Chapter Summary

Selecting the right people (staffing the organization) is one of the most important steps in the management process. Sales force selection should be coordinated with an organization’s strategic marketing and sales force planning because the sales force often plays a major role in implementing the plans. Sales executives must understand the various civil rights laws and other government regulations that have a substantial impact on all phases of sales force selection.

Sales selection includes five phases. First, management determines how many and what kind of people are wanted. The second phase involves recruiting a number of applicants. The third phase involves processing these applicants and selecting the most qualified. Then those selected must be hired and assimilated into the organization.

Management can determine the number of salespeople to be hired by conducting an analysis based on the company’s past experiences and future expectations. To determine the type of person wanted, management should first conduct a job analysis and then write a job description for each position to be filled.

Determining the qualifications needed to fill the job is the most difficult part of the sales selection process. As yet, we simply have not been able to isolate the traits that make for success in selling. However, we do know that it is important to develop individualized hiring specifications for a given job in a given firm. As a starting point, management should study the job descriptions. They should also analyze the personal histories of their present and past salespeople to identify those characteristics that distinguish the successful reps from the less successful ones.

After determining the number and kind of salespeople wanted, the next major step in sales force selection is to recruit several applicants for the job. A well-planned, well-operated recruiting system is essential for a successful selection program. A company must identify the sources that are likely to produce good recruits and maintain a continuing relationship with these sources, even during periods when the firm is not hiring.

Many managers feel that referrals are the best source of sales recruits. These referrals may come from many places, including from within the company doing the recruiting. Often the present sales force is an excellent source of leads to new recruits. Also, some companies recruit new salespeople from employees in their offices or factories.

Another major source of recruits is other companies—competitors, customers, or noncompetitors. A company may try to hire competitors’ salespeople, or a firm’s customers may supply recruiting leads. Some companies will hire customers’ employees, although this must be done very carefully. Another source is salespeople working for noncompeting firms.

Increasingly, firms are using the Internet to identify candidates. Résumé search services will perform the search for a fee, or managers can access several job banks on the Internet.

Many companies recruit salespeople from educational institutions—universities, community colleges, vocational–technical schools, or high schools. Some firms rely on advertisements to reach prospective applicants. For some types of sales jobs, employment agencies can provide good prospects.

Voluntary (walk-in) applicants can be an excellent source, but usually there are not enough of these people. Part-time workers, such as students or homemakers, are excellent candidates for certain selling jobs.

Increasingly, companies are looking to women and minority groups as sources of applicants for sales jobs. This trend is expected to continue and to intensify. A company should periodically evaluate the effectiveness of its recruiting program to ensure that it is using the best sources available.