OUR CLIENT SEARCH PROCESS

Most failed hires were predictable before the search started. TRACE tests the brief before the market hears it.

TRACE is Journey’s five-stage search process, Test, Research, Activate, Calibrate, Evidence, built on the data from 500+ IT sales hires.

Talk to Journey about a brief
Download the scorecard template

5

CVs introduced per hire.

3

first interviews per hire.

70%+

of briefs filled.

DEEPER EXPLANATION

TRACE tests the brief before the market hears it.

Most failed searches do not fail at the end. They fail because the brief, market, package or process was never properly tested at the start.

TRACE tests the brief before the search gathers pace, so we know what is realistic, where the risks are, what will attract the right candidates and what may need adjusting.

TRACE was built on the data from 500+ IT sales hires. It is evidence-led, data-informed and built from real IT sales recruitment outcomes.

The TRACE numbers are strong because the process is built around targeted candidate pipelines, not CV volume.

The TRACE process

TRACE is built around five stages: Test, Research, Activate, Calibrate and Evidence.

Most failed searches show warning signs early. The brief, package, market or process was never properly tested before the search gathered pace.

We pre-empt this with you, so the search starts with a realistic brief, a clear benchmark and a stronger chance of reaching the right hire quickly.

  • What can you realistically hire?
  • What are the risks in the hire?
  • What makes the role attractive to the right candidates?
  • What would give the client credible choice?
  • Where might the brief need adjusting?

Scorecard interviewing, covered in Calibrate, also ensures you create a benchmark of what good looks like. During the interview process, we always objectively compare candidates against that benchmark data.

Journey maintains a mapped IT sales candidate market across the sectors where we specialise, including:

  • Microsoft Dynamics and Microsoft business applications
  • Data, BI and analytics vendors and consultancies
  • Automation software vendors and services companies
  • ERP, CRM and business application partners
  • Specialist, high-value business application vendors
  • Supply chain, construction, compliance and operational software
  • Professional services firms built around business applications, data or analytics

We map candidates by:

  • Technology
  • Vertical market
  • Package
  • Function
  • Track record
  • Employer type
  • Sales environment

No guesswork. No “see who replies to the advert”. The search starts from a known market, then narrows through qualification.

Contrary to popular belief, recruitment is not a numbers game. It is about accuracy and penetration into the correct people. We use a multi-thread outreach approach, carefully choreographed to get your role in front of the right people, not just those who would apply anyway.

Our outreach model combines:

  • LinkedIn posting, 30k followers, 2k views a week
  • LinkedIn messaging, 47% reply rate, industry average is 12%
  • YouTube advertising, 200k+ views a month
  • Email, 1.5k subscribed IT salespeople on our mailers

Scorecard Interviewing is a simple Journey model for making IT sales interviews more structured, more objective and more useful.

Instead of relying on gut feel, interview charm or CV brand names, it helps you compare each candidate against the role you are actually hiring for.

With Scorecard Interviewing, you can:

  • Define what good looks like before the interview starts
  • Compare candidates against the same agreed criteria
  • Reduce bias and interview guesswork
  • Test evidence, not just confidence
  • Use logic rather than emotion to make the hiring decision
  • Keep multi-stage interviews consistent, structured and tied to the scorecard

A practical guide for scoring IT sales candidates against role fit, market fit, sales capability and environment fit.

Download the template

Journey does not just introduce candidates and hope.

Throughout the search, we give clients evidence to support the hiring decision: market feedback, candidate response, package insight, scorecard comparison, benchmark scoring and, where appropriate, proof of earnings or performance.

In Test the brief, we define the role, risks and benchmark. In Evidence, we show whether the candidate genuinely meets them. Candidates are compared against the benchmark of what makes success, based on factual information, not gut feel.

Evidence-led hiring means you will:

  • Benchmark candidates against what works in your business
  • Compare candidates against a weighted scorecard
  • Understand the gaps in the candidate’s skill set
  • Enable each interviewer to cover potential weaknesses highlighted by other interviewers
  • Make the hiring decision with more confidence

Assets can include:

  • Scorecard for the client’s interviews
  • Report on the market
  • Comparison against the client’s own company-based benchmark

Talk to Journey about a brief.

For clients hiring £70k–£120k base IT sales professionals into complex technology markets.

Talk to Journey about a brief
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