As the end of a recruitment year draws near, employers always start to fret about who will be in their sales line up for January. So they should, as for every target year drawing to a close there are always sales people considering whether commissions worked out as promised, writes Clive Jefferys, JMA Network.
Shortfalls are easily explained by missed targets, but this is also the time when 'Yeah, but...' starts to presage conversations about bonuses earned, but not paid. This conversation is cropping up among our new candidates, very closely linked to their reason for looking for a new job.
Recruiters rarely need to persuade anyone to move job for its own sake, we can rely on dissatisfaction or change of circumstance to bring candidates to our door.
So the big question for 2015 is: How to shape up for New Business?
The telecoms industry is accelerating towards a services contract sale with monthly revenue collection, and selling tin for a big fat GP payment is becoming harder and harder.
Consequently it's getting tough to win real new customers when incumbent suppliers already have multiple, overlapping contracts in place. If needs be, they slash their price to beat your new bid.
In today's world the best sales people are defined by charisma, flair and personality.
Every successful team has them. They sniff out opportunities and win their sales cleverly, enigmatically and unusually.
Yet other chaps plod through dry ITT's, and bemoan that a hundred pages of technical detail is not good enough to win a deal anymore.
Meanwhile, your charismatic salesperson is having dinner with the best prospects and selling the benefits, not the features, of their solution.
So where do the bumblebees come into it?
Well they are the sales people in the middle. They flit from flower to flower and never remember which ones yield the best nectar. They pick up heaps of leads and have a go at this, and at that, but never hang around long enough to get truly good at delivering what is needed.
Like any profession, it takes time and determination to get really good at anything, and you just have to stick at it.
Ironically, this counts the same for hirers too. They should stop looking for a quick fix and work harder at strengthening recruitment relationships with their jobsites, agencies and HR advisors.
Successful recruitment of key staff is a long-term process - you must always be looking for new talent! Look at every suitable candidate that comes your way, whether you have an official vacancy or not. If you see someone you like, construct a justified reason to hire - and win over your bosses to hire your next Charismatic Salesperson!