Top Sales Star Recruiter Shares Headhunter’s Tips for Jobseekers in Any Market

Recently I had a call with a top billing sales manager at one of the leading international IT consulting companies.  He has a 25 year history of selling IT middleware, mainframes, and consulting services, exceeding his quotas, and managing an entire sales division with a team of top performing salespersons directly reporting to him.  It seems that his commissions have grown too large, and the company wants to cut cost in anticipation of a recession.  He was referred to me because of my reputation in helping top salespeople make their next career moves.  During my interview with him it came to my attention that he had actually committed the cardinal sin of sales careers.  ***He had discarded all of the contact files he had over the years because they were taking up space. ***

How could this happen to a star salesman?  He was in a comfortable position in his company, after being in Sr. Management for quite some time, and he was no longer pounding the pavement.  Instead he has spent the last ten years managing a team of salespeople, and supporting their direct sales.  He just didn’t see a need to keep his old contacts any longer. 

Tip # 1:  Always keep the contact information for all of your past and current customers.  As a salesperson the most valuable thing you own is not your car, your house, or your 401K.  It’s your contact list.  Keep it updated and keep the relationships fresh.   Send holiday cards, send professional e-mails, and generally keep up with the movements of the contacts you made at your customers over the years.  When a job comes down to you and another candidate, and the other candidate can make an immediate impact for the employer by bringing an existing book of clients, and you can’t, he wins.  Even if you have a better overall track record, have really good sales habits, prospecting methods, etc… The bottom line is the salesman that can bring sales in fast usually gets the job. 

Tip #2:  If you are a top performing salesperson, and you are looking for a new position during a weak economy, stay in your niche.  This is another mistake that I see quite often with candidates.  I have had many conversations with candidates that are frustrated in their current position and they would like to not only change employers, but change industries.  I have had top IT billers express a desire to sell cars or boats.  I recently had top media advertising salesman that wanted to sell IT consulting. 

If you want to find a new sales job that pays at least as well as your old one, you are usually better off staying in your niche.  When you change industries, all of the combined industry specific knowledge and experience that you have earned during your tenure is useless.  You will have a new learning curve, and will generally not be interviewing for a new job in a position of strength.  If you are a top biller in your niche, and you are interviewing with a new employer within your niche, you have the opportunity to have an immediate impact on the profitability of your new employer.  If you are changing industries, you may be an experienced salesman, but you may be viewed as an entry level candidate in the new industry.

 Tip #3:  Don’t be frustrated by bad news.  Every day we are bombarded with news of wars, disease, high prices, and layoffs.  And that’s during good economy.  During a recession, the news gets even more negative.  Top sales professionals have opportunities during good times and bad.  A salesperson that can bring in new clients from day one will garner job offers from strong, progressive thinking companies because they are a profitable hire for the company.  During downturns, smart companies lay off middle management, and hire salespeople. 

Tip#4:   Prepare a professional, well formatted resume, and always have it ready.  If you want to be taken seriously as a star quality candidate you will need to have a strong resume.  It’s not unusual for me to find a candidate that has a stellar sales record, excellent references, and a below average resume.  A well formatted resume should be in reverse chronological order with the most recent employer first.  You should list several accurate, quantifiable stats regarding your performance with each employer.  Stats like, exceeded quota by X% Y yrs straight, or sold $X worth of consulting services to clientele including Xcorp, Yinc, and Zcorp, are excellent stats to highlight in your resume.  I like to have a resume broken down by accomplishments and responsibilities for each employer.  This gives me and your potential employer an easy way to see what kind of impact you can have on their company, as well as some of the extra things you bring to the table that other candidates don’t. 

Tip #5:  Be careful where you post your resume.  Posting your resume on the major job boards may seem like a good idea, but there is a pitfall.  Hiring companies and recruiters scour the job boards for candidates every day, so there’s ample opportunity to get contacted by posting your resume.  However, If you are a top six figure sales candidate, you should generally work directly with recruiters because candidates that resume’s on job boards are viewed as common, or damaged goods by many hiring managers.  Working directly with a recruiter improves your chances of landing the best jobs because recruiters can help you properly organize your resume and put you directly in front of the decision makers in the hiring companies without the clutter of thousands of other resumes.

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John Kaufman is a recruiter specializing in Salespeople with a history of strong B2B sales records within the IT, Medical, Consulting, Financial and Pharmaceutical industries.