Want to hire the best sales representatives? Here’s a list of top 30 salesmen, the skills you must look for, and how to hire them!
Are you thinking about hiring sales representatives for your company? Every company needs a sales development representative, who can help in organizing the sales strategy of the company. Hiring a sales consultant will help you in giving the responsibility for organizing the sales strategies of your organization.
Hiring inside sales representatives allows a business owner to turn over the daily responsibilities of developing promotions, setting sales appointments, meeting with clients, negotiating contracts, and overseeing earning goals. If you have not thought yet about how to recruit individuals for sales representative jobs, this article can be quite helpful.
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Market for sales representative
The recent pandemic may have reduced the scope for sales executive jobs, but the economies around the world are recovering, and thus, people will get multiple opportunities in sales consulting jobs. The best part about the sales representative job description is that you can get a job in any domain and any industry.
All you need is skills and expertise. If you have the skills, you can become an outside sales representative for all types of organizations and industries. From the year 2019 to 2029, the sales field is projected to grow at a rate of 6%. As per a study, almost 70% of companies opined that they would have to stop their business if they didn’t get a good team of salespeople.
Thus, if you are thinking about taking your company towards the ladder of success, try to hire a sales agent who can work towards getting you more clients, better business, and more revenue. Looking at the scope and avenues and scope for sales in all types of business, now you need to choose a perfect retail sales consultant for your business and organization.
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Things to note while hiring sales representative
When you are hiring sales consultants, you need to pay attention to different factors. This is especially important when you are hiring an insurance sales agent for your business needs. Following are some of the major factors that you need to consider,
1. Value for money
Sales representative salary may vary depending upon the type of business you own. Thus, it is important to know your business requirement when you are hiring salespeople. Make sure to know that you are hiring a sales representative in such a way that he/she can offer the exact business value to your organization.
2. Qualification
A sales consultant should be such that he/she will be able to handle all sales tasks related to your business. Thus, make sure to check the qualification of the candidate before asking for the sales consultant’s salary. This way, you will be able to get a well-qualified salesperson.
3. References
If you are looking to hire a salesperson, you can get references. You can check different job posting websites to get better references. Platforms like unremot.com can help you know how to find a salesperson. You can also seek references from the previous company or the organization they work for.
4. Fix rates
You should have a complete idea about the sales development representative salary. Rate fixation will enable you to hire sales executives who will be suitable as per the budget of your business and organization.
5. Expertise
Expertise is another major factor that you need to consider when hiring salespeople. Before hiring someone, make sure to understand your needs. You need to search for someone who can address the needs of your business appropriately. These days everything works digitally. Thus, it is important to look for someone who can work according to the digital age.
6. Good reputation
Good qualification does not mean you will get reputed sales consultants. Make sure to look for someone who has integrity and reputation.
7. Personality
Just like you hire other employees, you need to check the personality and skills when you choose a salesman for hire. You want to hire someone who has a personality that is suited as per the reputation of your company.
8. Past experience
Before you hire a salesperson, make sure to know if they have previous experience or not. The salesperson you choose should have the necessary experience in the marketing and sales domain.
9. Computer literacy
In the present digital age, it is important to look for a salesperson for hire who has the necessary computer literacy. Tech-savvy freelance sales consultants have the capability to work quickly and efficiently.
10. Certification
You should also check the certification before hiring a salesperson. This way, you will be able to know if the salesperson is skilled enough or not.
11. Qualities of best sales consultants
Before you look out for hiring salesmen, it is important to look at the qualities of the salesperson. Following are the major qualities that you should check when you hire a sales consultant.
12. Listening ability
Listening ability is one of the key factors that you need to look at when hiring a salesperson. The best salespeople don’t keep on talking; instead, they also try to listen.
13. Empathy towards customers
Empathy is another major trait that you need to look for when you are looking for a salesperson. If the salesperson can get into the customer’s skin, he/she will be able to sell products and services quickly and effectively. Empathy is one of the best ways to know what customers want.
14. Hunger to perform
Salespeople need much more than skills to sell the products and services. Their personality needs hunger so that they can sell anything to anyone. Thus, the ego of the salesperson needs to be fed with a good sales number.
15. Competitiveness
When you are hiring a salesperson, make sure to know if the person is capable enough to handle competitiveness. They just don’t have to be better at what they do. Instead, a good IT sales consultant is one who wants to be better than others.
16. Networking ability
When you are going for salesman hiring, make sure that the person you are choosing has a good network. You can check the Linkedin as well as the social media profile of the candidate to know the networking ability.
