When recruiting A-Players, there are a few tricks of the trade that will help you win top-notch sales talent.
Indeed, recruiting top software sales talent isn’t easy. Unfortunately, there are no silver bullets, and it’s just plain hard work.

Although sales recruiting can be frustrating, using a few key strategies will give you a leg-up in the talent war and help you attract top software sales talent who will help you win new customers and increase top-line revenue growth.

Two Strategies for Recruiting Smarter

 #1 Timing Matters

The first concept you must embrace is timing.

Never underestimate timing.

Timing is everything. Period. Sales recruiting is cyclical. There are statistical times of the year when successful candidates contemplate leaving their employers.

Today, I’m discussing two key timing variables that will give you a recruiting edge.

The first is fiscal year-end. The timing behind a fiscal year-end recruitment strategy is evident when you think about it.

Sales reps start over, the quota resets to zero, and the time to rebuild the sales funnel starts anew.

Recruiting Sales Talent at Year End

It just makes sense that some candidates consider starting over with a new product or employer at year-end. 

So, if you have a target list of companies you like to hire software sales reps from, it’s a good idea to find out when their year-end is and actively connect with potential candidates during this recruitment season.

You’d be surprised to find out how many people who wouldn’t previously give your company consideration will be open to starting a conversation around the end of their fiscal year.

It is a time of renewed interest in outside opportunities and a brief window where potential employers can earn a high producer’s attention. Ok, now that we know there is a predictable sales recruitment calendar linked to an employer’s fiscal year-end, let’s dig a little deeper into the concept of timing.

If you’ve missed the fiscal year-end, what other key timing factors are at play?

#2 Personal Timing Counts

Well, I’ve got good news, there’s also a personal time that is highly independent of the employer calendar, sales quota attainment, and other outside factors, and it’s the birthday.

Yes, birthdays! They are a time of reflection and evaluation and serve as a personal year-end. LinkedIn has a place in the profile for members to enter their date of birth. Unfortunately, many hiring managers and recruiters completely miss the point of this one piece of valuable information and disregard it as just another time to wish someone well and stay in touch.

Savvy sales recruiters know that the time leading up to a birthday is statistically significant, and chances are high that if a move is to be made, it will be right before a candidate’s birthday.

When recruiting sales professionals, you must know your candidates’ habitual patterns, sales cycles, and behaviors.

Recruiting Cycles

Learn to understand when successful sales professionals are open to new employers, and you will increase your chances of hiring A-players. Sales recruiting moves in cycles. There are employer and personal cycles, so you have at least two times a year to take your best shot at any given sales candidate.

Savvy recruiters and hiring managers use the concept of timing to give themselves a competitive advantage when it comes to attracting top sales talent.