Two Overlooked Sales Recruiting Strategies You Can’t Afford to Miss
When recruiting top software sales talent, hard work is essential, but so is strategy. There’s no magic bullet, and many teams overlook common issues that cause searches to fall short. Here are two key strategies you might be missing.
#1. Why Timing Matters in Sales Recruiting
Successful sales recruiting follows a cycle, and knowing when to engage with candidates determines how many of them are actually open to a conversation. Here are two crucial timing factors to leverage:
- Fiscal Year-End: At the start of every fiscal year, quotas reset and reps begin rebuilding their pipeline from scratch. This is also when many high performers are most open to outreach. If you know when a competitor’s fiscal year ends, you can approach top talent when they’re most receptive to a conversation.
- Personal Timing: Personal milestones, like birthdays, are another critical factor. Birthdays often lead to reflection on career, achievements, and future opportunities. If a sales rep is contemplating a change, the period just before their birthday might be the right time to reach out. LinkedIn profiles often contain birthdates; experienced recruiters factor this into their outreach timing.
#2. Master Sales Recruiting Cycles
Sales recruiting moves in predictable cycles tied to both company calendars and individual circumstances. Savvy software sales recruiters plan around these windows to maximize their chances of landing top talent. Each year, there are at least two windows when top performers are most likely to be receptive. Missing them means waiting another cycle.
Recruiting timed to fiscal year-ends and personal milestones like birthdays tends to reach candidates when they’re already considering a change.
The recruiters who track these cycles and plan outreach in advance tend to reach candidates before the competition does.
