We’ve posted about no-email Fridays and those companies that want to encourage face-to-face meetings and phone calls that day. Now ManageSmarter.com offers a different perspective on being accessible – Office Vs. The Field: Accessibility.

The premise of their article is to pit one sales manager’s opinion against one salesperson’s opinion on a specific topic. This time the question is:

Should salespeople be accessible 24 hours a day?

Both manager and salesperson agree that they should be available. I concur. Technology today allows for salespeople to be responsive in ways that solidify the customer relationship. I particularly like the sales manager’s take on technology:

It€™s a salesperson’s responsibility to keep on top of BlackBerrys, cell phones, etc. While this may cut into relaxation, anyone who is determined to succeed must know that there is always a competitor out there, somewhere, gunning for your clients. Business is moving at the speed of light. The pace is a lot quicker and, if someone is out of reach, that can mean the business goes away.

Very true. Our business is one that operates 6 days a week for certain and sometimes into Sunday (though we do try to set that day aside). That is simply the way of the world. Interestingly enough, we often receive emails from CEOs, Presidents and Owners on Sunday evening as they prepare for their upcoming work week. Our PDA phones are invaluable for these communications.

Finally, the salesperson in this article shares his thoughts (again, with which I agree):

Ironically, the BlackBerry gives me the ability to have a life. I can go somewhere without having to be afraid that I€™m missing something.

I view it the same way. I have my Moto Q which allows me to be updated on email, voicemail and to carry around numerous files in case I need them. The technology enables more freedom while still being accessible.

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CareerBuilder.com offers a short article titled The Cost of Leaving a Position Unfilled.  Now that is an important understanding when it comes to hiring salespeople – the choice to do nothing comes with a price.  First a reason that drives our business:

When you receive the green light to make a new hire, your company needs you to move on it right away. It is easy for a hiring manager to sit back and tell themselves, as well as those counting on them, that they will get around to beginning the recruitment process shortly.

Exactly.  Most sales managers were not hired to spend the balance of each day hiring salespeople.  These tasks, although important, take a back seat to the more pressing need of generating profitable revenue.  Fair enough.  The problem becomes more complex when an inefficient and unreliable process is used to hire the salesperson.

Facing the candidate search process can feel overwhelming if you do not hire frequently. Fight the temptation to procrastinate or to make claims that you do not have enough time to write a job description, sort through resumes, and interview potential candidates. Ironically, these are some of the reasons why you need to fill the open position as quickly as possible.

We help companies with this process by using a far more efficient, reliable approach that frees the sales manager up to focus on revenue generation.  The approach listed in the article is time-consuming so I suspect most sales managers are not enthused about spending their time in this inefficient manner.

The rest of the article contains a fairly simple equation for calculating the cost of unfilled positions.  Simple as the formula is, imagine what the dollar amounts are for open sales positions?

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I’ve been beating this drum regularly but conventional wisdom takes time to change. CareerJournal.com offers up a Jurassic quote in Want to Work on Commission? Make Sure You Have a Nest Egg (emphasis mine):

The inconsistent nature of working on commission doesn’t suit everyone. Here are some tips for those considering the switch:

1. Evaluate Your Personality

Working on commission requires establishing relationships, massaging deals and building trust with clients. In order to be successful, it helps to be a “people person.”

“Introverts will not succeed on commission,” says Rick Gold, vice president of Strategic Workforce Solutions Inc., a full-service search firm in New York. “Clients don’t necessarily do business with me because I’m the best recruiter ever, it’s because I build relationships and trust,” he says.

Pure poppycock. Just take one moment to comprehend the vast ignorance of this sweeping generalization. I cannot count how many sales “introverts” we have assessed for our clients who are wildly successful. One of our customer’s top salesperson, an introvert, is paid commission only and makes over $1,000,000 per year. I’m not sure what the definition of “succeed” is in Mr. Gold’s world, but $1M per year in commissions is success in my world.

Here is where sales has changed due to the Internet. In the era before the Internet, researching a company and/or their offerings was a difficult task that usually involved word-of-mouth or direct contact with the company. This approach suited the extrovert’s style in that they could over rely upon their communication ability (rapport, bonding, entertaining).

Now the internet puts volumes of data at the prospect’s fingertips. Besides the company’s website, there are other sites that rate and review companies or products. There are blogs dedicated to cross reference for individual experiences. There are even technical sites that break down specifics of the company’s products.

The prospect making his or her first contact with the company is well informed of the company’s offerings. The prospect probably has some detailed questions and is a handful of clicks deep into the company’s website. This approach plays well to the introvert’s natural style. They are able to click into the detailed discussion with the prospect. Of course, this is just one facet of their sales abilities – and the least important facet. The salesperson’s skills, aptitudes and motivations will tell you more about their overall ability and their likelihood to succeed in a commission-only position.

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