Building a New Sales Team from Scratch
FMCG.
Sales Recruitment
Carrera conducted a recruitment project to build a new sales team from scratch in a recently acquired business unit of a global FMCG client.
The Challenge
A global FMCG company had recently acquired a new food ingredients business in Australia. To give the acquisition the best possible chance of success, they needed to build an entirely new national sales team — 15 Sales Executives across four states — quickly, and with confidence that each hire would perform in the role and contribute to building a high-performance culture from the ground up.
The scale and pace of the brief meant a consistent, rigorous assessment methodology wasn't optional — it was essential. Without it, the risk of inconsistent hires across states was significant.
What Carrera Delivered
Carrera designed and implemented a High Performance Benchmark for the Sales Executive role — built in consultation with two State Managers and validated by the HR Manager and National Sales Manager. Every shortlisted candidate was assessed against this benchmark using a validated Sales Behavioural Assessment, measuring both learning ability (verbal and numerical) and the critical behavioural attributes for success in the role.
Assessments were conducted between first and second interviews. Each successful candidate's full training and development report was provided to their State Manager and National Sales Manager before onboarding began — giving leaders an informed, evidence-based picture of how to manage each individual to success from day one.
To complete the picture, Carrera also benchmarked the existing State Sales Managers against a High Performance Benchmark for their own role — identifying the leadership behaviours required at that level and where each manager needed to focus their own development to lead the new team effectively.
The Outcome
The full team of 15 was recruited, onboarded, and operating nationally — with every manager equipped with the behavioural intelligence needed to lead their state team from day one.
The new team quickly established a performance culture aligned with the business's expectations — evidenced by ambitious sales targets set collectively and consistent early progress toward them.
State Managers had clear development priorities of their own, enabling the entire team to operate with shared language around performance and behaviour.
The High Performance Benchmark created a reusable tool for future hiring decisions — a lasting asset beyond the initial recruitment.
Rather than simply filling 15 roles, Carrera built the foundation of a high-performance team — from assessment methodology to onboarding intelligence to manager development. The business didn't just hire; it launched.