Sales Candidates Reject Job Offers for Three Reasons

Getting “left at the altar” is a common occurrence in today’s hot talent market. In a study by Glassdoor, 19.4% of job offers made to professional workers are rejected. With 1 out 5 offers rejected, hiring managers are at risk in losing their top candidates.

Let’s assume you have invested wisely in an effective recruiting process that has produced a top tier sales candidate. You present an offer that you believe can close the deal, but it is rejected. As frustrating as it feels, hiring managers are left scratching their head as to what went wrong or what could they have done differently.

Sales talent is in hot demand as companies try to capture opportunities in the marketplace. The increased competition for sales talent is affording sales professionals the opportunity to shop around for greener pastures. Yet, many sales reps are comfortable in their current role. Therefore, their next career move would need to be substantially better than the status quo.

With a highly competitive job market, candidates are in the driver’s seat. Be prepared to successfully address three key points in your offer to ensure that your offer is competitive.

Three Components to a Successful Offer:

1. Compensation:
For lateral moves, the average bump in base pay is 15-20% for a solid player to make a job change. If the position is a promotion with more responsibility and higher expectations, that percentage may rise to 20-30%. Are you prepared to offer your sales candidate a big raise?

2. Risk/Reward:
Let’s assume you have presented a competitive job offer. Now, consider if money is enough of a motivator for the candidate to leave the devil they know for the devil they don’t know. This is a risk/reward decision for sales candidates. Best to have something to offer in addition to money to attract superstar sales talent. For example, is your company profitable and growing? Does your company have a reputation for innovation? Is your company’s mission in alignment with the candidate’s personal goals? Does your company have a strong management team?

3. Career Growth:
Superstar sales reps need to see a golden future. If your company does not offer the next step in their career growth, why should they make the move? For sales professionals, career growth might mean a bigger territory, more innovative products or services to sell, or the opportunity to advance into sales management. The status quo is not an option for superstars. They need new challenges where they get their achievement needs met.

Recruiting top sales talent is a tight job market is very challenging. Yet once a superstar is found, be prepared to show your best hand if you want them to accept your offer.

If you want to learn how to source, attract, and successfully hire superstar sales reps, give us a call at 317-578-1310.