Has the transition in Sales & Marketing from an Outbound to An Inbound Model Affected the Way That You Recruit Sales Staff?

Online marketing processes have rendered some outbound marketing practices obsolete for many industries – does this indicate a shift in sales recruitment criteria?

As someone who once managed an outbound sales team where “cold calling” was the order of the day, I must say that the concept of “inbound” marketing superseding long-established outbound practices came as a bit of a shock – in fact, I didn't believe it.

That was a decade ago, however, and I certainly believe it now!

Just a couple of years ago I agreed to run an outbound team for a (very) large organisation who were keen to see how, (and whether), it would still work. They wanted to establish whether it made financial sense to simply cold call a list of potential customers.

10,000+ calls later the answer was blindingly obvious – it was a waste of time, the cost of acquisition was insane. The project was buried and has never surfaced again since.

Now let me say right away that there certainly are some markets where cold calling does make sense and works well. The stereotypical “double glazing” pitch is going to be delivered that way for years to come, I’m sure of that.

For most businesses, however, whilst you may still want to hang on to the familiar outbound methods, it’s time to take a look at how inbound sales and marketing are already changing the landscape for many industries. It may also be time to amend your sales recruitment criteria as well.


This is almost all due to the widespread acceptance of the need to have a company website and the need for that website to feature in the results given by Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines, when someone searches for a word or phrase that relates to your business.

When someone visits a website and fills in the “more information” contact form, what you have is, at the very least, a “warm” lead. When you consider that, in a cold calling environment, you might have to make up to 100 or more calls just to get one such warm lead, you can see how the sales process has matured and why the sales recruitment process may need to change.

No longer do we need people to constantly bash the phones, taking every knock-back as simply being a step towards the next success. Now, we need to recruit sales staff who can take the inbound leads and convert them into sales at a sufficiently high rate.

We need to recruit marketing people who can make those leads occur at a much higher rate. Sales staff who are comfortable with converting pre-qualified leads and using up-to-date real time CRM’s, incorporating other activities such as email follow-ons, downloadable case studies etc.

In short, we need sales staff who can work in the online space as comfortably as they can when confronted with a real person, in a board room presentation or other business meeting.

Online enquiries are fine but remember that when your website is shown to a potential customer, so are those of your competitor. The one that wins the business will be the one that responds quickly and professionally – and that’s what many people are concentrating on when they recruit sales staff today.

Here at Aaron Wallis we can help you to recruit sales staff that reflect and enhance your inbound sales processes, sales staff with the necessary skills to make inbound work – for your business.

What To Look For In A Sales Recruitment Agency

Hiring Sales Staff - Use A Specialist Sales Recruitment Agency

When you need to find new sales professionals to drive your business forward, it goes without saying that you want to recruit the best sales talent that is available. 

But how can you be sure that you are finding those talented sales professionals that can make a huge difference to your business?

Well, there’s one way that you can make the sales recruitment task much easier and which gives you the peace of mind that comes with knowing that the people you are interviewing are carefully selected to meet your criteria and to demonstrate those qualities that make for a top performing sales professional.

Welcome to the world of the specialist sales recruitment agency, welcome to the world of Aaron Wallis.

As sales recruitment specialists, Aaron Wallis are able to focus on the task of identifying those candidates who really do have what it takes, the essential qualities that make for a professional approach to selling, with success almost guaranteed.

When Aaron Wallis recruit sales staff for you, we take time to find out exactly what kind of sales professional you are looking for. What level of experience is required, do you require specialist knowledge of particular industry domains or vertical markets, are you looking for a potential sales manager and, if so, within what kind of time frame?

The Search Begins

When your requirements are fully understood, our experienced sales recruiters will begin the search for suitable candidates, sifting through hundreds of CV’s and profiles, looking for those qualities that will make for a perfect candidate for your sales recruitment requirements.

We carefully screen all applicants and produce a Psychometric profile for all candidates – this ensures that they possess all of the qualities needed to succeed in your business.

Once a shortlist has been produced, we can assist with the interview process and will provide bespoke interview questions that really help you to drill down to the level of detail needed to identify those candidates that will really perform once appointed.

Finding the Right Sales Recruitment Agency - How Difficult Can It Be?

Finding the right sales recruitment company can be tricky, we know that some of our competitors may not offer such a comprehensive service as that offered by ourselves. Often, this is because they are recruiting for many different roles and don’t have the knowledge, or the time, to focus just on sales recruitment in the way that we do.

As with most things in business, however, specialisation usually pays dividends. You wouldn't dream of using a bricklayer to run your payroll, or an accountant to fix your roof – apply the same logic to the business critical task of recruiting sales staff – use a specialist sales recruitment agency.

Our approach certainly takes most, if not all, of the risk out of recruiting sales staff but, just to be absolutely sure, we offer our clients even more peace of mind, and we’re very proud of it – it’s all thanks to our unique 12 months rebate scheme which gives you 52 weeks protection on your investment in new sales staff.

Yes, a full year’s protection for you – that’s how confident we are that, when you need to recruit sales staff, you’ll find the right sales people, every time, with Aaron Wallis.

Aaron Wallis – 4 Locations, 1 Specialist Sales Recruitment Agency

If you are an employer or recruiter seeking sales professionals at various levels you will probably know by now that recruiting sales staff is different from many other forms of recruitment.

However, not everyone is aware that by engaging the services of a specialist sales recruitment agency you can avoid many of the pitfalls and be sure of finding the right people every time.


Good sales people are often reluctant to leave a post, unless there is a really good reason for them to do so. Nonetheless, many sales professionals do keep their ear to the ground in case a suitable opportunity becomes available and with the advent of social networking platforms like LinkedIn it is becoming increasingly easy for them to become aware of an opportunity when one occurs.

So what are today’s top performers looking for - Is it just a question of money and financial rewards?

Surprisingly, the answer is very often, “no”.

Although it is true that many sales professionals who register with a sales recruitment agency like Aaron Wallis do so because they feel they are undervalued and under paid in their current roles, In many cases they are also looking for other elements of a job that will help them to progress their career.

Just some of the things that the sales professional may be considering include:

• A product or service that they can really believe in and sell with confidence
• A real career development path leading perhaps to a sales manager’s role in the future
• Regular training and personal development activity
• Flexible working arrangements to help achieve the highly desirable life-work balance

Make It Easy On Yourself - Use A Specialist Sales Recruitment Agency

So, if you are actively seeking to find ambitious salespeople who want to find a job where they can earn and learn, it would be very much in your interest to discuss your requirements with a specialist sales recruitment agency like Aaron Wallis.

We operate from 4 UK regional offices located in Leeds, London, Milton Keynes and Bristol but offer national coverage online from our sales recruitment agency website, aaronwallis.co.uk.

The difference between a sales recruitment agency like Aaron Wallis and other recruitment agencies is that we use our many years of experience in recruiting sales staff in order to identify those candidates who demonstrate the right qualities – not just a desire to earn more money!

Sales Recruitment - It's More Than Just The Money!

Of course, we appreciate that the financial remuneration package that comes with a sales position is important – we all have bills to pay when all is said and done. To rely solely on tempting new sales staff to join you based purely on financial criteria however is a strategy that will often end in a high staff turnover and a constant battle to keep your sales team up to speed.

Aaron Wallis will only send candidates to you for interview that have been identified as having all the right qualities that you need from them. Yes, they will expect to be paid well but, in return, they will know that you require much more than just impressive sales figures.

If you want to recruit sales people who will commit to your organisation and stay and grow with you in the long term, contact the UK’s leading specialist sales recruitment agency today and let us find you some very impressive people.