Are you looking for hiring solutions for building a better sales force? If you are one of the first areas to look is you recruitment ads. With increasing competition, it becomes imperative that you hire the right person for the job. Otherwise, you face the very real prospect of losing your competitive advantage in the marketplace.
If you’re going to run a job ad, make sure it pulls the type and number of candidates needed to make it worthwhile. All too often, companies sacrifice their recruitment message in the name of timeliness. Because of unexpected vacancies, managers fall into the trap of placing an ad as quickly as possible, regardless of its merit. Placing an ineffective ad is a waste of time.
To attract top sales talent you need effective recruitment ads.
Hiring solutions for developing successful recruitment ads
Use these five steps to develop recruitment ads that will attract the talent you need to build your sales organization.
1. Define your recruitment goals.
•Do you need to fill one position or several?
•What is the recruiting time frame?
•What are the Critical Job Dimensions (CJDs) you’re looking for?
•What sort of training will you provide?
•What career opportunities are available?
•How much can candidates expect to earn?
2. Define the job for candidates.
•What responsibilities will they have?
•What industries will they be selling to?
•Who will they be calling on?
•What are the downsides of the job (e.g., travel, new product, commission only, etc.)?
3. Identify the job’s strong points.
•What is unique about this job?
•What does your company have going for it?
•What do your salespeople like about the job?
4. Develop the body copy.
- Use key words that will attract top talent to your ad. If they don’t find you they can’t apply.
- Elaborate on your primary message by stressing as many benefits as possible.
- Talk about the company. Research shows that sales professionals want to know about more than just the job. They want positive facts about the company.
- Mention negatives about the job (e.g., evening work, heavy travel, relocation, etc.). Doing so helps weed out candidates unwilling to accept certain conditions. You can phrase downsides of the job without being negative. A heavy travel requirement, for example, can be phrased as an invitation to “see the U.S.A.”
5. Issue a strong call to action.
Decide how you want candidates to respond. Consider the following:
- Call for an appointment
- Send a resume
- Send a letter outlining their qualifications for the job
Your call to action can be an also be an effective qualifier and make this hiring solution even more effective. For example if you want a large number of candidates to apply you can say, ” Immediate openings. Training starts next week. Call today for your personal interview.” Or if you want to be more selective you can say something like,” If you’re a top producer and are ready to take on a bigger challenge and be rewarded for it send you resume today. If you’re not a top producer who can back up your claim don’t bother applying.”
The One of the keys to success in the New Economy is to “win with your winners and not lose with your losers.” The hiring solutions outlined here will save you time and energy. It will also add sales, profits and customer loyalty for your company because by following these steps you’re increasing your chances of hiring winners.