When you are in the process of hiring sales people, it can be a very challenging time. There seems to be a lot of good sales talent out there, but how do you go about hiring sales people that are cream of the crop. Additionally, you want the right people to help build and develop your sales team so they have to fit with your culture. You need to consider what they have to offer you and what you have to offer them.

1. Always be on the lookout.

Good sales people are usually known to everyone in their own industry. One of your best sources of hiring sales people who will help your team is to look at your competition. Is there a particular person that seems to always beat you out of a sale? You want this person on your team. Just as in sports, where players are lured to other teams to fill in specific needs that the team has, you should be looking for the people who can help you develop your team. Don’t limit your search to outside your organization. There may be people within your own company who could be filling a need within your sales team.

2. Look at past performance.

When you are hiring sales people and you start receiving applications from potential sales people, look at their numbers. One of the best predictors of future performance is past performance. Numbers don’t lie. They may not tell you the whole story of a person, their sales experience and success, but the numbers will certainly give you an idea as to what you can expect from them. Basically, when you are hiring sales people, you need to know what their past selling experience was and how well they did. Determine what you need from your sales people in terms of measurable goals. This can be cold calling, developing new markets or closing deals. Look for candidates whose experience and successes mesh with goals that are important to you. This will give you a very good idea of how well they will do for you. You also need to see how they fit with their last company or if there were problems. If you have a good team, part of good performance is helping to make the whole team successful.

3. Look at what you have to offer.

If your compensation package is not good, you are not going to attract the best people. When hiring sales people you need to keep in mind why people stay in sales. For the most part, it will not be for the love of being in sales. Sales people are in it for the money, the bonuses, the commission and the rewards. When you are hiring sales people, you will never be able to persuade them to join your team if your compensation package is lacking. Find out what other companies are offering and top it. If your compensation package is not what it should be, not only will you have difficulty hiring sales people, you will also risk losing the better sales people that you have. Remember, you are not the only sales manager looking for the best sales people.

When hiring sales people you need to be constantly networking to find the best people. You need to make sure that you are only hiring top performers. Moreover, you need to make sure that you are able to offer a great compensation package that will reward the best sales people for their high performance.