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RECRUITMENT GUIDE

Sales Executive

A sales executive is responsible for helping the organization meet and exceed sales targets. They must implement strategies to stay on track of goals, and motivate other sales team members to work towards the achievement of these objectives.

They liaise with both internal stakeholders and customers, and are often the main point of contact for clients. Their role is to make and increase sales, by presenting information about new products/services, offering clients special deals and discounts, and reaching out to new prospects.

They are also responsible for inspiring and motivating other members of the sales team to work hard to achieve the set targets, and to influence them to do their best to contribute to business goals being exceeded.

Day-to-day tasks of this role:

  • Meet with internal stakeholders to establish sales targets.
  • Create strategies with other sales team members to ensure the achievement of the sales targets.
  • Form and maintain strong relationships with clients.
  • Pitch to clients to make sales.
  • Schedule regular meetings with new and exisiting clients to gain insights and feedback.

Recruitment Process

UNDERSTAND THE ROLE

Skills profile for a Sales Executive

It is not always required that a sales executive must have a tertiary qualification, however it can be advantageous to have a Bachelor degree in business, marketing, or communications. It is also favourable to have relevant industry experience and training when applying for this role. There are some common skills required for this position.

A sales executive must have strong negotiation skills. They must be confident in negotiating prices and contracts, and understand the win/win nature of negotiations. They must utilize other services in the negotiation process that don’t impact price such as up/down selling and features, and always have a clear and strong walk away point.

It is important that a sales executive is resilient and can persevere through challenges. They must maintain contact with prospects even if they don’t come on board as a customer right away, and not give up when they experience rejection. They must also persevere to understand the clients needs and wants, and work through challenges when the process becomes difficult to ultimately secure the deal.

It is also essential that a sales executive has excellent relationship management skills. They must be able to build strong relationships with both internal and external stakeholders, as well as understand the importance of building strong relationships long term with customers or prospects.

Once you’ve determined the skills required for the role, you can write the job description to advertise for your position.

SOURCE APPLICANTS

Sales Executive Job Description

Summary:

  • Why is this role being filled?
  • How does this role fit into the organization and the team?
  • What makes your company unique?
  • What would it be like to work for you?

Requirements:

  • What technical skills are needed for this role?
  • Which soft skills are applicable?
  • What are the nice-to-have experiences of your ideal candidate?
  • Include availability preferences in this section

Responsibilities:

  • What are the key deliverables for this role?
  • What does the day-to-day of this role look like?

Benefits:

  • Compensation & bonuses
  • Employee benefits & perks
  • Ongoing training benefits

PRO TIP #1
In building your candidate profile, you’ve already identified what skills are needed to be successful in the role. Here’s where to list your “must-have” skills and maybe a couple of “nice-to-have” skills. For example, a sales executive must understand how to pitch the business to cater to different buyer pain points, but it would be nice to have someone who has used Salesforce CRM.

PRO TIP #2
Ensure that the entire recruitment process from job description to assessment to interview reiterates your company vision and values. This will help you identify the right people for the role, and applicants will know whether your company is the right fit for them.

SKILL ASSESSMENT

Sample skills assessment

Sales executive 1
Question 1

Stakeholder Management

Question Type: Doc

Why do you think it’s important to build positive relationships with prospects who DON’T turn into customers?

Sales executive 2
Question 2
Perseverance
Question Type: Text

Have you maintained a relationship with contact with a prospect when they didn’t become a buyer, that has paid off in the end?

Sales executive 3
Question 3
Negotiation
Question Type: Video

Describe your approach to negotiations and provide an example.

INTERVIEW

Interview guide for a Sales Executive

Once your Vervoe skills assessment has surfaced the most qualified people for your open role, you can focus on interviewing these candidates. The PDF interview guide contains structured questions against each of the competencies for this role.

This interview guide is intended to be used in conjunction with the Vervoe skills assessment. Where a candidate has scored Low – Medium on a skill, focus on asking more questions from that skill to gain deeper insight into their level of competency.

PDF INTERVIEW GUIDE
Get your copy of the  interview guide to complete the hiring process. Includes questions against each of the skill competencies for the role.

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