When you’re looking for sales talent, you rely on your own expertise in sales to evaluate your candidates’ ability to sell their own skills and approach to work. It’s a smart way to put your sales skills to work.

Yet hiring managers who focus too intently on evaluating sales candidates’ selling skills may overlook a vital fact: While you are evaluating the candidates’ sales skills, the candidate is also evaluating yours.

To win the competition for top talent, you’ll also need to sell your candidate on the role. To do so, reach for three tried and true methods of building the connection you need to close the sale:

How Can You Sell a Role to Your Top Candidates?

1. Invite discussion of the candidate’s pain points. 

Salespeople understand that customers seek their assistance in order to address a problem or fill a need. To sell a role to your top candidates, first listen for the candidate’s particular pain points.

Questions that can invite discussion of what the candidate wants and needs include:

• Why are you leaving your current role? What attracted you to this role?
• If you could build your ideal boss, what traits would that boss have?
• What does your ideal career path look like?

2. Connect the candidate’s responses to the role and your organization. 

When you know what the candidate is seeking, use that information to direct the candidate’s attention to features in the role and in your organization that address the candidate’s needs, wants, and aspirations.

For example, if the candidate is interested in the role because they want a new challenge, discuss opportunities for skill-building, such as mentorships or continuing education options. If the candidate wants to move forward in their career, direct their attention to your organization’s opportunities for development in new roles.

3. Help the candidate see how this role and workplace stand out. 

Many sales customers have the opportunity to choose among several similar products. Similarly, top candidates may weigh several similar job roles and offers.

Keep your company and role top of mind by focusing on what makes your organization uniquely itself. Talk about the supportive aspects of company culture. Share why you enjoy working with your organization. A distinguishable brand helps the candidate single out your company’s offer – making the candidate more likely to accept it.

Ready to Hire Your Next Candidate?

Looking for new sales and marketing talent? At SMR Group Ltd., we specialize in connecting our clients in the pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotechnology industries to the best sales and marketing talent available. To learn more, contact us today.