You may think of direct sales recruiters as professional recruitment experts, and nothing more. Their job is to find the most highly qualified candidates in the direct sales field in order to meet the needs of the companies that employ them. But the truth is that direct sales recruiting pros have secret lives that you may not even know about! Specifically, the most thorough and efficient sales recruiters have extensive backgrounds in sales themselves, which gives them the insight and perspective necessary to make the right judgment call when it comes to instinctively knowing which candidates will make for fantastic sales associates, and which ones are simply not up to the task.

In addition to having the ability to determine who has “the right stuff,” it’s important to look for direct sales recruiting experts with a professional history of working in direct sales themselves because it’s more likely that they have a network of relevant industry contacts that they can access at a moment’s notice. A large part of the recruitment process hinges on networking, so it pays to have a recruiter on your side with a number of existing connections that they can exploit.

Yet another reason why it’s essential to find a direct sales recruiter with this kind of background is because he or she will be better able to understand just how important it is to the success of your company to put together a talented sales staff. They will also be better prepared to understand what you need in a new direct sales employee, which means that you can trust their judgment implicitly when it comes to shortlisting candidates. If you’re hiring for your direct sales department and you need a recruiter you can depend on for great results, find out whether or not they have a professional history of working in sales themselves! This “secret life” could be the key to a successful recruitment process.

In November of that year, I was preparing performance evaluations when I noticed that one member of my team was not pulling his weight. While this person did manage to pull in decent sales figures, his team members were selling double the amount he was. As a manager, I pondered how I could best approach this situation. What were his team members doing that he was not? Were they putting in more hours at work? Were they working smarter, rather than harder? Was it a personality issue? Maybe he just wasn’t a good fit for direct sales, or if he was, maybe he just didn’t belong on our team. So I decided to sit him down and discuss his performance with him.

My lackluster employee explained that his team members were more aggressive when closing deals, and he didn’t feel right about closing a deal that wasn’t in the best interest of the customer. While I appreciated his sense of moral responsibility, I also reminded him that, as salespeople, our job is not to worry about whether the customer makes the best decision possible. Rather, we need to sell them on the opportunities our products and services can afford them. All we should be concerned about is whether or not the customer is satisfied with the transaction.

This employee eventually left the company of his own free will, which I admired. However, I was then left with the daunting task of finding a new sales associate for my team in the middle of a recession. I was definitely not looking forward to finding candidates for the position and sifting through hundreds of resumes from unqualified people. Luckily, one of my friends, a sales manager at another Fortune 500 company, recommended that I hire a direct sales recruiting firm to find highly qualified candidates for me.

I went online to start my search and found a few recruiting firms through a service that connects companies with the firm that is best suited to their hiring needs. This process took about a day, and I set up a phone interview with my selected firm immediately. I interviewed the recruiter over the phone, then set up an in-person meeting. During the meeting, I explained the situation with the former employee. I stressed that the skills and personality of my ideal candidate should complement that of my other team members, which I believe is often the most important factor when hiring a new employee. It’s not difficult to find a highly qualified employee that will do a great job; the real challenge lies in hiring the right person for my particular team. But my recruiting firm managed to do just that. They not only provided a free consultation, they also screened and interviewed prospective candidates before presenting them to me. Within weeks, we had found our new team member. Needless to say, I was very pleased with the process, and within months, my new employee was pulling in the same sales figures as everyone else on the team. Outsourcing the hiring process to a direct sales recruiting firm was the best decision I could have made.

]]> http://directsalesrecruiting.net/?feed=rss2&p=42 0 http://directsalesrecruiting.net/?p=37 http://directsalesrecruiting.net/?p=37#comments Mon, 28 Jun 2010 22:47:27 +0000 admin http://directsalesrecruiting.net/?p=37 You’ve hired a direct sales recruiting firm to seek out candidates for your sales team. Your direct sales recruiter has already gone through the process of sourcing, interviewing, and conducting background checks on a select few candidates. Now it’s up to you to interview the top candidates for your sales position. How should you conduct the interview? And what kinds of questions should you ask the candidate?