17. Confidence
Confidence is one of the biggest traits that you are finding salespeople. No sale can be cracked unless the salesperson has the needed confidence.
18. Enthusiasm
Enthusiasm will help a salesperson to keep going. Thus, when you hire a salesperson, make sure to know if the person you are hiring is enthusiastic or not.
19. Resilience
Resilience is another major trait that you need to know when hiring a salesperson. Resilience will help the person to bounce back after the dry spell.
20. Multitasking skill
When you are looking for a salesperson, try to know if the person has the ability to multitask.
21. Communication
Communication is key when it comes to the sales field. Thus, when you are looking for salespeople, make sure to know if the person has good communication skills.
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Sales representative rate per hour
If you are looking for a salesman, it is important to know the sales executive salary and rate per hour. On average, sales consultants in the USA get a fee between $50 to $300. In addition to this, the average fee can vary depending upon the resume, experience, and skills of the candidate.
If you are looking for a candidate who can perform the task of sales consultant as well as a marketing consultant, you need to pay an average rate of $100 to $175. When it comes to sales consultant rate per hour in Europe, a regular consultant gets a salary of $60K per year.
When it comes to sales consultants in Asia, the average hourly rate is quite low. You will need to pay an average rate of $50-$70 to an average sales consultant in Asia.
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Places to find best sales representative
Do you want to know how to find a good salesperson? If yes, you need to know about the best sites for sales representative hiring. Following are the list of best places to find the best salesperson,
- Indeed: You can find a salesperson by getting jb subscription by Indeed.
- Google for jobs: This is a free platform that will help you in hiring talented salespeople from all around the world.
- Glassdoor: Glassdoor is one of the most authentic platforms to find people available for jobs.
- iHiresales: This platform is specially created to hire salesmen.
- Linkedin: You can use Linkedin paid version as well as a free version to choose the best salesperson for business.
- Monster: This is the oldest site that will help you in choosing the best salespeople from all over the world.
- Find jobs near you: This platform will help you in recruiting candidates who are located near you.
- Career builder: You need a few bucks to select the best candidates from this platform.
- unremot.com: This is one of the best platforms where you can find talented and experienced salespeople as well as other freelancers.
- Toptal: Toptal offers free as well as the paid version of the job ad posting option.
If you don’t know how to hire a salesperson for a startup, you can choose any of these platforms to hire a salesperson as per your choice. All these platforms can enable you to hire salespeople as per the needs of your business and organization.
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Steps involved in hiring best sales representative
Are you worried about how to hire a salesperson? If yes, follow all these steps to choose the best freelance salesperson for your business and organization.
1. Ask for a referral
You can look for a reference from someone related to the sales and marketing field when you want to find a salesman. This way, you will be able to hire a suitable candidate for the job. Try to make sure to take reference from someone you trust.
2. Choose a certified salesperson.
It is always advisable to choose someone for a sales task which has the needed certification. Even if you have a small business, a certified professional can help you in getting good quality work.
3. Lookout for hiring platforms.
Hiring platforms like Linkedin and unremot.com can help you in choosing salespeople with maximum ease. These platforms make the task of hiring professionals easier and better.
4. Look for experience
It is highly advisable to hire a salesman with the needed experience for the job. This way, you can be sure that you will get the task done by professionals with enough knowledge and experience.
5. Ask for the cost breakdown
One of the biggest questions that business owners face these days is how to hire a salesperson and how much to pay. Well, the answer to this question can depend on different factors like your need, the skills you expect, and the type of services you need. Make sure to keep your budget in mind when you are hiring sales personnel.
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Top 10 interview questions for sales representative
You need to ask specific questions to the salesperson so that you can choose the candidate with the best skills and experience.
1. How do you stay up to date about recent trends in marketing and sales?
Rationale: The rationale behind the candidate is if the candidate stays up-to-date about the field he is working in.
Sample Answer: Yes, I try to stay up-to-date by getting regular updates from the best publications, journals, and I also attend workshops regularly to level up my skills.
2. What are the top three skills that every salesperson must-have?
Rationale: The rationale behind this question is that if the candidate understands the requirement of the job.
Sample Answer: The top three skills that every salesperson must have include rapport-building strategy, good communication skills, and convincing skills.
3. How do you balance your life and work?
Rationale: The rationale behind this question is to know if the candidate has the best management skills and will he/she be able to handle both aspects of his/her life appropriately.
Sample Answer: I am pretty good at balancing work and life. I leave the day behind and shift gears to spend time with my family and friends.
