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It’s the moment of truth. You’ve found the stellar sales and marketing candidate you’re looking for, and your company is ready to extend a job offer. You need to offer a competitive salary, but you also need to encourage the candidate to sign on with your company – not with a competitor.

How can hiring managers approach salary negotiations in a tasteful yet effective manner? Consider the following tips:

Top candidates can weather any storm.

Companies that lack experience in hiring top talent often mistakenly believe that during or immediately after an economic downturn, salary offers can be reduced when hiring new talent – even for top candidates. In fact, the best sales and marketing professionals know they’ll find a home in any company. Consequently, many of them will be looking for a competitive salary that represents their true worth, regardless of the state of the economy.

Often, the best sales and marketing professionals are on the job market only as “passive” candidates. In other words, they’re not actively looking for a new job, but they’ll take the right offer if it becomes available. This is why companies seeking to make offers to top candidates must make solid, competitive offers.

Respect what the candidate has to offer.

Top candidates know what they’re worth. This is especially true of sales and marketing professionals, who are experts at assessing the “value proposition” of any product, service, or organization – including what they bring to the table themselves.

Approach salary negotiations by respecting what the candidate brings to the table. If you need to justify a lower salary offer than the going rate, do so without disparaging the candidate’s past work or potential value. Instead, approach the discussion with the goal of finding out exactly what the candidate wants and needs from his or her career and then discovering creative ways to provide it.

It’s not always about salary.

Every company has an employee value proposition (EVP): the unique mix of offerings that excite your current staff about their jobs and that will draw in top talent. If your company has branded itself by capitalizing on its EVP, your chosen candidate will know what your company offers beyond the salary number.

For many top performers, job offers aren’t always about salary. While you may not be able to respond to a counteroffer with an increase in salary, your company can improve the overall offer by focusing on nontraditional benefits and support. Options range from perks like telecommuting to offers like gym memberships, discounts, or active help in career-building.

The experienced staffing partners at SMR Group work with top companies throughout the United States to place outstanding sales and marketing candidates. Contact us today to learn more.


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