If you’ve spent any amount of time in the corporate world, you’ve probably heard the word “leadership” used so many times that it has started to lose its meaning.
Everyone knows that leadership is important in a business context, and that putting the right executives and managers in charge of key departments like sales and marketing is essential to the health of any company. But how do you find these leaders? How can you attract top sales executives to your company?
In this article, we’ll be exploring one aspect of the problem: how to hire sales executives who have the leadership qualities best suited to your company.
Dispensing With the Myth of the Perfect Leader
One of the first issues that needs to be dealt with is the notion that there is such a thing as the “perfect leader,” an executive who jumps effortlessly from running a research and development department at one company to heading up the marketing department of another.
While there are many myths related to leadership that we need to let go of, one of the most persistent is that a good leader will be a good leader regardless of the context. Good leadership is always a question of fit, and finding a sales executive who has the vision and personality to meet the particular challenges your sales team is facing.
Don’t Base Everything on an Interview
One of the most common challenges in executive hiring — and particularly in the hiring of sales executives — is that it’s easy to get carried away by a candidate who interviews well. Executives tend to thrive in a person-to-person context, and executives with a background in sales tend to be particularly good at making a dazzling impression.
However, if you’re looking for someone who can do the hard work of building up your sales team, inspiring your reps, and sticking with the job for the long haul, the flashiest candidate may not be the best one. Keep your eye on the fundamental questions:
● Does this person have a proven track record of performance on the issues that are most important to your sales team?
● Will their personality be a good fit for the corporate culture?
● Do they understand the industry?
● Does their vision for the job match that of the organization?
Staying focused on these questions will help keep you from getting charmed into hiring a candidate who really isn’t a good fit for the company. Make use of a clean resume template so you have all the necessary information you need in an interview. By knowing the details you have, you know how to answer or provide one to your interviewer.
Work With Sales Executive Headhunters to Generate a Candidate List
Now that we’ve gone over what not to do, here is one thing you should do: hire an executive recruiting firm to help you generate a list of candidates who have the qualities and experience you are looking for.
Sales headhunters have access to large databases of candidates, and use sophisticated software tools that go far beyond a simple interview or personality test to determine whether a candidate for an executive position is likely to thrive in your particular business and industry. Companies like Sales Talent Agency have extensive experience connecting businesses with executives at the VP and EVP levels who have gone on to be long-term assets to their firms.
Given how important leadership is to overall success in the world of sales and marketing, it only makes sense to invest in executive hiring that will help you quickly and effectively target the ideal candidate.
Hiring a sales executive is a high-stakes process, but it doesn’t need to be a complicated one. Paying attention to the particular qualities you need, and then basing your search around finding the candidate who meets those needs best will help ensure you make the best choice for your company.
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