How professional sales organizations prepare candidates for your job

Sales associations do a lot for their members, from helping them improve their skills to offering them connections to businesses that need their skills. Your organization could be one of those businesses. Here are some of the benefits that sales representatives receive that could make them better candidates for your position.

• Networking opportunities: The sales associates that are part of a sales organization have a lot of contacts. This provides them with mentors and educators that continue to help them hone their skills and increase their closing rates.
• Education: If you’re recruiting sales representatives from a sales association, you can save a lot of time and money on training them to do the job. While you do need to help new recruits gain familiarity with your products and procedures, all the education your candidates need regarding how to persuade clients, follow up with leads and close the sale is already provided.
• Sales certifications: Another major benefit from working with a sales organization is that the members often have certifications. This shows that they’ve displayed competence in their field and can succeed quickly at a new sales job.
• Job boards: Professional sales associations always have job boards for their members to acquire work when they’re looking for new opportunities. You’re able to place your job listing on these boards and gain exposure in front of a group of highly qualified candidates.

National Sales Associations You Can Work With

There are numerous sales associations that have members in your local and regional area. You can search for smaller sales associations that have members closer to your business, but these national organizations are also likely to host gatherings in your area as well.

National Association of Sales Professionals

If your ideal sales candidate is someone who’s been educated and has plenty of experience in the field, this is a great place to look. The NASP is one of the largest sales associations in the world and operates online. It offers a lot of great educational material for members, which helps make them better candidates for sales positions.

People can become members of the NASP for free, but the sales courses do cost money. The reason this is important is because if you’re interviewing a candidate who has completed some of these courses, you know they invested time and money into their sales education. People are much more likely to take their education seriously and benefit from it when they need to pay for it.

National Association of Women Sales Professionals

The NAWSP is dedicated to providing women a level playing field in the sales and marketing space. If your goals are to create a more inclusive workforce, working with this association can give you access to many experienced and qualified women who have the skills needed to fill your position. The community is extremely active and the NAWSP hosts regular training seminars, mentoring programs and networking groups. Because the NAWSP also has a job board, placing your listing on their job board is an excellent way to attract more saleswomen to your workforce.

Sales Management Association

If your needs are more centered on sales leadership, you may want to look into the Sales Management Association. This organization works specifically with sales managers from all over the globe and across multiple types of sales. Members can participate in classes that teach them new ways to manage effectively, how to forecast sales, managing sales teams, managing team performance and building company culture.

The Sales Management Association has a job board for businesses to recruit experienced sales managers. You know that the candidates who contact you about your posting will be experienced leaders and have excellent sales skills.

American Association of Inside Sales Professionals

This is a great sales association to work with if you’re looking for someone to add to your team that has inside sales knowledge and experience. The AA-ISP focuses mainly on developing inside sales skills and offers virtual and in-person events to members who want to add to their skillset. Members have an opportunity to earn valuable sales certifications that make them more valuable potential hires because you know they’ve reached a benchmark in order to earn their certifications.

North American Association of Sales Engineers

If you’re looking for sales representatives with technical skills and expertise, this association is the place to be. The NAASE offers educational opportunities, networking events and job fairs for members who’re looking to advance their careers or pursue different opportunities. Another huge benefit is that the NAASE offers members the chance to obtain the CSE certification, which is the only certification currently available for sales engineers.

National Sales Network

The National Sales Network offers occasional seminars and training sessions for members, but its value to your business is in the annual career fair. This fair brings prospective sales professionals from across the country to your doorstep where you can conduct preliminary interviews and create a shortlist of qualified candidates to call back.

How to Leverage Professional Sales Associations for Your Recruiting Efforts

The above list is only a sample of the many professional sales organizations that provide training and resources to up and coming sales representatives across the country. When you’re looking to work with a sales organization to recruit new talent to your organization, consider the following:

• What is the focus of the group? If you’re looking for people with a specific skillset, you can find sales organizations that are dedicated to that group of individuals. For example, if you’re trying to recruit a new sales manager, you should work with an organization that’s focused on sales management.
• Does the association certify its members? If you’re looking for highly qualified sales representatives, conducting a job search through an organization that certifies its members ensures that you can interview candidates that meet your educational requirements.
• Are there local chapters? While working with national organizations helps you find more potential candidates, it can also make it more difficult to find people near your place of business. Some national sales organizations have local chapters and you can place your job listing where local members are likely to see it and contact you.

When you’re looking to hire new talent, leaving no stone unturned gives you the greatest chance of finding the perfect fit. If you haven’t considered working with the top professional sales organizations, reach out and find out how you can gain exposure for your business. When reviewing resumes, also check to see if any of your potential candidates belong to a sales organization and if they earned any certifications that can provide value to your business.