Whether you’re doing sales in-house, or working with an outsourced sales channel partner, effective talent selection drives sales success. Unfortunately, the old school approach to outsourcing the sales channel treats talent selection largely as a numbers game. High volume takes the place of high consideration, creating hit-and-miss teams that are as unpredictable as they are inefficient.
Best practices in a turnkey sales solutions calls for taking the “miss” out of the equation by aligning with internal hiring policies, including experience as well as background and drug screening policies. In this way, your on-demand sales channel partner can build an ideal profile of competency and experience based on who you want representing your brand. There shouldn’t be a drop off in quality simply because you’re outsourcing the sales function. In fact, your partner should possess expertise in recruiting and testing that enables them to assemble a superior sales team.
Another element that helps ensure excellence is hiring sales reps rather than engaging them on a contract basis. This raises expectations all the way around, allowing the outsourced sales channel partner to source from the best candidate pool in the marketplace. It also challenges them to cull the field sufficiently to make informed decisions about candidates before they attempt to represent your brand. That’s why key leadership should personally interview prospective candidates to identify the best prospects.
No sales organization should ask for peoples’ commitment, without committing itself to them. A competitive compensation plan with a true base salary, full benefits, and a total targeted compensation structure should be implemented to attract the most qualified and dedicated sales professionals. That’s real reciprocity in action.