Recruiting in Sales

Sales guides are boring, and it isn't fun to read them or sit through the training modules our businesses and leadership say are good for us. However, I've been in sales and recruiting for seven years and learned some specific things that will help anyone be better at recruiting. In this article, you'll find five good takeaways you can use, regardless of the type of recruiting you have experience doing. Today we'll look at recruiter networking and general advice pieces to help you be a more successful recruiter regardless of your current experience levels.

Get advice/training from someone already successful.

This one is pretty straightforward but not done often enough. Regardless of your experience level, ask other existing recruiters you feel are real recruiters for advice, guidance, and even training if appropriate. If you've been recruiting for a while, you know what I mean by real recruiters, but I'll clarify as this can be a little hazy. Recruiting really highlights strong sales backgrounds, personalities, and people. Some people are naturally better at recruiting than others, but there is a mindset that long-term recruiters tend to develop. This mindset can sometimes be cynical but usually revolves around a core value. One can spot these individuals from a mile away, and they're the best ones to gravitate towards to seek simple advice. They're not likely to divulge all of their recruiting strategies, but asking them how a normal conversation with a client or prospect progresses will likely earn you some solid advice. Top performers are going to be the best resource readily on hand, and even if you are a top performer yourself, it would still be beneficial for you to seek out advice from your well-performing colleagues.

Be prepared to offer something in exchange for advice

I will often seek advice but bring something valuable in trade. What is valuable depends on the person. Some people value things such as leads, and others value things like advice in return on how you handle a specific type of client, prospect, or situation that arises. When you do approach others in what is a networking capacity, be prepared to offer something that an individual would feel is valuable. If you don't know what they'd find beneficial, ask them. You'll never get what you don't ask for, and asking for advice from others is going to be pivotal to long-term success.

Negotiation and why it's important

No one likes scripted conversations. So instead, I'll ask you to answer something as the reader of this article. Why are you reading this article today? If you thought to yourself, 'because you [I] want to be a better recruiter.' Perfect, that's a great response. If you thought to yourself before you read what I wrote, he wants me to say 'to be a better recruiter,' then you just did what every prospect, client, and lead you interact with is doing when you have an engagement with them. You're inferring what I'm about to say based on what I've already said. This leading and forward-thinking thought process is part of what makes us successful at negotiating, and that's what takes place as we get that prospect in conversation. Regardless of the medium, whether we're cold calling, responding to emails, or having face-to-face interactions, negotiations are occurring. A negotiation occurs because our prospect has a problem, we have a solution, and we need to figure out the why of the prospect's need.

Finding the why

It is common for sales coaching to bring up the concept of finding the why, and that is with good reason. The why is the primary motivator for your prospect searching for your product or service. Let's think of it like this: your refrigerator stops working, and you need to replace it. So your spouse says, "I need you to get a new fridge today." You say that you'll focus on that since you have the day off and your spouse feels satisfied that you'll get the task done. Your spouse needs a solution to the broken appliance, and that solution is a new refrigerator. You call around and visit a local appliance store. The sales rep comes up to you, and after introductions, you say that you need a new fridge. The sales rep says, "Ah, that's great. What is the most important factor for you? Is it cost or energy savings?" You think about it for a moment and respond, "Cost." The sales rep then takes you down to some cheap white refrigerators that cost around the $500 mark. These are a lot smaller than what you have currently, but it's cheap and will cover your immediate need and solve your spouse's problem. BUT... does it really solve the problem? You decline and visit the next small appliance store in your town. This rep approaches you just like the first, and when they find out that you are shopping for a new refrigerator, they respond, "Oh, okay, I can help you with that. First, tell me about your current fridge. Is it larger or smaller than this one?" They asked while gesturing to a medium-sized model. You respond that your current model is a bit bigger. "Ah, okay. Do you have a lot of people in your household?" You nod, "Yes. We have four kids that live with us. We also have friends and family visiting most weekends, and it's usually quite busy in the kitchen." The sales rep smiles and nods knowingly, "I thought that might be the case. We have three models on the floor right now that will fit your needs. Let's discuss which of these has the specific features that matter most to you while we look at them." The second sales rep has found your why and started working on a solution that correctly fits your needs. The second sales rep shows you options that cost $1200 to $1500, and you happily pay the money needed because they found out your why. This example illustrates how finding out the why is so important and makes the difference between successful recruiters and recruiters just looking to close on an easy sale.

Choose not to be indifferent

What kind of recruiter do you want to be? The power is in your court to use the strategies, tools, and coaching you've received. In the previous section, we discussed two different sales reps. Sales rep one is likely going to get some sales with their approach, but they could have sold you on the very same unit that sales rep two sold you on had they taken the time to find out your why. Earlier, we discussed that a person is able to infer what you're about to say before you even say it, and that can help in negotiation. If you're still reading this article, then I can already anticipate that you want to be more like sales rep two, and you already knew I was going to say this. Being able to shape the direction of a conversation can be your most vital tool if you allow yourself to do it, just like sales rep two did in my example. Let your prospect tell you what you need to do to help them, and you'll find more success in fulfilling their needs. This all circles around a core concept which is avoiding laziness. Sales rep one's approach is the indifference approach going straight to the point and avoiding building a relationship. Sales rep two's approach took more effort but hardly any more time invested. The difference between the two approaches was laziness and effort. Recruiting can be mundane, especially as we're looking at leads for cold calling. For many of us, cold calling is a reality we don't like doing when we'd rather be doing other aspects of our jobs. It may not be cold calling for your organization. It may be another task you avoid because it feels like a drag and often can be. How does it feel when that moment comes when you've made that call, and it was a success? How does it feel to have gone above and beyond helping a prospect fulfill their why? Those positive feelings will come more frequently for someone who is being diligent even with little conversion on potential prospects.

Find the why, direct the conversation to where the prospect can infer that what you're offering is the right solution for them, and seek advice to polish that process from others who are more successful than you are in your organization.