I live in a wooded area and I take great care in making sure my garage door is kept closed. It’s not that I don’t want neighbors, friends and family to visit, just the opposite. What I don’t want field mice, raccoons or numerous squirrels wandering in to set up home. When that happens I have to stop what I’m doing and take the time to remove them, hoping they haven’t done too much damage.

How many of us see this same scenario when hiring a sales representative? We quickly open our company’s doors to whomever wishes to wander in. Sure, we want to fill the position with the best quality candidate as quickly as possible, however we have to have the skills and time to sort through the numerous people to find that best fit from all the wildlife that is out there. Tragically, if we do wind up with a squirrel, can we afford the lengthy process of damage control and removal? Don’t even compute the lost opportunity cost and the time to repeat a flawed methodology.

Before we just accept this as an avoidable business risk, consider a better way. Replace your open door with one with a screen. Yes, outsource your hunting process. Let a qualified recruiter screen out the wildlife and present you with the best fit. A qualified recruiter has the experience and skills to filter out the field mice, raccoons and squirrels. I have had fabulous results from using great recruiters to allow me to focus on what I do best while they do what they do best. They successfully do this every day, you don’t. You may know the ideal prospect profile, so tell them, and let them sort out the herd.

I know what your thinking, “Why should I pay to get sales candidates, there are so many available out there”. There is a reason; there are just too many frogs out there to kiss to find your prince or princess. Screening candidates is not your daily focus and you might allow someone to join your organization that might look great but is really a squirrel in disguise. I learned years ago, that when a candidate had an exceptional interview and after being hired was a poor performer, they were probably good at the job seeking process because they did it often.

So before you post your open sales position on the Internet and populate the social media world, consider the outcome. You will get a bunch, a huge bunch of responses from people looking for work. Evaluate your time, risk and overall importance of filling this position. If the evaluation reads high to very high, replace your open door with one that has a good screen.

Author: Rich Lucia
www.RichLucia.com