4. What types of reports have you generated in your last job?
Rationale: This question will enable you to know if the salesperson knows how to create reports.
Sample Answer: I have experience in presenting annual sales reports and weekly reports as demanded by the organization I worked for.
5. Have you made any mistakes while cracking sales? How did you handle it?
Rationale: The rationale behind this question is to know if the candidate will be able to handle work-related stress.
Sample Answer: Yes, I have made a few errors. My seniors help me in rectifying the errors and mistakes I made during sales pitching.
6. Tell me about a time when you had to crack sales to a difficult customer.
Rationale: This question will help you know if the candidate is good at client and customer management.
Sample Answer: Yes, there are many instances when I had to face a difficult customer. I used my patience as my power to crack sales.
7. Will, you be able to work on a tight deadline?
Rationale: This question will enable you to know if the candidate will be able to work in a tight schedule.
Sample Answer: Yes, I like to work as per the deadline. In fact, deadlines help me to increase my efficiency.
8. What is the toughest sales challenge you have faced?
Rationale: This will help you know how skilled and efficient the candidate is.
Sample Answer: I have taken help from my seniors to solve tough challenges in sales and marketing.
9. Why did you choose sales as your career?
Rationale: This will enable you to know how serious the candidate is about taking the job
Sample Answer: Sales is one of the few professions where you get to work hard, strategize, use your brain and thinking abilities. I was good at all these capabilities, so I chose sales as my career.
10. Can you work in a big team?
Rationale: This question will help you determine the team spirit of the candidate.
Sample Answer: Yes, I have experience of working with a big team in the last company I was working for.
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Top 10 tools to use while hiring sales representative
If you are genuinely serious about hiring professional salespeople, you need to use certain tools that can help you in the hiring process,
- Application tracking system – The Application tracking system will help you in streamlining the entire process of recruitment. It can also help you in checking CVs, resumes, and applications of all applicants thus, making the process simpler for you.
- Mobile recruiting tools – More than 2.8 million job seekers make use of mobile devices to get job listings. Mobile is taking recruitment to a new level. Thus, it is important to have a mobile recruiting tool. You can choose different mobile apps that can aid in the recruitment of sales personnel.
- Gamification – Gamification can also be used in the non-gaming world. It can be used to better connect, communicate, and build relationships with candidates.
- Collaborative tool – Collaborative tools can be used for communication with the salespeople. It will also help you know if the candidate will be able to work well or not.
- Location technology – This will enable you to know the real-world geographical position of the candidate. This tool is especially useful when you are hiring candidates from all over the world.
- Video interview – This will help you in taking face-to-face interviews with the candidate.
- Internet sourcing – This will offer you a vast range of advanced searching techniques.
- Harver – Harver will enable you to predict the job performance of the candidate.
- AssessFirst – This will help you in giving automatic grading to the candidate.
- Plum – This is a psychology powered tool that will enable you in selecting the candidate. This tool will enable you to know the psychological aspects of a candidate.
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Dos and donts while hiring sales representative
You need to pay attention to certain Dos and Don’ts when you are looking for a salesperson for hire. Following are the list of dos,
- Check if the candidate has the needed skills.
- Check the flexibility as well as experience of the candidate.
- Try to check the versatility of the candidate in terms of using different sales techniques.
- Check the communication skill of the candidate.
- Try to know how efficient is the candidate in terms of using digital platforms.
- Know about the educational qualification of the candidate
- Try to know the salary they expect
- Ask the candidate about the level of experience.
- Try to know the sales certification candidate has
- Get details about the soft skills as well as technical skills the candidate has.
Donts
- Don’t rely solely on one candidate.
- Never select a candidate just by looking at the CV.
- Avoid outsourcing someone who doesn’t have the needed qualification.
- Try not to pay attention to only the experience.
- Don’t choose a candidate only on the basis of salary.
- Don’t overlook the personality and skills of the candidate.
- Don’t hire a candidate without taking up the interview round.
- Don’t hire a candidate who is not certified.
- Don’t overlook the skills of the candidate.
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When should I hire a salesperson?
If you are producing and manufacturing the best quality products, but you don’t have anyone who can explain the benefits of the products or services in front of a customer, you can find a good sales representative to do the job for you. The main function of a salesperson is to help customers know why they should purchase your product and services.
How much does it cost to hire a salesperson?
The cost of hiring a sales representative can be dependent on different factors. If you use platforms like Linkedin and unremot.com, you won’t have to spend a single penny on hiring a freelancer. If you are using paid versions of different recruitment platforms, you may need to spend almost $100 in hiring a salesperson.