The ECA Recruiting Process™

The ECA Recruiting Process™ ensures that all steps are taken to identify the best sales representative or manager candidates for each position.

Throughout the process, we remain in close contact with our clients keeping them well informed of the progress we are making to fill their sales openings.

Step 1:  The ECA Discovery Call - The first step of the ECA Recruiting Process™ is to have an extensive conversation with the hiring manager to discuss every aspect of the position and develop an in-depth job order.  All tangible and intangible qualities that the manager wants to see in candidates are identified.  Specific information about the sales territory and all relevant details that the company wants candidates to know about the responsibilities of the job are uncovered. 

The success of the discovery call lays the foundation for ECA to become well invested in filling your position and, most importantly, accountable for producing high-caliber candidates from day one.

Step 2:  Market Analysis Evaluation - Following the Discovery Call, ECA consults the client on any and all issues associated with filling the open position such as:

1. How does your compensation plan compare to others in your industry?
2. Is your search criteria compatible with the candidates who will apply for this particular position? 
3. What other companies are hiring in the same market that you may be competing against for candidates?
4. What is the general perception about the company, the industry and the opportunity? 

This part of the process opens up an honest discussion about any potential challenges that might be faced when marketing this particular opening.  Our goal is to create a strategy that will empower your company to compete effectively for the best candidates against other hiring employers in the market.

Step 3:  Five Step Search Strategy™ - No single source consistently produces winners.  As the third step in the process, ECA performs the Five Step Search Strategy™ and casts a very wide net in order to find the best candidates for your open position. 

There are five avenues that are taken: 

1. The ECA Sales Database, which includes over 75,000 prescreened, qualified, active sales reps/managers in the U.S.
2. Accelerated referrals from our numerous satisfied clients
3. Active recruiting and headhunting
4. Automated searches of industry-specific web subscription databases
5. Multi-Media advertising to supplement and enhance the candidate pool where necessary

Step 4:  Sales Evaluation Interviews - Interviewing is a skill that takes time to develop, so experience matters!  All ECA recruiters have the interviewing experience to know exactly how to screen and identify key talent.  We make sure to uncover all of the relevant information that a hiring manager needs to conduct a true evaluation of the value of the candidate. 

We understand that hiring managers want to work with a recruiting firm with a great deal of experience specifically interviewing for sales and sales management positions.  In addition, managers need a firm that thoroughly understands the role of the sales representative/manager in their particular industry.  ECA has one of the most experienced sales-specific recruiting teams in the industry.

Step 5:  Employer Advocate - Once a good candidate has been sourced, interviewed and qualified, we view our role as then becoming an advocate on behalf of the employer.  ECA knows how to effectively promote the advantages of the company and the position vs. other possible opportunities that the candidate may be considering at the time.  ECA also knows how to gauge whether or not the candidates’ interest is sincere.  And finally, we recognize the importance of presenting the candidates’ assets and interest level honestly to the client.
 
Step 6:  Navigating to Offer/Acceptance - The ECA Recruiting Process™ does not end when we provide the names of our qualified candidates.  We continue to make sure the managers’ needs are met through the finish line, when the position is filled.  This includes, but is not limited to, scheduling the employer interviews, making sure that we continue communication with the candidates to continually re-affirm their interest, and finally, helping the manager to be able to get to the offer/acceptance stage with the candidate they want to hire.

The offer/acceptance stage is a critical area in the process where you will clearly see the advantages of working with an experienced recruiting team.  Having years of expertise in negotiating offers and acceptances better positions ECA to be a valuable resource in managing candidates’ expectations so that they remain fair and reasonable throughout the process and result in the right offer being extended and accepted.

Sales-Focused Agency

ECA has been in business since 1975 and is one of the most experienced private recruiting companies in the country.  All of our recruiters specialize strictly in placing outside sales representatives and sales managers.  The average tenure of our recruiters is 12 years with our organization, which is extremely rare in the recruiting industry.

Performance Driven Recruiting Firm

ECA’s compensation structure is performance driven, meaning that we only earn a fee if we find the best employee for your open sales position.  This structure ensures that we remain invested troughout the entire search process and stick with you to make sure that the position is filled.

Frequent Updates for Human Resource

We know that it is important to Human Resource Executives to remain up-to-date and informed as to the status of a recruiter’s search.  That is why we offer frequent status updates outlining all of the candidate activity that has taken place while identifying when key milestones are met along the way.

The ECA Dynamic Search™

We understand that the search process for sales professionals is not a stagnant one.  Through our Dynamic Search™, we maintain ongoing dialogue with the hiring manager to see if any of the requirements have changed and we adjust our search accordingly.  We make sure that you are well-aware of the number of qualified candidates that we have identified and what, if any, challenges we are facing while recruiting for the position.

ECA Sales Candidate Database

We maintain an exclusive, proprietary ECA Sales Database of over 75,000 qualified, active candidates.  We add, on average, over 1,000 new candidates per month.

Targeted Recruiting Process

Our Targeted Recruiting Process focuses on identifying the best candidates for your particular sales position through our 5 Step Search Strategy.

Senior Management Program

ECA assigns a senior staff member to lead a dedicated team on every account.  This team remains on your assignment until the position is filled.