Here are a few tips to keep you on track to finding the best associate for your sales team:

• Don’t ask the same tired questions like, “What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?” or, “Tell me about a time when you had to work as part of a team.” Instead, ask them to be prepared to sell you a product. This way, you can evaluate the candidate’s performance in the type of role they will potentially fill. You’ll be able to evaluate whether the candidate is a good listener, if he or she asks the right questions, and if he or she anticipates a customer’s potential objections. Most of all, you’ll be able to see if they can close a sale. These are the most important qualities of a direct sales staff, and interviewing candidates effectively will help you find the best sales associates with these qualities.

• Other essential questions to tackle:

  • Tell me about your proudest accomplishment from your last job.

  • What strategies can your former company employ to increase their sales?

  • Describe your ideal manager.

  • What motivates you to accomplish your goals, both personal and professional?

  • Tell me about a time that you failed, and what you learned from that experience.

• Be aggressive. Successful salespeople, by nature, are very aggressive. So don’t hesitate to be aggressive when asking candidates about their track records, whether they’ve been able to meet their past sales quotas, and why (or why not) they were able to do so. These are questions they should be able to answer without reservation, and could be crucial to determining their future success at your company

• Verify that they’ve done their research. Ask the candidates why they would like to join your sales team in particular. From their answer, you should be able to tell whether they took the time to research your company and your team or if their answer is a canned response that can be thrown out to any company.

• Allow other team members to interview the prospective candidates. One of the most important factors to consider when hiring a new employee is whether they are a good fit for the company, the company culture, and your team specifically. Inviting other team members to interview prospective candidates and give you their feedback will help direct you toward the best associate for your team.

Keep these tips handy next time you’re hiring for your sales team, and you’ll be sure to find the best candidate for the job!

]]> http://directsalesrecruiting.net/?feed=rss2&p=37 0 http://directsalesrecruiting.net/?p=32 http://directsalesrecruiting.net/?p=32#comments Mon, 21 Jun 2010 22:42:32 +0000 admin http://directsalesrecruiting.net/?p=32 Outsourcing your hiring to direct sales recruiting professionals might feel like “selling out,” but it’s actually just smart business sense. An effective salesperson is key to the success of your company, and locating this type of salesperson requires a recruiter that specializes in sourcing candidates for direct sales.

Now, the big question is, “Why should I use a direct sales recruiting firm?”

• Sales recruiting firms will save you time. Imagine taking the time to advertise a position, posting on an endless number of job websites. After that, you’ll receive hundreds of resumes from applicants gunning for your one open position – and most of those applicants are unqualified! When you do manage to locate a few promising prospects in the large stack of resumes, you’ll need to arrange phone interviews, then in-person interviews, in addition to actually interviewing the candidates, conducting background checks, and so forth. Once you find the perfect candidate, you’ll extend an offer and wait for them to accept. If your top candidate accepts, then you’re good to go – but if he or she doesn’t, then you’ll need to arrange a new offer for your second choice candidate, and so on. Utilizing a sales recruiting firm will eliminate all the legwork, so you’ll only need to spend time interviewing the best candidates that have been pre-screened for you.

Furthermore, most recruiting firms are able to work with you even if you have firm timelines. For example, if you’re looking to hire a new employee for your team during peak sales time, you will need to communicate your needs with the recruiting firm. Then, they will be able to divert more resources into expediting your search and conforming your hiring needs to your deadline.

• Sales recruiting firms will save you money. Imagine the time and resources that your company loses every single day that the position goes unfilled – not to mention the time you spend looking for a new employee, which can be anywhere from two weeks to a month, or more. Instead of spending the time and resources sourcing highly qualified candidates, hire a recruiting firm to take care of that work for you. It’s well worth the nominal fee you’ll pay. You’ll have the time to do your real job, which is increasing sales for your company, rather than focusing on hiring new employees.

• Sales recruiters are experts in networking. The problem with advertising an open position is that you’re probably not going to receive resumes from the very best candidates. You will receive resumes from people who are either currently unemployed or actively seeking new employment. Sometimes, in order to find the best candidates for your company, you’re going to need to steal them from other companies. Most recruiters are expert networkers and have an extensive database of prospective candidates to reach out to whenever they are conducting new searches. They won’t need to advertise on job boards or on your company’s website, since the best candidates come from their network or referrals from others within that network.

If you’re ready to hire better, faster, and more efficiently, then consider direct sales recruiting firms.

