It’s a perpetual concern among sales organizations, particularly over the last few years – finding talented salespeople, hiring them and keeping them for the long-term. According to a recent study by RAIN Group, 85% of sales leaders say that finding and recruiting qualified team members is a top challenge. Meanwhile, 76% report onboarding of new sales reps as a top challenge, and 57% are concerned about losing their talent to other firms.

Fortunately, there are ways to hire good candidates early and keep them for the long-term. In this episode of Promo Insiders, Michelle Parisi, business strategist and sales coach at Core Strength Strategies, discusses ways to do just that.

“Do some preparation in advance of getting resumes and interviewing,” says Parisi. “Create an ideal profile of the salesperson you’re looking for. Not all positions are equal – some require a ‘hunter’ type salesperson, where they’re pursuing lots of new opportunities, while the ‘farming’ type rep maintains and grows the existing business.”

Once high-performing talent is identified and hired, it behooves organizations to retain them for as long as possible. Have regular check-ins with the team to make sure everyone’s on the same page, advises Parisi, and also schedule consistent one-on-ones. “We never want to leave sales reps completely on their own,” she says. “It’s a challenging job. You hear a lot of ‘no’s,’ you’re faced with a lot of intangibles every day, even if you have a great product or service. So that warrants regular check-ins and caring about the entire person.”