There are over 40,000 recruitment agencies operating in the UK. A significant number claim to specialise in sales. Most of them do not. Choosing the wrong agency wastes time and money and can result in a bad hire that costs your business £90,000 to £180,000 to unwind. This guide gives you the framework to choose the right sales recruitment agency the first time, ask the questions that matter, and get results that last.
A note on who wrote this: We are a sales recruitment agency. We have an obvious interest in you choosing us. So we have written this guide to be genuinely useful regardless of which agency you pick, including the questions you should ask us. If we are not the right fit, we would rather tell you than waste both our time.
The most common reason a sales recruitment search fails is not the agency. It is a vague brief. Before you contact a single recruiter, get clear on the following:
This is the most important decision you will make. A generalist agency covering every function from finance to IT to sales will have a broad database but shallow expertise in any one area. A specialist sales recruitment agency will have:
The data consistently shows that specialist agencies deliver faster placements and better retention than generalists for commercial roles. If the agency you are speaking to also recruits accountants, HR managers and IT engineers, they are not a sales recruitment specialist.
Quick test: Ask the recruiter to describe the difference between a good SDR and a good BDR, or what quota attainment rate they would expect from a strong mid-market AE. If they cannot answer fluently, they are a generalist in specialist clothing.
Do not let a recruiter pitch you without answering these. They separate genuine specialists from agencies that will take your brief, post it on job boards and hope for the best.
The answer should be close to 100% if they are a true specialist. Anything below 60 to 70% and you are dealing with a generalist.
Ask for specifics: role title, sector, seniority and outcome. Vague answers about "thousands of placements" are a red flag. You want concrete, relevant examples.
The best candidates for your role are almost certainly not on job boards. A genuinely specialist agency will proactively headhunt passive candidates. If their answer is primarily "we post the role and screen applicants," you are paying for a service you could do yourself.
This is the most important question. Any agency can screen CVs. The best agencies interview candidates themselves before presenting them, testing for real evidence of quota attainment, deal size, sales cycle and methodology. Ask what their interview process looks like and what they actually test for.
A specialist with an active network should deliver an initial shortlist within 5 to 10 working days. Much longer and they are starting from scratch rather than working a live candidate network.
This is the ultimate quality metric. Any agency that cannot answer this question does not track outcomes, which tells you something important about how they operate.
Standard UK contingency fees run between 12 and 20% of first year base salary. Most reputable agencies offer a 12-week rebate or replacement guarantee. Get this in writing before you start.
The right agency will push back on an unrealistic brief rather than just take it and send poor candidates. If a recruiter never challenges your expectations, they are either not experienced enough or they just want the fee.
If they are simultaneously working five other identical searches, your brief will get less attention. Ask about exclusivity or at least understand how your search sits in their current workload.
Good agencies do not disappear after placement. Ask if they stay in contact during the candidate's first 90 days and what happens if something goes wrong.
These are the signs that an agency is unlikely to deliver the quality of hire you need:
Recruitment agency fees in the UK are typically structured in one of two ways:
| Model | How It Works | Best For | Typical Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contingency | You only pay on successful placement. No upfront cost. Agency works at risk. | Most mid-level commercial roles | 12 to 18% of base salary |
| Retained | Upfront retainer secures dedicated resource and exclusive search. Balance paid on placement. | Senior, executive or confidential hires | 15 to 25% of base salary |
| Hybrid | Small upfront fee to secure priority, remainder on placement. | Hard to fill or time-sensitive roles | Variable |
On guarantees: Most reputable agencies offer a rebate or free replacement if a candidate leaves within a defined period, typically 8 to 12 weeks. Some offer up to 6 months. Always ask for this in writing and make sure you understand the conditions.
Our approach at Psixty UK: We work on a contingency basis for most commercial roles. You only pay on a successful placement. For senior executive searches we offer a retained model. All placements come with a 12-week replacement guarantee. We are always transparent about fees before we start.
Choosing the right agency is only half the equation. How you work with them determines the quality of the outcome.
Do not just send a job description. Spend 30 to 60 minutes with your consultant, by phone or in person, explaining your culture, your sales process, what has made previous people in the role succeed or fail, and what you are really looking for. The better the brief, the better the shortlist.
The best candidates are in multiple processes simultaneously. If you take a week to give feedback on a CV or 10 days to schedule a first interview, you will lose them. A good rule of thumb is 48 hours to review a shortlist and 5 working days to schedule interviews.
"Not quite what we are looking for" is useless feedback. Tell your consultant exactly why a candidate did not work: too junior, wrong sector experience, compensation mismatch, cultural concern. Specific feedback sharpens the search immediately.
Using five agencies at once creates a race to the bottom. They will send CVs faster rather than better, to beat each other to the placement. You will get quantity over quality. Choose one or two specialists and work with them properly.
If your salary is below market rate, say so upfront. A good agency will tell you what that means for the quality of candidate you can attract and may help you think about how to structure the package differently to compensate. Hiding budget constraints wastes everyone's time.
We are specialists. We will push back if your brief needs adjusting. And we will tell you honestly what the market looks like before you commit to a search.
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