Dynamic, talented sales reps are always in high demand. But now, amid the Great Resignation, companies have a unique opportunity to attract new sales associates in search of greener employment pastures.
However, with this influx of talent on the job market also comes competition to secure the right candidate before another business does.
According to Jobvite’s 2021 Recruiter Nation Report, 70 percent of available positions are filled in less than 30 days. On the other hand, nearly 55 percent of recruiters have seen candidates reject an offer due to a lack of flexibility or the ability to work remotely.
Since many job seekers can be more selective right now, it’s crucial to ensure your offer aligns with top candidates' priorities. Here are five actionable ways to attract the sales talent you want to hire in the post-pandemic marketplace.
Make Remote or Hybrid Work an Option
The global WFH transition in 2020 has had two major outcomes. First, it’s demonstrated that remote work is possible and can increase productivity. Second, after experiencing work-from-home life for an extended period of time, employees have come to prefer remote work options.
Consider the numbers. According to a Gallup survey, 91 percent of U.S. workers who transitioned to remote in the pandemic want to continue doing so in some capacity, and 54 percent want to split their time between home and the office. Not only that, the survey also shows that three in 10 employees will seek a job elsewhere if remote or hybrid work is not an option.
So, to recruit new sales talent—and retain existing team members—it’s essential to offer the flexibility that workers demand with hybrid or remote sales positions. But there are also benefits for sales teams: You’re no longer limited to hiring local talent. You can create a diverse team of skilled sales reps nationwide or worldwide.
Of course, in a hybrid or fully remote model, you’ll have to work harder to foster connection and collaboration. But the payoffs are worth it—your retention rates will increase, and your talent pool will grow. If you’re looking for some tips on achieving this, read about Close’s transition to a fully remote team in 2014.
Retool Your Culture for Hybrid Work
While rates of loneliness and isolation have increased as a result of the pandemic, workplace loneliness has actually been growing for a long time, according to organizational psychologist Candace Noonan Hadley in the Harvard Business Review.
“Without a new approach to facilitating relationships at work, employee isolation and disconnection will continue to grow—regardless of whether people are back in the office,” she writes. “The post-pandemic transition provides the perfect opportunity to put the structures and rewards in place to facilitate a more connected workforce.”
While offering remote or hybrid work options is essential, balance this with a culture that promotes team camaraderie and the well-being of your sales associates.
Close attributes the success of their remote team culture to two core principles—care and communication: They care about and invest in the well-being of their employees, and they maintain transparency by promoting over-communication.
Look at your sales team and the company as a whole and see what changes you can implement to foster a culture that will stand out from others. Here are a few ideas for improving your culture from the communication experts at 4PSA:
- Reimagine your meetings. Respect everyone’s time by limiting the size of each meeting to 5–9 participants—invite just the key stakeholders. Poll team members for their ideas on how to improve meetings. Schedule meeting-free time blocks so that your team can focus on work and take a rest from Zoom.
- Empower your sales managers. Give your middle-management leaders the agency to act on new ideas or solutions from their direct reports. When managers can implement the feedback they receive, they’ll be more open to listening to their employees. This, in turn, will make your sales associates feel more engaged.
- Encourage regular breaks. Ensure your sales staff take their lunch breaks and normalize periodic breathers during the workday. This will prevent burnout and increase job satisfaction.
- Celebrate the contributions of your sales reps. Your organization would not function as successfully without their hard work, so make it a point to express your appreciation regularly. Even a simple “thank you” for completing a task or their commitment to a goal will show that you value them.
Vocalize Your Mission or Higher Purpose
According to research from Naina Dhingra on behalf of McKinsey, 70 percent of the modern workforce defines their purpose in terms of their job. Millennial and Gen Z employees are even more prone to view their work as a life calling.
So what that means is that people are looking for opportunities in the work they do daily actually to contribute to their purpose, Dhingra says.
