The conversation about hiring top talent tends to focus on the candidates. You want to find them and they want to impress you, so there’s plenty to talk about. The thing is, the hiring manager matters as much as the person being hired when it comes to finding the perfect sales candidate.
You don’t need to be able to do a headstand but there are a few things you do need.
If you’re dealing with successful candidates, whether they came through a recruiter or your own efforts, your hiring process and how you sell the role can make the difference between a perfect fit and a missed opportunity. A lot of that depends on the hiring manager, which is why you need:
1. Investment
This means being responsive and attentive and it applies to interviews as well as the entire process. The hiring manager is the face of your organization when dealing with candidates and if they give the impression the candidate isn’t a priority you’ll find that attitude reciprocated.
2. Information
Good candidates ask great questions and they expect the person they’re dealing with to know the answers. The hiring manager conducting an interview should know about sales cycles, ramp up times and any other common topics candidates will ask about.
On a related note, this is why recruiters always try to work directly with whoever a potential candidate will be reporting to.
3. Results
You’re hiring a candidate to drive revenue. The hiring manager should have the same goal. The only way to do that reliably is to focus on defined metrics such as quota attainment, account growth and net new business generated.
It’s easy to focus on checking all the boxes on a job description, but it’s entirely possible to find someone who looks perfect on paper but underperforms on the job.
4. Honesty
The role of the hiring manager shouldn’t be to fill a job. It should be to find the best candidate for that job. Sometimes that means telling a candidate they’re not the right fit to save everyone a lot of time. Other times it means divulging a potential deal breaker to someone who was otherwise a perfect fit.
In either case, honesty is going to expedite the process and produce better outcomes, even if it does take a little bit longer.
5. Enthusiasm
They can be engaged, well-informed and everything else, but if a hiring manager can’t get candidates excited joining your team you’re going to lose out to organizations that are better at selling their culture. Remember, people want to work with people they like, so make sure you’ve got someone likable on the front lines!