Sales recruitment: people who win business and keep it

SALES VACANCIES

A good salesperson brings in revenue, and a bad hire costs you the pipeline as well as the salary. The best are usually doing well where they are and not looking, so finding them takes more than an advert.

Cathedral Appointments is a recruitment agency based in Exeter, with a presence in Plymouth and Taunton, recruiting for South West organisations since 1988. We recruit sales, business development and account management staff for employers across the region.

Talk to Lacey Dorliac on 01392 575696 or Charlotte Coke on 01392 304784.

What we recruit

Sales roles from entry level to sales director, across a range of industries.

• Sales executives and representatives. The people who open doors, win new customers and keep orders coming, from entry level upwards.
• Business development. Business development managers and executives, whose job is to secure new clients and grow deal value.
• Account management. Account managers, who look after existing customers and grow the relationship.
• Sales management and leadership. Sales managers and sales directors, who build the team and own the number.

Who we recruit for

Employers across Devon, Somerset & Cornwall, in industries from IT and telecoms to media, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and agriculture, and everything in between.

What’s shaping sales hiring

Two things are shaping who employers need, and how they hire.

AI is changing the sales day. Salesforce, which sells sales software, surveyed 4,050 sales professionals in 22 countries, including 250 in the UK, in August and September 2025, and reported the findings in February 2026. It found 90% of UK sales organisations using some form of AI, 54% of UK sales professionals using it for prospecting, and UK sellers spending 41% of their time selling. Employers increasingly want salespeople who are comfortable with the technology and who use the time it frees to build relationships.

Hiring is picking up unevenly, and the South has lagged. The KPMG and REC UK Report on Jobs for October 2026, published on 10 October, found permanent placements rising across the UK for a second month, but the South of England was the only English region where they fell in September. Competition for highly skilled workers continued to push up starting pay.

However you need to hire

Permanent. A salesperson, account manager or business development manager to build the pipeline and stay. See permanent recruitment.

Temporary and contract. Cover for leave, a launch or a gap in the team. See temporary support and contract solutions.

Senior and leadership roles

The people who lead sales teams are leaders too, and Cathedral Appointments recruits them. These searches are often confidential.

• Sales leadership. Sales directors, heads of sales and sales managers.
• Commercial leadership. Commercial directors and business development directors.

Talk to Lacey Dorliac on 01392 575696 or Charlotte Coke on 01392 304784

How we work with you

• We start by understanding your business. Not just the role: your customers, your sales process, your targets and what makes a salesperson succeed with you.
• We know what good sales looks like. Our sales recruitment team has sales and sales management experience of its own, so we understand what motivates a good salesperson and what to look for.
• We meet every candidate first. So the people we put forward match what you need, and want what you offer.
• We can test as well as interview. Psychometric testing is available to help you make the right decision first time.
• We stay in touch through the offer and the first weeks. A hire only counts once they are in the role and settled.

Questions we get asked

Do you recruit sales directors as well as entry-level salespeople? Yes. We recruit from entry-level sales roles up to sales director.

Which industries do you recruit sales staff for? A wide range, from IT and telecoms to media, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and agriculture, and everything in between.

How do you assess sales candidates? We meet every candidate, and psychometric testing is available to help you compare them. Our team has sales and sales management experience of its own, so we know what to ask.

Can you find temporary or contract sales cover? Yes. See temporary support and contract solutions.

Which areas do you cover? Devon, Somerset & Cornwall, from our office in Exeter, with a presence in Plymouth and Taunton.

Your contacts

Lacey Dorliac, Senior Consultant, and Charlotte Coke, Senior Consultant. Lacey and Charlotte lead our sales recruitment and work with employers across Devon, Somerset & Cornwall.

Lacey: 01392 575696 | lacey@cathedralappointments.co.uk.

Charlotte: 01392 304784 | charlotte@cathedralappointments.co.uk