Why Outsource Sales Recruiting

Hiring the right people to represent your business is essential, especially when it comes to client-facing roles. As the saying goes, “You only get one chance to make a first impression.”

To get the very best candidates for your business, you need to look beyond your internal capabilities and take advantage of expert recruiting savvy. Let’s review the top reasons why outsourced recruiting benefits your organization.

Get the Best Candidate, Not the Best Applicant

Most HR departments cannot devote the amount of time it takes to direct-source candidates. Along with these time constraints, many of them don’t have the same access to the same tools as outsourced recruiters.

Posting your position online is a great way to get applicants, but let’s face it: top performers are typically working, not looking for a job.

Postings are most likely to provide you with candidates who are:

  • Unemployed
  • Unhappy
  • Underperforming

They rarely attract the type of candidate most companies are seeking: driven, self-motivated rainmakers.

Even if good candidates apply to your posting, casting a wider net ensures that you as a business leader have taken every opportunity to make the best decision.

Time is Money

Unlike most jobs, sales roles are directly tied to generating revenue for your organization. An open position can cost thousands of dollars in lost revenue each week. Even worse, you could lose an existing client who’s not receiving the attention they deserve.

For example, if you have an opening that takes 10 weeks to fill internally and your weekly sales target is $5k per week, the “cost of vacancy” amounts to $50,000.

When you compare the expense of outsourcing the role, always consider the cost of lost sales (or customers) from having the vacancy remain open too long. Using a good recruiting service specializing in sales roles can save you thousands of dollars in lost revenue.

sales recruiting

Humanize the Candidate Experience

Technology has taken over many tasks in our work environment. In most cases, this has benefited organizations. However, when it comes to recruiting, the most common complaint we hear from candidates is the lack of communication or responsiveness companies provide.

Submitting your resume online and getting the automated email, “Thank you for applying, if we feel you are a good fit someone will reach out to you” may provide efficiency internally, but in most cases, it leaves the candidate wondering what’s next.

Likewise, many of these emails also include a link to complete some type of assessment or cultural index. Trust me when I tell you that candidates are tired of filling out everyone’s version of the same evaluation.

Connect with the candidate first. You can always collect additional information later in the process!

Candidates want authentic conversations with someone who:

  • Understands the role
  • Can share information about the company
  • Will listen to what’s important to them

We call this humanizing the candidate experience. Whether they get hired or not, everyone should leave with a great impression of your organization.

Choose your outsourced partner carefully and take the time to onboard them properly. They are an extension of your brand.

Make sure the actual hiring manager participates in the onboarding process. This will have a positive impact on the quality of the candidates submitted and save time interviewing people that may not have the soft skills managers are looking for.

It's time to stop hiding behind the veil of HR and activity participate in the process. That’s how you get the best results.

Focus on Core Business

Whether you’re an HR professional trying to juggle recruiting or a sales leader managing a team, sourcing great candidates is a very time-consuming activity. With so much at stake for your organization, it’s important to concentrate your efforts where you have the most impact.

Most clients we work with typically have their HR department focus on several factors that influence your workforce:

  • Retention Initiatives
  • Training & Development
  • Internal Referral Programs
  • New Hire Onboarding

All are critical to retaining your employees and maximizing their potential.

Likewise, Sales leaders have many responsibilities, such as

  • Providing Support to the Existing Sales Team
  • Enhancing Sales Capabilities
  • Ensuring Weekly/Monthly Targets Are Achieved

Taking your eye off these critical functions will inevitably have an impact on financial goals.

The 3 Ts

Many different factors influence the success of your Sales efforts: marketing, CRM, selling processes, storytelling, and time management. Like Sales, recruiting relies on some of these items as well. We emphasize the 3 Ts: Tools, Technology & Time.

Tools and Technology

Tools encompass many different things, but if you’re going to reach every candidate, it’s important to cast a wide net. This means paying careful attention to the right job boards, LinkedIn Recruiter, social media, and professional organizations.

Like a CRM, recruiters use a similar tool called an ATS (Applicant Tracking System), which manages job orders, candidate processes, and client information.

Over time this can become a powerful resource for established agencies, collecting millions of resumes and providing easy access to connect with candidates instantly. Most modern ATS now include drip marketing functions to keep your audience engaged.

Having a robust communications platform is equally important. You want one that allows you to call, text, and video conference. You may also want to choose one that allows you to record conversations.

When we look at recruiting statistics, over 60% of candidates initiate their first response to a job through a mobile device and prefer texting to initially communicate with recruiters.

Auto-scheduling tools are also great because they allow candidates to easily select a time/day to speak with a recruiter at their convenience.

Always remember that we are in the people business. The process should be designed as a convenient, effective way for candidates to engage with your organization, especially in a tight labor market.

Time

As you can imagine, these activities take time, and like sales, the most time-consuming part can be connecting/scheduling qualified appointments with candidates. Recruiting salespeople also requires a commitment to learning their language.

Understanding how to structure an interview that collects relevant information for this type of position is key.

It starts by building trust and strategically guiding the conversation through 7 key attributes:

  • Sales Process
  • Customer Relations
  • Drive & Achievement
  • Tenacity
  • Cultural Fit
  • Communication Skills
  • Problem-Solving Ability

This process drives exceptional results when qualifying candidates and ultimately finding great hires for your organization.

Outsource Your Sales Recruiting

You don’t want to wait until you have a recruiting problem before considering outsourcing. You may be at a disadvantage without even knowing it. Outsourcing sales recruiting doesn’t have to be hard; it just requires the right approach to produce exceptional results.

“Hiring the right people is a process, cultivating their potential is leadership.”

September 8, 2022

David Sargeant

My recruiter at ACA Talent intuitively knows what kinds of candidates I want to see, so I don’t have to see four candidates to get the one that I want.

- Field Sales Manager -

I spend zero time recruiting now that we’re working with ACA Talent. I don’t have to pound the pavement to find people.

- Route Sales Manager, Snack Food Brand

In the past, recruiting all fell on the sales manager’s shoulders. It used up so much of our time at the expense of running our business. ACA Talent has made it possible for me to focus on my job with little concern over manpower. It’s like pushing the “easy” button with them.

-Regional Sales Manager, Security Firm