Sales leaders should ensure that their organization's higher purpose is communicated to associates so they can understand the positive impact of their work.
For example, on its About page, Close expresses its organizational mission:
Our vision was to build the sales infrastructure necessary to empower companies around the world to scale their sales efforts. Existing solutions seemed to be focused on turning sales professionals into data entry specialists.
None of them showed any understanding of the needs of a sales person when it came to their job and daily workflow. Today, we're 40+ team members from around the world—supporting and coaching thousands of customers to grow every single day.
Craft your mission statement to post on your website and share it with all job candidates. Not only will this help you recruit passionate sales talent, but it will also help weed out candidates who aren’t aligned with your mission.
Offer Competitive Salaries and Benefits
As we move into the pandemic, compensation continues to be as hot a topic as ever.
According to Payscale's Fair Pay Impact Report, “Employees who are paid below market are overall 49.7 percent more likely than those who think they're paid at or above market to seek a new job in the next six months.” Additionally, the report states that “those who think they’re paid below market represent around two-thirds of job seekers.”
In response to these trends, 71 percent of companies surveyed by Payscale reported increasing base pay to retain their employees. Additionally, 28 percent provided tangible benefits or perks, and 23 percent used a retention bonus.
Sales leaders should determine if it’s time to increase base pay or provide other compensation perks to stay competitive with other companies.
Keep in mind that salary is only one part of a compensation package. Benefits and perks are essential in attracting and retaining great sales associates.
As co-founder and CEO of Close writes, “Whether it’s a death in the family or a new addition to it, how you treat your team members during pivotal life moments will dictate how they feel about you, the quality of their work, and whether they stick with you long term.”
It is vital to ensure your employees meet their needs with benefits and perks that address the pivotal moments in their lives and general well-being. This goes well beyond medical, dental, and vision insurance. Consider the following perks to help create work-life balance for your sales associates:
- Maternity and paternity leave
- Childcare services or stipends
- Retirement plans
- Wellness and fitness programs
- Paid vacation and personal time
- Student loan assistance
- Identity theft protection
- Career development education
- Bereavement time off
- Team building retreats
Utilize Attractive Tools and Technology
A robust technology infrastructure is essential for any sales team. However, studies show that an overly complicated tech stack with too many tools and platforms can be a turnoff for the average employee. In fact, according to Gartner, 75 percent of HR leaders agree that an increased number of digital touchpoints can cause virtual overload or even burnout.
Even more concerning, the 2023 State of Work Report from Workfront found that almost 50 percent of employees will consider leaving if frustrated with the tech stack.
So, you’ll need to present candidates with the right digital tools to enable them to perform their roles with streamlined efficiency. Below are some essential tools and platforms you’ll need for your remote sales tech stack:
- Customer relationship management (CRM) software
- Sales and marketing automation software
- Project management software
- Video conferencing software
- Appointment scheduling applications
- Social media selling applications
- Virtual private network (VPN) service
- Sales prospecting, calling, and tracking tools
- Data and metrics reporting software
Looking for more must-have tools? Check out this list of 52 top remote sales tools for your team to crush. And suppose you’re looking for a CRM. In that case, you’ll want to look into Close’s remote sales CRM platform, which was built specifically for the needs of remote sales teams, offering calling, video, and email capabilities across time zones in one seamless, unified location.
Attract the Kind of Sales Talent You Want to Hire
To attract the candidates you’re looking for, you’ll likely need to make some changes to stay competitive in the eyes of job seekers in the post-pandemic marketplace.
The good news is there’s more great talent to choose from than ever, especially if you’re one of the many sales teams that are going remote. And what’s more, the effort you put into making your team more attractive now is likely to pay off in terms of great new talent and high performers who want to stick around well into the future.
Transitioning to a remote sales team can be a tricky process. We've done it. We get it. We want to share some actionable advice to help you crush your sales goals– remotely. Introducing "The Remote Sales Team Playbook:"
