Top 3 Causes of Application Abandonment in the Sales Hiring Process

Sales is a number game. The longer you have an open sales position, the more difficult it is to make your number. The war for sales talent means getting enough candidates to apply for your open sales jobs is more difficult than ever. Think about a potential sales candidate finding your job posting, diving into the application process, and bailing before they even finish or hit submit. But it happens more often than you think. Ouch!

The top two reasons that would cause candidates to abandon an application are poor communication with an employer and a bad experience with an interviewer. The third reason is bad reviews on sites like Glassdoor or Indeed.

This is a red flag for many organizations needing more candidates to apply.

What’s the solution to this problem?

You can avoid having an applicant abandon an application by having an efficient sales hiring process that is clearly defined and ensures that interviewers are properly trained, professional, and respectful throughout the interview process. You already invest a lot of time and money into finding good candidates as an organization. Someone such as a recruiter or sales hiring manager having a “bad day” and turning off a suitable candidate can cost you thousands of dollars.

Additionally, your employer brand matters. Websites like Glassdoor and Reddit allow dissatisfied candidates to share their experiences and discourage other qualified candidates from applying.

Other reasons for abandoning an application are:

• Too many interview rounds
• Re-entering duplicate information
• Requiring proof of income
• Requiring credit checks
• Unnecessary cover letters
• Long multiple-choice personality tests
• Required drug tests
• Reviewing of social media accounts
• Lack of employer diversity  

For more insight into the challenges and best practices in sales hiring, refer to a joint survey we conducted with SellingPower®. Download the full survey report here!

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.