Expect Less. Pay More. 

One word to be very thoughtful about. Patience…

Be very patient if you're looking for a new hire with ideal credentials anywhere along the SaaS Sales Org. 

Do NOT be patient with a really good/almost a bullseye applicant. He/she will have 2 offers from your competition next week. 

That's what I'm telling hiring executives and their HR colleagues. It's time to wake up to a new paradigm. Hiring has changed!

Your expectations need to be adjusted. The candidates, not you, are in control. Talent, as we have learned to define it, is not looking for your job. 

Talent has too many options. Demand is far outpacing supply.

My experience in the trenches of executive search started in 1981. I thought I'd seen it all. Nope.

This time is different. 

Events and mindsets have converged. 

COVID. Technology breakthrough. AI. SaaS. Empowered workers. Disenfranchised workers. Entrepreneurial itch…  courage to scratch. These forces have accelerated dramatically. Add in stagnant wage growth the past 20 years and voila- WE HAVE AN EXPLOSION ON AISLE 5-  and it's changed the employment marketplace for the foreseeable future.

My advice? Simple. 

Don't look back. Stop complaining. Redefine how to achieve your revenue targets. 

Shift your interview being.

Alternatives exist. We screen hungry, smart and capable sales candidates every week. Sometimes every day. They're frustrated- too.

They are NOT receiving your attention nor your offers. Their credentials are not what you perceive to be ideal. How much does that matter in the long run?! That's the question you need to be asking yourself.

My experience shows that “emotionally ready-for your specific opportunity candidates “- i.e. hungry, and compatible- with you - will outperform and out last the perfect resume 8 out of 10 times. 

How do you screen for that? 

2 MORE words... and actually, four. 

Stop analyzing. Start feeling.

Don't limit your listening skills. Your heart is the most intelligent organ in your body. 

The more you change the way you look at things, the more the things you look at change. ( Dr Wayne Dyer ) 

Sales is Sales! 

The time has come to stop over evaluating sales prowess and potential. 

Ask open ended questions like- How do you create a sense of urgency in a prospect? 

Sit back and listen by giving attention ( different than paying attention ).

Care about the candidate. Do they care about you? If not, move on. If so, delve further.

Resumes matter less than ever. Or do they? You decide. 

We're all conditioned. The old system relied upon being served up a few select resumes to choose from. That worked. For a long time. Until it didn't. 

Prescribed, qualified candidate supply for the search assignments we work is not coming back. Nor is it being groomed. 

We believe it's time to embrace change. Get out of ( hiring ) jail cards are free. And freeing.

Rinse out the conditioner. 

Or… 

Get used to hearing those 2 words you don't want to hear.