3 Common Misconceptions About Sales and Recruitment
Recruiters only care about making a sale.
Why do I mention this? Well, recently I attended my first Prime training day with the idea being to not only see how one is run, but also focus on how it benefits the graduates who attend it. The first thing I noticed was how clearly it goes against all the common misconceptions about a career in sales and recruitment.
I guess as I’m an employee at Prime it’s clear that I’m only going to have positive things to say about the training day, but before you disregard this article as bias, please keep in mind that whilst I may work for Prime now, in two years’ time I’ll also be a graduate. That surely means if anyone is well placed to understand how a training day benefits a grad going into a sales and recruitment role, it’s me! So, why does a Prime training day go against common misconceptions about sales and recruitment no.1? Well, because it’s a free training that gives the client a candidate that’s right for them, and the candidate the key skills they’ll need in their future career. This shows that at Prime we care about more than just making a sale. We train candidates as well as placing them into great careers.
Sales is a dog eat dog environment.
There is the belief that sales are a shark tank of people constantly trying to undercut each other in an attempt to make as many deals as possible. Now I’d be lying if I said sales and recruitment isn’t a competitive environment because it is, but if you’re good enough at what you do, you can be competitive and still look out for your colleagues. One thing I noticed clearly throughout the training day was how calm, relaxed and friendly everyone was. The room was alive with both clients and candidates mixing together in a fun social environment; unlike the assessment days that many recruitment companies run, candidates don’t feel like they must outdo each other to be successful, instead, they’re there to learn. Subsequently, this creates a more relaxed environment and gives everyone a fair chance to show off their abilities and personality which means it’s not just a case of the loudest person in the room getting noticed. Yes, clients are at the training day and are looking to be impressed but even those unsuccessful can say they’ve just received free market-leading sales training which they can then use in future interviews and their careers. There may always be that element of competition there but at the end of the day, a little competition never hurt anyone.
Sales is about lying.
This is simply not the case. If you’re dishonest with a client or candidate when making a deal it’s almost a guarantee that deal will not last. That’s why Prime training days are quality led and this came across clearly during my observation of the training day. At Prime, we don’t lie and put people we feel aren’t right for sales in a training day just to boost the numbers. Instead, the training day focuses on 10-15 quality candidates who will then go on to receive honest advice and guidance, and if successful at the training day will learn about which clients are the best suited to them and their desired career paths. As well as this, at the training day candidates are taught how to use personality, teamwork and communication skills to sell. The clients get to see a fair, honest representation of their abilities. This means that when a deal is made, both the client and the candidate know exactly what they’re investing in. After seeing all of this from a first-hand perspective at the training day myself, it’s easy to see that this approach is exactly why Prime has an 86% success rate.
So, with the free training, the opportunity to potentially land yourself a job interview, free guidance and the chance to get advice on your job hunt, it’s clear to me how a Prime training day really benefits graduates. It is also a good demonstration of how at Prime we do things differently. All those stereotypical misconceptions about sales and recruitment may be relevant in relation to other companies, but at Prime, we simply don’t operate that way and that’s the main thing that stuck out to me. The honesty, support and sociability of a training day are what truly makes it effective and is the reason why every candidate who walks into a training day leaves with a better chance of getting a job in sales and recruitment.
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