How to Find the Hidden Gem: Top Sales Talent

Sourcing sales candidates is a struggle. This is especially challenging when the majority of the top tier sales candidates are not actively looking for their next sales opportunity.  A LinkedIn report states that only 36% of professionals are actively searching a new opportunity. The majority of those top candidates are not actively looking. How do you get your brand in front of these people? How can you stand out and cut through the noise? 

Before you can understand how to get your brand in front of these candidates and cut through the noise, you need to understand why this is so important. This number, 36% needs to be broken down even further. When you think about how many of those 36% are actually interested, qualified and available in your role and company the number will go down even further. If you use a conservative number and assume that 30% of professionals are actively looking, qualified and interested in your role. This means that 70% of potential candidates take new positions at new companies when they are not even looking. When you post a job, those top candidates might see your role and keep scrolling. How do you get them to stop scrolling and apply? How to get in front of these candidates and cut through the noise?

Here are a few ways to help with examples:

1.    Unique Job Postings

There are over 100,000 account executive jobs in the united states listed online today. Why would a candidate choose yours? There are countless ways to make your job posting stand out and filter out the unqualified candidates at the same time.

Incorporate your company values or mission into the job posting.

Example: Company value is technology and future thinking – consider putting part of the job application as a puzzle related to your product/service. The fact that they would do that for a job application would tell me they are the right cultural fit for my company, if they can solve the puzzle, that would tell me that they are smart enough for the role.

Another idea could be a video job posting from the CEO, VP of Sales or HR Director or even a compilation of many people within the company. Check out this company’s job posting from a few years ago to get an idea:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=13&v=Fa4GFhGfjUE

2. Update Website

Passive candidates are still exploring other companies and great candidates are always storing that information for a later date. If your job posting intrigues a candidate to apply for a job you can bet they are checking out your website. One of the reasons they might not end up applying is because they checked out your website and was not impressed. There are some things that are standard in what people want to find when they go to a website. Take a look and make sure you have them on your site today. When was the last time you updated your corporate website? Experts say you should update your website every 2-3 years but you should redesign it more often than that to stay relevant.

3. Social Media

Social media can be a powerful tool but it take intentional and persistent hard work. You need to have a plan for today, tomorrow and likely an entire year. What does your social media voice and plan look like? Social media can be a great way to build your brand and share your views in a unique way. The benefit and downfall of social media is the fact that companies did not have in the past. You need to figure out how your brand can use this to your benefit and what makes sense to you.

Here are some unique ways to leverage social media into your business.

4. Ask for help

You need to know when you need help. Treeline specializes in getting in front of the top tier sales candidates that are available, interested and qualified – in 30 days or less. Now that you know a few ways to get in front of the top tier candidates and cut through the noise, it’s time to get to work! Call Treeline anytime if you need additional help or resources!