Small Business Marketing News

Businesses Struggling To Hire Qualified Sales Reps

Written by Tim Morral
Published: 3/13/2012

A recent study by Manpower Group shows that experienced and qualified sales personnel are in short supply during the spring 2012 hiring season.

Interested in hiring sales people during the first half of 2012? According to a recent study by Manpower Group, finding first-rate sales hires might not be as easy as it sounds.

Sales Rep Shortage

The study indicates that sales reps are currently the second most difficult position for employers to fill, right behind skilled trades. The shortage of qualified sales personnel can have significant ramifications for SMBs since it may take months for employers to assess the quality of wrong or unproven sales hires.

"Make no mistake, hiring the wrong person could cost you well beyond six figures," says David Mattson, CEO of Sandler Training. "What most people don't realize is that they might find that their ideal sales representative is already working for their company -- just not in the sales function."

To combat the hiring shortage, Mattson advises employers to look outside the box and create a hiring profile that includes the actual, innate traits that are common to successful sales personnel.

"We have seen study after study refuting common misconceptions about salespeople's personalities, such as a good salesperson is Mr./Ms. Personality -- one that everyone loves; or the perception that a company has to hire from outside the company to get the talent it needs," says Mattson.

Rather than looking for candidates who seem to fall into an extroverted personality category or other sales-based stereotype, Mattson suggests focusing your search on disciplined individuals with a high aptitude for learning.

"A successful sales process is a mathematical, scientific function that can be taught by training the behaviors that lead to the intended results. If you find the right people, sales is a discipline where success can be taught, duplicated and multiplied time after time with the right training and reinforcement program."

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