Why You SHOULD Hire Grads for a Sales Role

In the previous article, we outlined a list of reasons of why you shouldn’t employ a fresh out of university graduate student in a sales role.  I am now going to do what appears to be a complete 360-flip and tell you why you should consider hiring graduates and how you can turn them into powerful selling machines.  And no, I am not contradicting myself, because there are actually some sound reasons why they can excel in sales from the start.

You don’t just want any grad student, because they are ten a penny these days, with nearly half of all school leavers going to university.  Hire only the cream of the crop.

These are intelligent souls who are eager and passionate, and blank canvasses to work on.

Here are some of the sound reasons why you should consider employing graduate students in sales roles:

They are more enthusiastic than a theatre full of children at a pantomime: Graduate students are keen and eager to get on, willing to learn and do what is asked of them.  Contrary to popular belief, they’re not all glued to iPods and smartphones.  They also bring excitement, vigour and energy to the workplace, a refreshing breath of fresh air that can rub off on your other employees.

They are passionate about what they do: business is business but passion can be smarter business.  Chose a freshly minted graduate student who is genuinely excited about your company and industry.  Passionate people are unstoppable.  They get lost in their work, believe it is fun and care deeply.  They follow their hearts and their heads and that can translate to big wins for you.

According to a 2014 report by Deloitte, nearly 88% of employees are not passionate in their work, which means they are not achieving their full potential.  Graduates can give you passion in abundance.

And perhaps the most important reason of all and one that you can turn to your advantage is –

They are blank slates: Graduates come to you with zero experience of the industry you are in.  They have no bad habits nor are they stymied by old schools of thought that may be present in some of your more mature employees and holding them back.  A blank slate gives you something wonderful to work with, a malleable employee who can be shaped in exactly the form you want.

This doesn’t mean that you create identikit salespeople who are little more than robot versions of each other.  What it allows you to do is teach them your preferred approaches for turning cold prospects into hot sales while imbuing them with the company values.  They are starting from ground zero and absorb everything.  The really smart ones will adapt their natural styles to your methods, and in so doing maximise their potential.

Strike Gold with Grads

Experience while important, isn’t always a banker these days.  When you are hiring you want people that fit both yours and your clients’ needs.  Sure, you can get this with experienced sales people, but don’t rule out the graduates.

The fierce competition in the job market has toughened them up and they are whip smart – sharper than a knife and keen to get on and ahead.  And that can be very good news for you.

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