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The Social Media Revolution Continues: Recruiting Great Sales Reps

What was the last thing you favorited on Twitter or liked on Facebook? What made it jump out at you? Social media has opened channels that allow you to share your ideas with anyone who will listen. For some, it has turned them into sales reps, “selling” their ideas for currency in the form of […]

What was the last thing you favorited on Twitter or liked on Facebook? What made it jump out at you? Social media has opened channels that allow you to share your ideas with anyone who will listen.

For some, it has turned them into sales reps, “selling” their ideas for currency in the form of likes, follows, retweets, and shares. For others, it allows them to find people who compliment or share their thoughts.

This is good news for employers who may be looking for the right personality to sell their products. The next time you need to recruit a medical sales rep, just tap your favorite social media app.

According to a recent report by my employer MedReps.com, more than 90 percent of medical sales job seekers use LinkedIn. Beyond the professional networking site, nearly 70 percent use Facebook, followed by just over 15 percent using Twitter and Google+.

To reach the medical sales professionals who are on these channels, here are some best practices for social media recruiting:

Groups For Recruiting

To begin your search, join groups on various social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+. This is one of the best ways to seek out opinion leaders in the industry, and those with a lot of ideas who will skyrocket your sales.

In fact, 54 percent of medical sales job seekers use social media to participate in professional groups.

Some popular groups in medical sales on LinkedIn are the Medical Recruiter’s Network and the National Association of Medical Sales Representatives.

Twitter Chats For Recruiting

You can participate in Twitter chats categorized in the healthcare or sales industries. You might find qualified medical sales job seekers in #BridgeTheMedGap or #HITMC. Follow other recruiters with a strong professional network. You might be able to “steal” great prospects by seeing who responds to their tweets, or who responds to job posts in a TweetMyJobs medical job channel.

Pay attention to charismatic tweeters, even if they don’t currently work in the medical field. If they know how to sell you on an idea or they are good at generating interest, they’ll probably make a great sales rep.

Mobile Apps For Recruiting

Today, every social media channel has a mobile app through which most job seekers are communicating on their phones. In fact, 49 percent of job seekers in the medical sales field search, and 29 percent apply, for jobs using mobile phone apps.

Use the LinkedIn app to quickly view profiles of experienced professionals and see who’s applying to your posted position. The mobile app enables you to view as you go, so you don’t come home to an inbox full of applications at the end of the day.

You can also use the Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ apps to connect with people throughout the day, but if you find many of these candidates don’t have industry experience you are looking for, try more niche sites with mobile apps. For example, you can use the mobile app from MedReps.com, where 83 percent of job seekers have medical sales experience, and 43 percent are employed in the industry.

If you want to recruit the best sales reps, go where the opinion leaders are. Search medical sales hashtags and see who has something to say about it. Social media opens up recruiting opportunities like we’ve never had before. Use these channels to network with professionals from all over, and chances are, someone will tweet something that will lead you to a great sales rep.

What are some other ways you can use social media for recruiting great medical sales reps?