When hiring, how often are you looking for non-traditional candidates to fill your sales roles? Where are some of the places you look?
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Director of Sales in Telecommunication10 months ago
I believe that sales is a team effort. Therefore, when I search for talent, I first identify the specific gaps in skills and knowledge for the team and look for candidates who possess those qualities. I tend to prioritize candidates with experience in industries related to our clients. For instance, when I worked in the telecommunications industry, I looked for candidates with experience in that field. However, I later learned that hiring an account manager from the fintech industry could bring excellent results when looking for someone to manage fintech accounts. More than half of the sales process involves understanding the customer's needs and expectations, and those who have worked in that specific industry are often better equipped to do so.VP of Sales10 months ago
Very frequently! Some of my top performers came directly from hospitality, teaching, and military. Fresh perspectives and open minds with different backgrounds helps the team too.LinkedIn Groups, Facebook groups, personal referrals, networking events, hosting recruiting happy hours.
Founder and Chief Sales Energizer in Services (non-Government)10 months ago
I'd say most of my clients are not looking for non-traditional candidate although I believe it is a good idea. I think being intentional about looking for people who have the ability and can learn quickly will bring great candidates that wouldn't have even made it into the candidate pool. For finding women in sales there are two great groups Women in Revenue run by Deanna Ransom and Women in Sales run by . I think that teachers make great sales candidates as well and they are easy to find. Head of Sales in Software10 months ago
Often enough, for entry level roles. It will vary quite a bit in my experience by the type of sale you are doing. For Enterprise Saas sales, I almost never do this. It's too important to get the hire right and other Enterprise Saas sales motions may be similar but even then there is risk in hiring. You can't miss at that level. At SDR or SMB Saas you can make it work, no problem.
I've seen success with service industry folks, door to door sales people, and former athletes.
CEO in Services (non-Government)9 months ago
Rarely. I have worked with clients that have hired only subject matter experts and invested in training them sales skills. The success of those individuals has been limited. I would rather invest in hiring people with the right traits and competencies and invest in the right training.