A big decision should not be taken lightly by an employer, and there is a lot more involved in choosing a recruiting agency than might first be apparent. Once you sign on the dotted line, you commit to the fee structure, the guarantee period, and the exclusivity of that agency for anywhere from 90 days up to a year, and if they don’t perform, you’re out of luck. You’ve lost precious time in a hot employment market, time that your sales team spends not selling, and the frustration of staring at a fresh new job and having to start the entire process over again. Before you sign anything, whether it’s with sales recruitment agencies Toronto or generalist recruiting agencies, here are some questions you should be asking to better understand if they are actually equipped to do the job for you.

Start With Their Track Record in Sales Specifically

Not every recruiting firm that claims to be an expert at selling also specializes in it. Many firms consider any sales position as simply one more req for them to fill and will handle sales roles in the same manner as they handle accounting, technical, or HR positions. For starters, ask what percentage of their overall recruiting work is dedicated to sales-related roles specifically and see if they can provide you with examples of recent placements.

It’s perfectly reasonable to ask how many account executives or sales manager roles they have filled in the last 18 months for the firm.

If they hesitate and give vague answers about “recruiting sales roles” in general, that should give you pause. A hiring firm that truly is a sales specialist will be able to have meaningful conversations about developing a capacity for hunting versus farming, the importance of quota attainment histories, and the specific elements of how they evaluate experience.

Ask How Candidates Are Actually Sourced

There are different ways recruiting firms go about filling sales positions. Some firms will post ads online and rely on inbound candidates to come in from the big boards, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Some firms do a lot of professional networking with passive candidates, who already have an existing track record of success at other companies and are currently employed and doing well.

Knowing what percentage of a firm’s placements come from inbound effort versus direct candidate contact can be eye-opening, because if you’re paying a markup fee on someone who merely submitted their resume for a position, that’s not of much value. And if they have a network of pre-existing contacts they rely on to fill their positions, that makes a big difference. Ask the firm what strategy they have for building ongoing candidate pipelines, and ask how they keep their contacts engaged and ready for your next position while they are working on filling this position.

Clarify the Screening Process in Detail

The screening process of a recruiting partner is one of the best things that tell you how good the candidates would be. Ask how many times the candidates have been interviewed before being passed to you, and also the skills that the firm evaluates before considering a candidate. When firms do resume screenings and find a match without questioning any call metrics or objection handling, then the hiring process has nothing to do with a thorough selection process, and it is very risky. A good screening process that entails phone interviews, reference checking, and scenarios on certain competencies such as prospecting skills and pipeline management would carry you most of the way through to the finish line.

Ask About Exclusivity and Timeline Expectations

Most recruitment agreements seek exclusivity, whereby the organization promises not to approach any other recruiting firm or hire candidates on its own during the recruitment process. It may be a justifiable requirement when the recruiting firm provides high-quality candidates within a short period. Still, the employer must inquire about what will happen if the recruitment process does not go well.

How long must the exclusivity agreement continue before it expires? Are there any updates that will be provided during the recruitment process?

Ask for References From Recent Clients

Just like job candidates ask their future employers for references, ask the prospective recruiting firm for their references. (They should have no problem providing you with three or more references who recently filled similar sales roles.) Those recent clients can tell you everything you need to know about what kind of responsiveness, candidate quality, and post-hire quality they’ve experienced with the firm.

Evaluate Local Market Fit

When looking for recruiting partners that have expertise in a particular city alone, it is important to consider whether the agency knows enough about the local talent pool. The best sales recruitment agencies Toronto companies should be working with are those that can confidently discuss salary levels in the area, competition across industries, and where top-notch sales talent is sourced locally. Such an agency would be able to market positions appropriately as well as set realistic expectations with regard to salary levels and time frame.

Making a Confident, Informed Decision

In the end, working with a recruitment partner entails betting on the process they follow, their contacts, and their knowledge of what makes a successful sales recruit. By asking these questions first rather than figuring out the answers later from a failed search, businesses are able to make more confident decisions.

Just Sales Jobs encourages all prospective clients to ask these very questions because a prepared agency is one that welcomes these questions rather than avoiding them.