Sales & Business Development
How Contingency Recruitment Works for Employers
Contingency recruitment means you pay the agency only when you hire a candidate they introduced. Here is how the process, the fee and the terms usually work.
7 min read
Sales Recruitment Agency for Reps and Account Managers
Every candidate in a sales interview is selling, so most of them interview well. The hard part is separating people who sell themselves from people who hit quota quarter after quarter. We recruit sales and business development staff for growing businesses.
We ask for specifics: what they sold, to whom, a typical deal size, the length of the sales cycle and their numbers against target. Sales hiring suits contingency recruitment, where you pay a fee only when a successful candidate is hired. You can compare the options on our services page.
Contingency Recruitment
You pay a recruitment fee only when a successful candidate is hired, subject to agreed terms.
Roles we recruit for
Common sales & business development roles we fill, and what we check before a candidate reaches you.
Sales representatives
Find and close new customers in a territory or market. We ask about quota, attainment, deal size and how they built their own pipeline.
Account managers
Keep and grow existing customers. We ask about the size of the book they managed, renewal results and how they handled an unhappy client.
Business development reps
Book meetings through calls, email and social outreach. We ask about daily activity, meetings set and how they cope with rejection day after day.
Inside sales staff
Sell by phone and video, often from inbound leads. We listen to how they open a conversation and ask about the CRM they work in every day.
Sales managers
Hire, coach and forecast for a team. We ask how they built a team's pipeline and what they did with a rep who kept missing target.
Hiring guides for these roles
Hiring guides with what to screen for and the interview questions to ask. All roles
Hiring challenges in sales & business development
Interviews that reward talkers
Charm in an interview says little about results. Ask for numbers and the story behind them, then check whether the details hold up in a second conversation.
Matching how you sell
A rep who closed quick transactional deals may struggle with a six-month sale to a buying committee, and the reverse is true too. Ask whether they have sold the way your team sells, then weigh industry background second.
Pay plans that confuse candidates
Base, commission, accelerators and draws are hard to compare between offers. Spell your plan out clearly. Some states require commission agreements in writing, so check the rules where your reps will work.
Hiring before the pipeline exists
A new rep with no leads and no territory plan is set up to struggle. Decide who generates leads and what a realistic first quarter looks like before you hire.
How we help
Fees and terms are agreed in writing before any work starts. See all our recruitment services.
- 01
Screening on results
Our candidate screening and shortlisting looks hard at each candidate's sales record and method. You get a ranked shortlist with notes on deal size, sales cycle and the markets each person knows.
- 02
A fee only when you hire
With contingency recruitment, you pay a recruitment fee only when a successful candidate is hired, under terms agreed in writing before work starts.
- 03
Confidential searches
Replacing a rep or a sales manager who is still in the seat? We run a discreet search so word doesn't reach your team or your customers. If you are deciding whether to recruit internally, our comparison of recruitment agency vs in-house hiring can help.
Hiring for sales & business development?
- You pay a recruitment fee only when a successful candidate is hired, subject to agreed terms.
- You work with one recruiter who knows your business and your role, from the first call to the candidate's first day.
Hiring guides
All articles
Administration & Operations
Recruitment Agency vs In-House Hiring: Which Fits You?
Hiring yourself costs time, and an agency costs a fee. This guide helps a growing business decide which to use for each role, and when to combine the two.
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Logistics & Warehousing
How to Hire Warehouse Workers Fast and Keep Them
Speed in warehouse hiring comes from cutting the gaps between steps. Here is how to post, screen, interview and start new associates within days instead of weeks.
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Sales & Business Development hiring FAQ
We ask for quota and attainment by year, typical deal size and how many deals they closed, then ask follow-up questions that expose inflated figures. We suggest you confirm results with past managers during your reference checks.
Yes. Our executive and professional search covers sales managers and team leads. These searches focus on experienced candidates, come with detailed candidate profiles and can be kept confidential if you are replacing someone.
What you sell, who buys it, the typical deal size and sales cycle, the territory, where leads come from and the full pay plan, including base and commission. Tell us what your best current rep does differently. That description often shows who to hire next.