Creating a Candidate Profile - Achieving the Mona Lisa

Together, let's step-by-step create a candidate profile for the position of Sales Manager.

When building the candidate selection funnel, you can confidently start from the end. First, hire the candidate, then gather references, conduct an interview, invite them for one, and finally, create their profile. This joke went on for too long, I agree.

So, naturally, I meant that you should start from the ultimate goal. In our case, the goal is sales.

First, answer a couple of questions for yourself:

Who will your Sales Manager be selling the product to?
What is the company's profile?
What is the scale?
What will be the sales funnel for your future Sales Manager?
Who else in the market is working in this direction? (Perhaps not a direct competitor, but a company operating in a similar field.)
Are there potential donors among such companies where you could find a Sales Manager?
LPR (Leading Person Responsible). Who are the faces we are selling to, and what are they like? (Close your eyes and imagine.)
Congratulations! Here, something is starting to take shape.

It's not so much about what the manager will be selling but rather who they will be selling to.

Taking the Firm Brush

Take the firm brush and start outlining - define the hard skills based on the LPR we identified earlier.

Pay attention to:

Negotiation skills level
Sales technique level
If the product is expensive and/or highly competitive, we need a mature candidate - we'll have to carefully depict every detail of our portrait.
Based on your product, you need to understand if you need B2B, B2C, B2G, or maybe just B2 (what? :))

Take the Soft Brush

Now, with a soft brush, shape the soft skills. You know them yourself. We won't go into detail here.

The Final Touch

Salvador Dali once said, "Is this your dog?"

He believed that a true artist is the one who can sell their work, so let's move on to the financial aspect.

First, evaluate how much you are willing to pay the Sales Manager relative to your competitors in the market. There are two paths here:

If you have a lot of money, it's straightforward (as always). There are a couple of nuances, but that's a different story (for the wealthy).
If you have limited funds, strong candidates may go to your competitors. Think about what you can compromise on. Perhaps consider hiring a less experienced specialist and invest more time in their training instead of offering more money. At this stage, you should make the candidate understand why they should choose you over the competition.

Take a Step Back

Take a step back from the new portrait. You can put your hand on your chin, lean on one leg, and give a satisfied smile - it turned out great.