It is not easy to assess and evaluate the sales performance of someone who is not working for you. Sales recruiters work with sales candidates every day. They have developed processes for screening, evaluating and assessing a potential candidates’ true qualifications and abilities. In addition, they can obtain references, provide background checks and assist in the negotiation process with the candidate that you are interested in.

It is a difficult, costly and time consuming process to fill sales vacancies. Sales recruiters can help you and your organization find the most qualified person and can do it reliably. Using sales recruiters can be the most efficient and cost effective way for you to find the best sales people allowing you to maintain your focus on sales.