We talk often at The Hire Sense about a salesperson’s ability to qualify a prospect. There are many points to qualify in any given opportunity, but one of the important items is time frame. Tirekickers abound on the web and often contact companies to learn more about their offerings. Yet, these tirekickers have no intention to make a short-term purchase.

A thought struck me as we work with one of our customers who is searching for a new salesperson. This position involves a technical sale and we have recently sourced a strong candidate that they want to pursue. We were involved in the initial interview and the candidate was quite strong (as we expected). Our customer liked him also and wants to pursue him. Unfortunately, they are in the middle of the myriad of year-end tasks most companies have to complete.

I tell you all this because they had hoped to pursue the candidate after Christmas. Well, the candidate is pursuing other opportunities simultaneously and will be receiving an offer early next week. This is not surprising with the low unemployment level across the country and especially here in Minnesota.

The time frame for a successful hire in today’s marketplace is rapid. If you find a strong candidate, you need to move on them with some speed lest another company close them before you. Our customer is now making adjustments today (Saturday) to be able to pursue the candidate on Tuesday with a final interview.

A good piece of advice – accelerate your hiring process if you want to hire the strongest candidates in this present economy.

Comments(0)