Finding a good Director of Sales is difficult, especially in the senior living niche. You need an experienced leader that is capable of exceeding target revenue and occupational goals, all while being personable and motivated.
This can be a daunting task for hiring managers. Ultimately, your sales leaders are going to set the precedent of what’s expected of the rest of the team. A mistake with this hiring decision will impact the bottom line, resulting in financial loss and a broken culture.
Whether or not you decide to use a third-party recruitment firm or search internally, there are a few things you need to look out for.
Examine their tenure
One of the best indicators that someone is a top performer is tenure. In our current climate, it has become standard for resumes to be filled with many jobs. Executives, while they don’t need to have a decade within the same company, shouldn’t be switching positions every year. Your community will not be the exception of a serial job-hopper. Ideally, your director of sales and marketing will be in it for the long haul.
Know their impact on previous employers
Sales directors are supposed to maintain (or improve) the community’s occupancy level in accordance with their marketing goals. You’re going to want to see hard numbers on their resume that prove that they’ve had a positive impact on the communities they’ve managed. If they don’t have these figures, check out the projects they’ve led. What has their impact looked like?
The needs of your community are going to affect how important this is to you. If you need someone who can take on a challenge, the numbers are vital. This is especially true if you’re offering a role with large growth potential. Look beyond what they’ve listed on their resume and look at the trajectory of the company since their employment.
Don’t drag out the process
In short, work fast. This has already been said in previous articles and has been echoed by candidates everywhere. It’s especially tempting to extend the hiring process for executive roles because nobody wants to make a wrong hire and risk wasting time and resources.
Hiring managers that drag their feet through the mud, not only don’t find talent, but they usually get trapped settling for their 3rd choice. Even worse, many don’t fill the position at all… at least for several more months.
In the end, you lose money from not having a filled position or you’re forced to pay for a contract sales director. Don’t want to cough up a bigger hiring budget? Give yourself a realistic, but short timeline.
Outreach > Inbound applications
Your next candidate is probably already employed, which is why many organizations opt for recruitment firms. Unless you have a database or want to chip away at LinkedIn profiles, it’s easier to have a recruiter shoot the shots for you. A job board will bring in a few hundred candidates, but only a handful will fit the role. If you’re interested in speaking with one of our recruiters, you can find their contact information here.