Good sales people can make or break a company. A successful sales person not only improves your bottom line and grows your business, but also brings along a wealth of goodwill and positive public relations. On the flip side, a poor sales person can infinitely damage your corporate image. It is a very worthwhile effort to try to attract better sales people to your company, and here are some suggestions for how to do it.

Do Something Different

Chances are pretty good that you have always taken the same approach to recruiting new sales people to work for your company, and the results may have been mixed. Instead of doing the same old things you’ve always done, it could be a good time to take new approaches. To attract better sales people, you might need to try something completely different. Try new networking opportunities that could put you in touch with a different group of potential candidates.

Rely on Testing

Although many job seekers dislike personality tests, the truth is that these tests are a really valuable tool in your arsenal. Personality tests are based on a profile of an ideal employee’s traits. The role of a personality test is to help you weed out the potential employees whose skills may not be a good fit for the job. In particular, there is a fine line between confidence and cockiness. The former is necessary for any employee, but especially sales people. But being overly confident can lead to mistakes and poor interpersonal relationships between the sales person and potential clients, thus leading to lost sales and even public relations disasters. Use personality tests to help you attract better sales people to your company and you will see the benefits!

Offer Attractive Compensation

Running a profitable company includes keeping your expenses low, but cutting expenses too much can backfire on you in a big way. One budget line you shouldn’t slash is for compensation. In today’s very competitive business place, employees may be less willing to jump ship if wages are too low, but a low-ball offer may mean that you won’t keep your most talented employees around for long. You can attract better sales people and improve employee longevity by offering a very competitive total compensation package, including base salaries, bonuses and incentives, and insurance packages.

Have Top-Notch Support

Behind every great sales person is a strong, helpful team. Success doesn’t happen alone and we all need assistance. You can make it easier to attract better sales people if you have a solid, highly qualified support staff to stand behind your sales team. A good support staff can give your sales people more time and help to go out and make and close the big deals that your company really needs.