Since 2010, the unemployment rates in both the United States and Canada have been trending downward.

Although this is great news for job applicants, low unemployment rates translate to fewer individuals in the applicant pool, which makes it increasingly difficult for hiring managers to attract quality employees to fill positions and retain top talent.

Now, more than ever, it is vital to hire right the first time. Read on for ten more reasons to stop dumping your resources into re-recruiting, rehiring and retraining.

Roughly 50% of college graduates will work in sales positions, and 55% of salespeople do not have the necessary skills to succeed. 

Most of these college graduates will have no formal training or experience in sales. When hiring a sales force, look for applicants who have the ability to use logical analysis, embrace your company’s vision and learn the business. Provide adequate new hire training and ongoing resources for improvement.

Full-time sales positions constitute 13% of all jobs in the United States, and the best applicants will be removed from the job pool within just 10 days. 

The best candidates to fill your openings have great opportunity to find work elsewhere. Use candidate assessment tools to identify the most qualified individuals – before your competitors.

Companies spend an average of $10,000 to $15,000 hiring new sales employees annually and only $2,000 on employee training. 

Businesses which invest in employee training, rather than hiring, will reduce overall costs by improving employee retention due to increased opportunity for success.

In telesales, the average employee replacement cost ranges from $75,000 to $90,000. In more specialized industries, such as medical equipment, these costs can skyrocket to around one million dollars. 

These numbers do not include the income lost due to missed sales opportunities. When you put a number on the cost of hiring and training a new salesperson, it makes hanging on to the ones you do have an even more attractive option.

In sales, the annual turnover is roughly 25% to 30%. 

At this rate, an entire sales force will be hired, trained and re-hired nearly every three to four years. Use candidate assessment tools to cut hiring and training expenses by matching new employees with the positions which will be right for them.

Annually, businesses spend an estimated one trillion (!) dollars on sales forces. 

Be sure you see an adequate return on investment for the dollars you put into your salespeople. Hire the right people, provide the right training and track individual sales metrics to see which strategies work and which do not.

A new salesperson requires at least 10 months of training, experience and on-the-job know-how to be fully productive.

Track your company’s turnover rates and do what you can to retain employees. Some turnover is always inevitable, so implement an efficient new-hire procurement and training procedure.

Vendors which respond to clients first close 30% to 50%

In other words, you cannot afford to risk slow call-back times due to limited or un-trained staff. You always want to be your potential customer’s first contact, first response and first solution.

Salespeople using social media outsell their peers by 78%.

Check an applicant’s social media proficiency prior to hiring.

Customer acquisition through email performs 40 times better than Facebook and Twitter.

Although most customer interactions occur over the phone, hiring salespeople who are proficient with written communication improve your sales through email marketing campaigns.

The Big Takeaway… Introducing SalesHiring Guru

What’s the most important thing for sales hiring managers?

Getting it right the first time: the right candidate, with the right traits, and the right stills.

How do you get it right?

We’ve built an all-in-one platform to help sales managers hire for “fit first” – fit with the job, the manager, the company, and the customers.

SalesHiring Guru incorporates years of scientific research, predictive analytics, and cutting age artificial intelligence to help you find the right fit.