Simply put, direct selling occurs when sales representatives sell and market products directly to consumers. Sales reps can rely on face-to-face selling (i.e., in the home or a temporary location), remote selling via the phone or Internet, or automatic shipping to their customers. Avon and Mary Kay Cosmetics are just two examples of direct sales companies. While direct sales is a great alternate source of revenue, not everyone will be successful. Recruiters and hiring managers who conduct direct sales recruiting processes should look for the following types of people:

Direct Sales Representatives Must Be Customer Oriented

Providing excellent customer service will always be – and should always be – one of the top priorities of any company, direct sales or not. In order to provide superb customer service, hiring managers involved in the process of direct sales recruiting need to find employees that fit the company culture and are committed to serving the company’s mission. Unfortunately, not all employees are a good fit with every company, and not all employees are customer oriented. However, it is absolutely crucial that direct sales representatives be customer oriented because they need to build long term relationships with their customers in order to successful sell their products. Thus, customer service skills are crucial for those working in this industry.

Direct Sales Representatives Must Be Entrepreneurial

Although direct sales representatives work on behalf of a larger company, they are in many ways their own boss. Direct sales representatives are in charge of making their own decisions and setting their own hours and schedules, and they are ultimately in control of their own success. They must embody an entrepreneurial spirit. If they don’t work hard, they don’t make money. They must be willing to put in long hours when necessary. Most of all, sales representatives need to be flexible and ready to adapt to the ever-changing retail environment.

Direct Sales Representatives Must Be Social

The most successful salespeople are those that can charm their way out of any situation. This is one of those special skills that some people are just born with; most of the time, it cannot be learned. Since direct selling requires sales representatives to talk about their products at length, communicate the benefits of the products to customers, and ultimately persuade prospective customers to buy the product, sales reps must be social. Anti-social people should not work in the direct sales industry, because they won’t be successful. The most successful salespeople are the ones that aggressively sell their products and don’t back down until they secure a sale.

Recruiters and hiring managers recruiting direct sales candidates should look for people that are customer-oriented, entrepreneurial, and social. Successfully identifying these key traits in a prospective candidate is the first step toward hiring the next top direct sales rep in your company.

The World Federation of Direct Selling Associations in 2007 reported a $114 billion retail sales worldwide, which was mostly through the revenue generated by up to 62 million direct sellers or independent sales representatives. Years before that, in 2000, a study conducted by the US Direct Selling Association found that up to 55% of adult US citizens have at some time bought goods from direct sellers. These facts justify numerous companies’ initiatives to make direct sales a significant part of their business.

It is not surprising that direct sales recruiting firms are now considered to be among the most sought-after recruiters across all industries. Recruiting direct sales employees is frequently only possible through hiring the services of direct sales recruiting companies. Direct sales professionals recruiting can be difficult, so let those recruitment firms do the tedious task on your behalf.

When hiring direct sales recruiting firms, remember the word ‘DIRECT,’ which is actually an acronym that indicates all of the qualities of good direct sales recruiters. It stands for Demand, Integrity, Respect, Expertise, Commitment, and Timing. Stick with recruiters that exhibit these qualities when recruiting for direct sales positions.

Demand – Direct sales professionals recruiting companies should meet and fit your demands. Your business surely has specifications and requirements for direct selling. The recruiter should be able to forward candidates who meet your company’s demands.

Integrity – Direct sales recruiting companies should value fairness when dealing with potential candidates. Only the most qualified and most competent should make the cut. Honesty should also be prioritized.

Respect – The recruiter should command respect when attending to the needs and requirements of both clients and candidates. The recruitment firm should not step on any toes or overstep ethical boundaries when dealing with candidates – or when dealing with you.

Expertise – The direct sales recruiting company should be highly knowledgeable about the positions that need to be filled. It should demonstrate its expertise in handling the necessary requirements. Remember, you are hiring their services primarily because of that expertise. Otherwise, you could take the initiative to hire direct sales professionals on your own.

Commitment – Recruiting direct sales positions is not easy, but recruiters still need to set targets. Make sure your recruiting company delivers on its promise or commitment of hiring and short-listing only the best and most competent sales people for the job.

Timing – An ideal direct sales recruiting company should demonstrate the ability to meet the deadlines you set. The best recruiters are those that can find and hire the best candidates in the shortest possible time. There is no room for recruiters that are unmotivated or that repeatedly fall victim to delays in fulfilling their professional obligations and commitments.

