Choosing sales director recruitment agencies

A sales director is a pivotally important role in a business. It doesn’t matter how good your product or service is, if you don’t have the right team to sell it. And you can’t have the right team of motivated collaborative salespeople without an outstanding leader. Indeed, the sales director role is often the difference between business success and stagnation. So, a huge amount of pressure rests on choosing the best sales director recruitment agencies to get the right individual in the role.

But, how do you choose between the different sales director recruitment agencies to find the one that will deliver?

Why use sales director recruitment agencies

First up, be clear in your understanding of why you need sales director recruitment agencies. There are a whole host of reasons why it’s best to outsource this task.

Sales director recruitment agencies or headhunters can helicopter up and assess the full needs of the organisation in terms of this role, dedicating the time and resources which are often unavailable within the organisation. They can operate without bias, ensuring inclusive recruitment, sure to benefit the business because we know that diversity is good for a business’s bottom line. They can utilise extensive networks to source passive candidates as well as use pre-screened sales professionals.

Outsourcing recruitment of your sales director makes sense. However, we would go further to say that you should choose a sales director headhunter over sales director recruitment agencies. Headhunters go much further to deliver the candidate who is spot on for adding value to the role, rather than simply providing any qualified professional.

So, whether you are choosing sales director recruitment agencies or sales director headhunters, what should you look for?

1.     They truly understand the sales director role

It’s impossible to recruit the best candidate without truly understanding the sales director role. They should be able to demonstrate this insider knowledge and insight, perhaps demonstrating they are an authority within this field. This might be evidenced in different ways, for example, offering support with writing sales director job descriptions.

2.     They get to know and understand the business’s needs

There should never be a one size fits all approach to recruitment. Rather, for the best fit candidate, the people responsible for your recruitment should understand the business needs and objectives. With outsourcing, it’s essential to choose a recruiter that understands the importance of learning about the organisation, its objectives and culture.

3.     They have a proven track record

When you contact different headhunters or sales director recruitment agencies, you should be able to ask for testimonials, feedback and even data on their successful placements.

4.     They take a personalised approach

Many sales director recruitment agencies take a generic approach to filling vacancies. With executive recruitment, it is essential that your vacancy matters and they will approach it in a unique way. For this reason, choosing boutique headhunters is important – they have large enough resources and reach to find the ideal candidates, but they are small enough to care about each and every position they are working on. A good way of identifying this is looking at the fee structure. With retained search, an agency’s interests are more closely aligned with yours.

5.     They have a clear process

There shouldn’t be anything mystical about how the sales director recruitment agencies work. Indeed, they should be clear and upfront about the process they will use to find the best executive for the role.

How to make the most of your sales director recruitment agencies

Sales director recruitment agencies and headhunters can vary enormously in their success. There are multiple reasons for this, including factors related to the individual agency – as listed above.

However, there are also ways in which you can get the best from your sales director recruitment agency or headhunter.

1.      Be clear about needs and expectations

When it comes to executive recruitment, it is essential that you work collaboratively with your chosen recruiter to establish your needs and expectations. Again, this is where using a headhunter pays. They won’t just listen to your expectations, they will help you identify needs and wants which ensure the candidate adds value to the role.

2.      Communicate regularly and effectively

Recruitment can be frustrating for executives and board members because they have enough to be doing with operations and their day job. However, ensuring you dedicate time to adequate communications with your chosen recruiter is essential for uncovering and enticing the best fit candidates.

3.      Commit to one recruiter

Another argument for retained search is that with executive roles it doesn’t work to spread recruitment across numerous parties. You need one person or team to be responsible for this pivotal role.

At Eagle Headhunters, we understand the vital importance of your sales talent, especially at the executive level. We proactively learn about your organisation and the needs of the sales director role in the case of your business. We then dedicate ourselves to sourcing candidates that won’t just fill the basics of the role, but take your business on to new success.

Let us help you fill your sales director vacancy. Get in touch.