Building a recruiting referral network is one of the most important jobs of all sales leaders. Accomplishing this task will give you a stack of fresh resumes all the time; not just when you need to hire a salesperson. Successful sales leaders will tell you to always keep a funnel of fresh prospective candidates. You never know when a salesperson will quit.

Where do you find candidates to interview?

Recently while meeting with the EVP of Sales of a large public company, he said several things that surprised me coming from an executive of such a large company. He said that his sales leaders number one job was recruiting. At that point I high-fived him for coming to an important realization. He followed this statement up with, “however, they do not know where to find quality candidates, nor do they know what traits and competencies to look for.”

Almost every sales leader I meet asks me the same question about finding great candidates. It is the number one challenge of recruiting. I’ve decided that most managers do not have the proper paradigm around this issue. They teach their salespeople to get out into the community to network to find prospects, but they do not take the same approach to recruiting salespeople.

Building a recruiting referral network is one of the most important jobs of all sales leaders. Accomplishing this task will give you a stack of fresh resumes all the time; not just when you need to hire a salesperson. Successful sales leaders will tell you to always keep a funnel of fresh prospective candidates. You never know when a salesperson will quit.

Two big issues will arise if the pool of candidates is too small.

1. It will take a long time to fill the position; no salesperson, no sales.

2. If the pool of candidates is small, we have a tendency to pick the best candidate in the pool rather than measuring all candidates in the pool against the ideal candidate who we want to hire.

The question is not where do I find candidates. The real question is where do I find people who know great people who I can recruit? It is not who you know it is who do you know that knows others.

Here is a list of people who should be in your network of referral sources.

Best Sources:

• Current Customers – This is one of your strongest sources. One, it is a long list. Two, they know you, like you and respect your company.

• Your Database of Contacts other than Customers

• Current Sales Reps – This is another strong source. They understand the things it takes to do well at your company. The people they refer are usually strong candidates.

• Sandler Sales Franchise Owners – Sales trainers and consultants always have a stack of resumes.

• Dale Carnegie Sales Reps

• BNI Regional Directors – These are the most networked people in every community. They always have a stack of resumes and are usually willing to email blast your job posting to their thousands of members. Go to www.BNI.com and search for local chapters and directors.

• Linkedin – If you are not on Linkedin, it is time you enter the 21st Century. Social Networking is where strong candidates look for jobs and post valuable information you need while evaluating them. Here is a great article on becoming a master Linkedin user. http://salesplaybook.blogspot.com/2009/07/linkedin-right-way.html

Moderate Sources:

• Churches, synagogues, temples, etc. – With 10% unemployment, every large church has a jobs ministry. Call and ask to speak to the person in charge of this ministry. Get your position posted in all their communication pieces.

• Small Business Accountants – Professionals who work with small businesses know those who, due to the economy, need to go back to work for someone else. Many small business owners are looking to leave the entrepreneurial track and get back into sales. They are usually great salespeople.

• Small Business Attorneys

• Chamber of Commerce Salespeople – They usually know all of the great salespeople in town, and know people who are looking for sales positions.

• Presidents of Community Service Organizations – Rotary, Lions Club, etc.

• Post at Salesblogcast.com – This blog has a job board. Find other blogs with similar job postings.

• Job Fairs – If you recruit in large numbers, this is a way to get many people interested in your position. Warning – you will get many unqualified people coming to your job fair along with many stars.

Weaker Sources:

• Job Boards like Monster

• Newspapers

• College placement offices – If you are not looking for people with sales experience, most universities have career placement departments and will work diligently to help you find the right candidates.

Just like the great guerilla marketer, Jay Levinson, once told me, “I am giving you 100 ways to guerilla market your product. Use as many of the 100 sources as possible.” Utilize all sources. You never know from which source a candidate will come, so you must use as many sources as you can.

Here is a sample email to send and a sample job posting ad. The wording has been chosen to attract the right candidate and repel the wrong candidate.

Sample email to send to your current customers or list of contacts:
Please assist me in helping someone you know. I have an open position on my sales team. If you know the right person for this job, please help them find a great career by sending them to see me. The right candidate will have the following traits; Honesty, hard work ethic and personal responsibility. Their personality is one of loving to network to find prospects, goal driven and highly confident. Sales experience…… Please have them forward their resume to me at …… Thank you for helping me find the right individual and for helping them find a great career.

Sample Wording for Job Posting:
Salespeople wanted. _______ company is looking for salespeople to work in the city of _______ calling on customers to sell ________. Requirements: must have the following traits; Honesty, hard work ethic and personal responsibility. Personality must be one who loves to network to find prospects, goal driven and highly confident. Sales experience…… Please forward resume to ……