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Avoid bankruptcy by selling your way out of the looming economic recession.
In tough economic times you need to be using the best salespeople you can find to win your fair share of orders. This is particularly the case if one accepts that an economic downturn will mean that the competition will increase and sales opportunities will become fewer in number.
And once you find a good salesperson, think hard about what you need to do to keep them.
A 2008 paper from DePaul University (Centre for Sales Leadership) reveals some critical insights into recruiting and keeping your salespeople.
These insights not only point to best practices for energising your top sales performers, but also identify the cost to the business of getting it wrong.
According to the paper 'Retention - How will you break the costly cycle of turnover?', average per annum turnover in sales personnel ranges from 12-18% for most organisations, but 24% of firms report a turnover rate greater than 20%, with some speciality areas, such as outbound phone sales, soaring as high as 100%.
Involuntary turnover, which incorporates dismissal and promotion, represents only 28% of total turnover.
So it is a fair assumption that 72% of individuals who are currently performing at an acceptable level still choose to leave their job based on differences between their expectations and the reality of the position.
Failure to find and keep the right salespeople negatively impacts your company's bottom line.
Research shows that firms with very high turnover of salespeople (36%) incurred costs 10% higher than firms with lower turnover (3%).
How to do it
According to John Fedden, MD at UK based lead generation firm Sales Factory, "you keep good salespeople by making them a trusted contributor to your business strategy".
Fedden elaborates by saying, "this means not just mutually agreeing sales targets, territory and commission structures, but also getting their valued input into the big aspects that really determine their success potential, like product / service design, marketing strategy and even the terms and conditions within the customer contract."
The UK is also coming up with novel business solutions to help companies stay competitive by increasing their chances of keeping good salespeople.
For example Saffron Consulting, a niche sales recruitment and consultancy firm, has recently developed FASTtrack.
FASTtrack is all about helping new salespeople generate sales revenue quickly and subsequently making them feel motivated and successful at their new role. This solution is guaranteed to provide companies with three qualified sales opportunities combined with a sales recruitment service.
Whatever your strategy for keeping hold of your performing salespeople, make sure to execute quickly. Losing a good revenue producer can be disappointing in good times and critical in a recession!
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