Here’s the million-dollar question: How do you recruit top talent? You beg them to come, right? I’m just joking. Recruiting Rockstar Sales Talent is just as much Art as it is Science.
Today, we are going to talk about ways to recruit and attract ROCKSTAR talent, whether that’s from other industries or competitors. Now you have to understand there is a huge difference between talent and ROCKSTAR talent.
So, the first question you have to ask yourself: what does ROCKSTAR talent look like? Simply put, it’s an impact player that can move the dial in the right direction and do it NOW! As they say in sales, “it’s a lot easier to recruit your way out of a jam than it is to train your way out of one.” The truth is, if you want to be truly successful as a company, you MUST have RockStar talent.
When I was a sales manager, I knew top producers from other competing organizations. I always wanted to recruit them. Attracting top talent is more critical today than ever, as they’re expected to produce more results with fewer opportunities.
Here are some tips I used to attract ROCKSTARS.
1. When recruiting rockstar talent, everyone should be involved
And I mean everyone- from your Sales Agents to your VP to your CEO and everyone in between. Think about it, if you have a sales agent, he or she probably knows other top sales agents in the industry. Top talent knows top talent.
Maybe your sales agent has been “up against” a certain sales rep at another organization and they are constantly competing with one another. Wouldn’t it be great if you could use your ROCKSTAR to attract the other ROCKSTAR to your organization? So instead of the two pitted against one another, they are now on one unified team- YOUR team.
This strategy is similar to what I experienced as an artist early on in my career as the hit song “Whoot there it is” climbed to the top of the charts nationwide. Suddenly, we were being recruited by every major record label in the country.
As we made our rounds we were getting used to hearing the “standard” pitch. They all said similar things, they all offered sign-on bonuses, they let us know why they were “the best” and their competitors weren’t. It wasn’t until we got to Arista Records that something special happened.
Clive Davis walks out.
He’s not only the CEO of Arista Records (if you don’t know who he is, he is directly responsible for signing Witney Houston, Janis Joplin, Billy Joel, Aerosmith, Earth, Wind and Fire, among others), his contributions to music are, to a large extent, responsible for bringing the industry to where it is today…
Now, it wasn’t just that he came out to greet us (he was the only CEO who had) but it’s that he had done his homework. We were this little group from Florida (now mind you we did have a major record) but he knew everything from what issues we had been having with our current label to how we originally got together. Then he did something that really wow’d us. He told us about growth opportunities and that the future could include being label executives and having our own label. I knew within the first 5 minutes of that meeting that I wanted to sign with them
Which brings me to point number 2…
2. Always do your homework
If a top recruit is worth having, then they should be worth you taking the time to thoroughly research and learn more about them. This lets them know that you view them as more than just numbers. Clive Davis knew who we were, what we wanted, what we didn’t want and the fact that future growth was key as well.
New York, NY.
3. Put on a Show
A recruiting event is an opportunity to visibly showcase a company’s culture, their commitment to talent, employees’ benefits, as well as the earning and growth potential. In short, this is an opportunity to show off your company’s swagger.
Most recruiting events today miss the mark by only attracting people who don’t have jobs vs. RockStar talent that do have jobs and high incomes. These are your prime candidates. It’s a well-known fact that Hollywood movie premieres with all their glitz and glam are not only used to promote the movie, but they’re also used as a tool to recruit star talent.
So, if you want to attract top producers to your next event then I would highly recommend you bill it as something other than a recruiting event or open house, maybe call it a VIP Sales Mixer, Star Search, Sales Party, Who’s Got Talent, something different and exciting…So turn on the lights, roll out the red carpet and watch the stars come out.
4. Share the story
Social media is a stage to share your company’s story as well as an effective way to reach potential candidates and create relationships. This can be done by posting record-breaking results as well as company highlights and milestones.
In the music industry, the billboard charts is where success is measured and communicated. Successful labels post wins and share their success stories as a tool for recruitment. So, jump on social media and start spreading the news. They’ll want to be a part of it!
To summarize…
• Create a recruiting strategy where everyone is a recruiter and believes in that culture.
• Do your due diligence and homework.
• Put on RockStar recruiting events that attract Star players.
• Post results strategically and share your story.
If your company wants to take recruiting to the Next Level contact us and ask about our RAP (Recruit and Placement) program!
Written By, Jay McGowan and Liz Evangelista