USE REFERRAL INCENTIVES TO RECRUIT TOP SALES TALENT

In my previous post, I mentioned that sales is the lifeline of any business. Today I want to discuss the backbone of any company’s sales operation—talent. People who can develop close relationships with clients and prospects, successfully mentor others, and consistently close deals—they are what keep the sales engine going.

Keeping your pipeline full of talented professionals is key to maintaining an effective team.

GETTING A GREAT REFERRAL IS LIKE STRIKING GOLD

In our years of providing areas like Chicago with sales consulting services, we’ve had great success with our employee referral incentive program. A referral program can be a very valuable tool for businesses of all sizes, since it helps you hit a few different birds with one stone: recruiting vetted new talent, showing your current employees you appreciate them, and encouraging a little healthy competition on your team.

According to a recent Jobvite Social Recruiting Survey, 43% of employees hired via employee referrals stay at their new job for longer than three years—29% more than hires sourced from job boards. The Jobvite Index, which looks at data from 2007 to now, found that while job boards and career sites together account for 75% of applications, 39.9% of actual hires came from employee referrals. That’s a powerful source of talent for Chicago sales recruiters to harness.

REMEMBER TO EVALUATE YOUR REFERRAL PROGRAM

The goal should always be to recruit talent who will stay with your company, motivate your team, and consistently help drive revenue. But in order to get the greatest benefit from a referral program, don’t forget some important details:

  • Don’t forget a timely reward for the referrer. Whether it’s a small reward up front for simply referring someone or a larger one for referring a new hire, this is a crucial step.
  • Check in on your process once in a while. Try to obtain feedback both from your referrers and new hires to learn more about your employees’ networks and how you can improve your program.
  • Keep track of who your strongest and weakest referrers are—this helps you streamline your process and prevent referrals for less-than-stellar candidates tying up your hiring managers’ time.

Have you had success with an employee referral incentive program?