
FOR EMPLOYERS: Recruitment for a sales team in the IT industry - what to look for when choosing the right candidate?
13.10.2020

FOR EMPLOYERS: Recruitment for a sales team in the IT industry - what to look for when choosing the right candidate?
When recruiting an IT Sales Specialist to the team, we must take into account several key factors. Of course, there are no ideal candidates, but what to pay attention to after the initial interview with the candidate to know if we are at the right stage of the search?
1. Track record
A very important element is the candidate's experience gained in specific industries. First of all, when hiring for IT, we must focus on a candidate who understands the needs and specificity of our client's target market. Sales in IT is different than, for example, in the FMCG industry. Many candidates during recruitment interviews claim that "a good seller can handle any sale" and of course there is a lot of truth in this, but knowing the IT industry itself from the inside is very helpful.
2. Size of previous organizations
Another important element is the size of the companies in which the candidate worked. It is worth asking yourself whether a candidate working in a large corporation will find himself in a smaller, more "family" structure? It is not important whether the candidate would like to develop in a smaller company, but the division of duties, company structure, responsibility is significantly different in a corporation compared to a company employing 20 people. These differences, initially imperceptible, may result in problems in the future and, in fact, leave the employee.
3. Successes
Each candidate applying for a sales position in IT should be able to demonstrate their previous sales successes. For us as an employer, it is a measure of its potential effectiveness and on this basis we will be able to determine whether it will cope with the products or services of our organization. In IT, it is particularly important to understand the needs of the client, who often as a technical contractor has different requirements regarding knowledge about the products offered. The mere support of a team of engineers or other salespeople in the company may be insufficient if the product itself is complex and specific.
4. Reason for change
A candidate who wants to work in sales should justify their change by applying for our position. If the candidate argues for the change by the fact that he earned too little in the previous company and would like to earn more, this situation should give us food for thought at the very beginning of the conversation. Of course, this does not mean that the person will not work, but if salary issues are the only one determinant for change, then in the long run such a candidate may lack motivation to continue working. In addition, pay attention to the way you talk about previous employers - if it is extremely negative and the candidate describes each of the previous employers as an "exploiter", then such a person may bring more harm than good to the company.
5. Customer portfolio and developed relationships
During each interview with a candidate applying for a sales position, it is worth asking him specific questions about the client portfolio and/or developed relationships. The IT industry is extremely hermetic and what counts are developed contacts and a good relationship with specific decision-makers. If our candidate has not successively built his customer base and has not taken care of customer relations for years, his portfolio will probably include few regular and loyal customers who will buy other services or products from him in the future. It is worth paying attention to this already during the screening of candidates.
6. Contact with specific people in the company and form of sale
Another important issue is the people with whom the candidate has had contact. Did he actually reach decision-makers when contacting companies? Did he have direct contact with the client? Did he constantly participate in business meetings, or was the sale based mainly on telephone/email and prospecting via Linkedin? These questions can be crucial for the entire recruitment process because they perfectly verify the sales potential of a given salesperson. For example, hardware sales in IT are mainly meetings and building long-term relationships with the client. A person who sold mainly remotely may not find himself in the specifics of such a market.
Summary:
There are many methods of recruiting candidates for sales positions as well as many questions that we need to prepare in advance to create our perfect shortlist. It is important to focus on the quality of the process, not its time. Hiring the right sales person covers one of the most important (if not the most important) areas in any organization. It is worth ensuring that this process proves not only effective, but also beneficial in the long term
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