Are you considering recruiting for your direct sales positions through sales headhunters and recruitment agencies? It would be wise for you to do so. At first, you might find it more practical and efficient to hire such direct sellers on your own. But for most companies, doing so could eventually become synonymous with throwing money down the drain. It can be extremely difficult to find and hire direct sales personnel who can truly sell for profits.

Direct sales professionals recruiting firms can help provide you with the necessary assistance to make your business more profitable. The best direct sales recruiting companies have built a strong reputation for finding and returning those candidates that are the strongest match for the job. You can place your full confidence high in the sales professionals you hire through such recruiters.

How Direct Sales Recruiting Firms Hire

Direct sales recruiting firms are able to recruit top-notch sales candidates that are suited for even the most highly ranked industry leaders. It should come as no surprise that most of the companies listed in the Fortune 500 are actually relying on such recruiters to provide them with the most outstanding and highly reliable direct sellers.

Such recruiters continuously receive résumés and CVs from highly qualified sales people, in many cases long before they receive specific recruitment assignments from companies and clients. Direct sales recruiting firms have their own databases and networks of competent direct sellers on queue, ready to be retrieved and contacted when the need arises. This could lead to many advantages for your company when a need for new direct sales personnel arises.

Direct sales recruiters even have a roster of direct sales professionals who may not be unemployed at the moment but have indicated a willingness to consider those promising organizations or businesses that could offer competitive packages and attractive remuneration. Thus, you can feel confident that you’re hiring from among the very best and most experienced direct sellers in the industry.

Recruiting Direct Sales Employees

Such recruitment companies have a full array of candidates who could perfectly fit a wide range of direct sales positions. You can choose from among various candidates with differing levels of expertise and industry experience. There are sales people with professional experience ranging from a year to 10 years, or more – and you can always request additional professional and personal background information about those candidates that you are considering.

Furthermore, many direct sales recruiting companies now offer résumé building services. In these programs, résumé development and career counseling are provided to candidates in order to help them gain more insight that will allow them to qualify for even more direct sales positions. You can feel fully confident that your company will be able to fill your direct sales positions with only the best candidates in the industry.

Direct sales professionals can be referred to as sales distributors, consultants, or representatives. Direct selling can be a full-time or a part-time job, depending on the needs and ambitions of the individual salesperson. Most companies choose to employ direct sales personnel because direct selling can be a truly effective way to sell goods and services.

Recruiting Direct Sales Positions

As the name implies, direct sales recruiting is the practice of hiring or recruiting direct sales employees who would then sell directly to consumers. These days, direct sales recruiting firms are often hired to provide their services to companies that need to fill vacant direct sales positions. Such recruitment businesses specialize in finding and shortlisting only the most qualified and reliable direct sellers across a wide spectrum of industries.

It should be noted that direct selling can generate huge amounts of revenues and profits. This can be attributed to the fact that consumers often prefer to buy directly from sellers because of the convenience, high quality of service, delivery method, and guaranteed satisfaction that the method provides. For companies, direct selling usually generates low startup and overall selling costs.

These factors make direct sales recruiting services in high demand. With their professional expertise, your company could easily find and hire the best direct sellers to bolster sales, streamline distribution and curb selling expenses. Direct sales professionals recruiting is truly an industry unto itself. Thus, if you are considering recruiting for direct sales positions, expert recruiters could provide indispensable help.

More Facts About Direct Sales Recruiting

There is a great deal of market information that justifies the need to hire direct sales recruiting services. A study conducted by the U.S. Direct Selling Association found that in the year 2000 alone, up to 55% of adult Americans purchased services or items from direct sales consultants – and about 14% of U.S. citizens had been direct sales consultants themselves at some point. These statistics demonstrate that in direct sales, almost anyone could become a sales person, provided that they possess creativity, flair, and a determination to sell.

There is usually some usual confusion when it comes to distinguishing direct sales from direct marketing. Direct selling is focused on sales agents networking, contacting, and dealing directly with customers and clients. In contrast, direct marketing involves organizations and businesses that are focused on establishing relationships with clients without intervention from sales people and retail outlets.

Direct selling could be the key to effectively running your business and controlling income flow – and direct sales recruiting could be your ticket to finding and hiring the most qualified and competent sales professionals to render those sales services that deal directly with your clients.