The State of Sales Hiring Survey Reveals Top Sources of Hiring Process Dissatisfaction Across Hiring Managers, Recruiters and Applicants

Nothing dooms a sales leader faster than open territories, neglected accounts, bad hires, and poor onboarding. Needless to say, the pressure is on when it comes to the sales hiring process, and from what we’ve gathered recently, most hiring managers and recruiters are uninspired by their current processes. 

According to a joint survey we conducted with SellingPower® to identify challenges and best practices in sales hiring, sales hiring managers and recruiters are overwhelmingly dissatisfied with their current sales hiring process. 

Between 45 and 50% of respondents in both categories say they are somewhat dissatisfied, though the perceptions of sales recruiters are a tad more favorable. 

Even with that discrepancy in results, less than 13% of all respondents said they were very satisfied.

As an applicant, what bothers you most about the sales hiring process?

To gain the most comprehensive insight possible, we surveyed sales leaders, recruiters, and sales reps to better understand their unique — and at times opposing — perceptions, expectations, and preferences. From a sales rep’s perspective, they hate when the sales hiring process is too slow and contains irrelevant steps. 

For example, a company posts a job on LinkedIn and requires an applicant to upload a copy of their resume rather than just integrate with LinkedIn and use their profile. Believe it or not, that’s enough for someone to abandon their application. 

Often the best candidates have the least patience for these types of process inefficiencies.

What are you doing to improve your sales hiring process?

For B2B sales organizations needing to minimize the risk of bad hires and move fast to land the best applicants, the Sciolytix Sales Performance Predictor (S2P2) is a next-generation talent assessment that quickly and accurately predicts quota attainment while delivering an engaging, differentiated experience for candidates.

Traditional hiring assessments are usually better than gut instinct, but like any tests, candidates hate taking them. Furthermore, traditional assessments only predict potential and not performance. S2P2 puts candidates into realistic selling situations with 3D avatar simulations, scores their interactions with virtual prospects, and through AI, predicts their expected quota attainment. 

S2P2 gives your managers insight to avoid bad hiring decisions, improves hiring objectivity and consistency, and shows candidates you are a forward-thinking company that takes their development seriously. 

Bottom line, we are revolutionizing the way organizations hire, onboard, develop talent, and create a fair hiring process for all. Predictive simulations are the latest enhancement we’re adding to that arsenal of products. 

Please check back with us as we share more about this insightful survey. Download the full survey report here!