Want more offers accepted for Software Sales Talent? Candidates have lots of options to pick from, including staying with their current employer, so make it a collaborative effort.
The offer process is a sales candidate’s first glimpse into a company’s aggressive or regressive nature.
Do they move fast or slow? Do they overanalyze everything? All of this is a part of the first impression that candidates get of a company. Likewise, once an offer is made, it is a company’s first clue on what it would look like to have the candidate on their team and how they make decisions. Are they decisive? How the candidate closes the offer cycle is often a glimpse of how they would approach a software deal.
In today’s market, the individual, especially top-performing software sales talent with stats to back them up, is in the driver’s seat and I hope they never give the wheel back. Candidly, it is good for the world of work, good for employees and good for companies. When power shifts too far in one direction, inequity and dysfunction take hold.
When individuals decide to look for a new role, they are typically considering at least (2) or more offers and are likely to get a counteroffer. The interview process and, perhaps even more importantly, the offer process is the “tell” as to what you are walking into.
Here is how you get more offers accepted:
- When an organization is planning on making an offer, tell the individual. Do not keep them guessing or play games. I did not say you are making an offer; I said when you are planning to make an offer. There is a big difference between “Here’s our offer” and “We’re thinking about making you an offer; let’s discuss what we can and can’t do”
- Let the individual know that you have a number of levers that you can pull in the offer package and that your organization has limits in each area. Reiterate that as an organization that understands everyone’s needs are slightly different, you would like to make the offer as customized as possible and fair for all involved.
- The levers for software sales talent are things such as base salary, commissions, draws, reasonable quota, account assignments, existing pipeline, performance bonus, sign-on bonus, relocation, long-term-incentives, early performance reviews, equity, etc. to name a few
- The hiring manager should be in the offer construct conversations with Human Resources taking part as well to manage the ranges, candidate expectations and final offer construct.
- The “offer” is not pure economics. It should also have some insight of one’s personal growth opportunities that would be possible but not promised in the organization.
Candidates have a lot of options to pick from in the software sales market. However, if you are able to identify the right levers through a collaborative approach with candidates, you give yourself the best chance at getting the top software sales talent.
At Sales Search International, we are in the business of knowing our clients’ needs, their sales cultures, where they are in the market—and where they want to be. Through expert software sales recruiting, we provide access to the passionate software salespeople who are a vehicle for business development.