MightyRecruiterBest Practices for Finding Top Retail Sales Talent
Sales representative are a special breed. Whereas many people are uncomfortable pressuring strangers to spend money or time on something, salespeople thrive on it. Not only that, they can explain all the benefits to customers with ease and confidence. Salespeople want the customer to be happy, but they also wish to further the company and their place in it. This juxtaposition is part of what make retail sales representatives sourcing and interview such a challenge. Let’s take a look at some of the best ways to home in on top talent.
Soft Skills
Experience is less important when it comes to hiring retail sales reps. Anyone can learn the features of any given products or services, usually in a short amount of time. What is more crucial for salespeople are ïsoft skills,ï such as empathy, ambition and the ability to read a customer.
Job candidates who demonstrate that they are comfortable being held responsible for their workplace success are ideal hires. You should be looking for goal-oriented who show a sense of personal discipline as well. These personality traits can’t be taught, and at the same time they are vital to being a good sales person. Customers will know when they are being sweet-talked by a member of the sales staff, so hiring genuinely caring but ambitious employees can be key to your business success.
Where to Find Them
Now that we’ve identified some ideal skills to consider in retail sales representatives sourcing and interviewing, let’s look at industries where these traits have been taught. Former educators, who work with children and teens a large portion of the time, are likely to have more patience and empathy than the average workers. Those who have worked in the hospitality industry also may be well suited to a sales rep position. They are used to upselling clients and delivering strong customers service. In addition, workers who are making a career shift at the midpoint of their lives could be trained to be solid salespeople because they have the maturity and job experience required but are looking for something new.
Test Time
You’ll want to create an opportunity during the retail sales representatives sourcing and interviewing process to test potential hires on a few aspects of customer service. Give them chances to show how they handle conflict resolution or how they tend to deal with demanding customers. During their job interview, they likely will be trying to ïsellï you then entire time. Do they try to close the hiring deal Do they ask repeatedly if you’re ready to move forward If so, those candidates are salespeople through and through. Also, make sure they enjoy working toward goals and taking personal responsibility for whether they reach them during the course of their workday.
Retention Tools
As mentioned above, retail sales representatives want their customers to be satisfied. But they also want their companies to thrive, to make more money and to move up in the workplace hierarchy. They are goal-oriented, after all. That means they respond well to incentives.
What types of incentives can your offer them during the retails sales representatives sourcing and interviewing process If they can earn a lot of bonuses and commissions based on sales, that is important to note. Or, if they can receive some sort of public award for outstanding job performance, that’s a key motivator that can be tapped time and time again. Perhaps their goal is to become a trainer so they can impart their sales wisdom on the rest of the staff. A position of authority is one that appeals to many sales reps. Another option is to remove strong salespeople from the selling floor and have them work solely with business-to-business clients, which can be a lucrative arrangement for both the employer and the sales rep.
By applying a calculated approach to your retail sales representatives sourcing and interviewing process, you can find a wellspring of qualified candidates with great soft skills and plenty of experience in the world of customer service. If they pass the tests for goal setting and conflict resolution, they might be ideal for your sales staff. Don’t forget to offer them plenty of changes to earn more income or win competitive awards. Your sales staff may become the strongest members of your company team.
In addition to learning how to fine-tune your retail sales representatives sourcing and interviewing strategy, you can learn how to make solid hiring decisions and improve your companies using the resources at Mighty Recruiter as a guide.