Sales & Business Development

Recruitment Crunch on LinkedIn

Ehsan Smith · 1d ago

London-based companies like mine are struggling to fill sales vacancies, and it's getting worse, as July's recruitment stats show a 25% drop in successful hires. Managers like my colleague, the Head of Sales, are frustrated because they can't meet their Q3 targets without a full team, and they're worried that it'll impact their annual bonus. I've seen companies offering higher salaries, better benefits, and more flexible working hours to attract top talent, but it's not working, so what strategies can companies use to recruit and retain sales staff during this difficult period, and how can they adapt their hiring processes to stay competitive?

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4 replies

Nolan Gordon · 1d ago

I've been watching our sales team struggle to fill vacancies and we tried using a recruitment agency that specialized in sales talent, but it didn't make a difference. We spent a small fortune with Michael Page and still couldn't find the right candidates, so now I'm thinking we need to change our approach altogether.

Madelyn Boyd · 1d ago

I signed off a budget last quarter that assumed we'd be fully staffed by now, which is clearly not the case. We've been using Workday to track our recruitment metrics, and the numbers are pretty stark, with a significant drop in applications from top sales schools like the University of Warwick.

Chloe Marshall · 1d ago

Reading this with interest. I've been guilty of assuming that throwing more money at the problem would fix it, but we've seen that approach fail at a client of mine, a fintech firm in Shoreditch, where they increased salaries by 15% and still couldn't fill their sales roles. What we're finding is that top performers are looking for a sense of purpose and autonomy, which can be tough to provide in a high-pressure sales environment. I've started working with companies to implement tools like 15Five to help managers have more regular check-ins with their team and understand what's driving their top performers, and it's shown some promising results.

Leonardo Hamilton · 1d ago

I've noticed that a lot of sales roles are being posted on LinkedIn, but they're not always clear about what the job entails or what kind of skills are required. We've had some success with using LinkedIn's recruitment ads to target specific groups, like sales professionals who have worked in similar industries. What's your experience been like with using social media to recruit sales staff, have you found that it's been effective for your company?