Just Looking: Recruiting Retail Sales People

Frustrated with the quality of candidates that are coming through the doors for sales positions? If you are, then it is time to recruit.

Recruiting is how you will find the best people for your team. Great retail salespeople are not out looking for work. The best ones are already working at another retailer. And if you don't get out into the field and find them, they will end up working at your competition.

The trick is to locate them. How do you find them?

Here are my tips on how to recruit great sales people:

Find the Employee of the Month wall in the retailer. Normally this is back near the offices in a hallway that is accessible by the public. Write down the names of the last 6 people who won, and then go find them in the store. Walk up and congratulate them on winning and ask why they got the award. You might have a great conversation that could end with "Here is my card, if your interested in examining other opportunities give me a call"
Look at stores that are not in your industry. Too often, sales managers will only recruit from of retailers like themselves. I found great luck recruiting in retailers outside of my industry. Blockbuster Video was a great place to recruit entry level sales and customer service reps. Anyone who walked out from around the counter to ask me if they could help me find something, got my attention and my card.
Always Be Recruiting. Don't ever stop, because you never know when you might run across someone that would be a great member of your team. I can remember two instances of this happening. One was when I was out to dinner with some friends. The waitress was amazing and during our chatter I found out she was looking for a part time job. I ended up hiring her for for the holiday season and we both were very satisfied with her 4 month stay. The other instance was when I answered the phone and a telemarketer began his pitch on the other end. It was one of those telemarketers that didn't give up at the first no, but kept the tone very light hearted. He came in and interviewed for a full time position.
Recruit for the right traits not just sales skills. There is no way you will ever be able to evaluate a potential recruits selling skills effectively but you can get a good feel for their passion and enthusiasm. My goal when recruiting is to find someone who is outgoing, passionate and enthusiastic about what they are selling. I can't teach passion but I can teach someone with passion how to channel it into selling better.
Don't limit yourself to just the salespeople. When you are out recruiting look at all the people as candidates. The cashier at the mall food court or bagger at your local grocery store might be a good candidate. View everyone as a candidate.
Set a Recruiting Goal when you go out. If you head out to go recruiting without a goal, all you will get is 2 to 4 hours of walking around. Set a goal of coming back with 4 to 5 names to call and at least 2 business card drops. A business card drop is when you introduce yourself and give them your card with a suggestion they call you. The list of names are of people who you will call later that day and invite them to come in for an interview.
Keep a People Pool. Don't toss out information from old interviews. Make a file and keep it around for later job opportunities. You never know when a position will open that might be perfect for someone you didn't consider before.
Network with other Sales Managers. Find sales manager in other stores that do not compete with you directly. They might be interviewing a candidate that needs more hours or income then they can afford, that might be perfect for your job. A lunch, once a month with a few of these other sales managers could help you locate the people you need. Who knows, maybe they might have a current employee who is looking for a change that is the perfect recruit.

Just a few tips that could help you find that great candidate.