A recent conversation brought to mind the responsibility of sales management for the development of both existing and new sales people. Why? Retention. As the employment market has shifted to an “employee market” – at least for talented sales professionals – sales management needs to make plans to retain sales people. After all, the talented sales person chose you and your organization, just as you chose them. Don’t kid yourself…this isn’t a one way street. Far from it my friends! Those tasked with the responsibilities associated with sales management (regardless of the title given them) have a wide variety of tasks that need their attention everyday. The investment in sales… Read More
Continue ReadingFixing A Dis-incentive Plan
OK, the Rock Star really hit a nerve with his recent post – A Commission Plan Gone Bad. I’m having flashbacks to a comp plan that still makes the hair on the back of my neck bristle. When a comp plan becomes counter-productive -and the sales team is talking – you’ve created a monster. I can only think of one thing worse – have the paychecks bounce! The profile for the most productive sales people tells us that messing with compensation and the perception of deception is the beginning of the end for retention. Sales people want and need to believe that they are being treated honestly, fairly and with… Read More
Continue ReadingShow Me The Time Compensation
In the 1996 movie Jerry Maguire, Tom Cruise made the phrase “Show me the money” famous. In fact, the phrase has become an American icon in several ways. Eleven years later, it appears candidates are saying “Show me the time.” Time off for family, friends and fun. According to a recent survey by the Association of Executive Search Consultants, 85% of recruiters have seen candidates reject a job offer because it wouldn’t include enough work-life balance. And 90% of recruiters say work-life balance considerations are more important now than they were five years ago. Information from other levels of employment – not just the executive levels – suggest exactly the… Read More
Continue ReadingSales People Are Buyers Too!
I enjoy selling and I enjoy buying. Selling more than buying, most days! I find the buyer side of me stopping to observe the seller’s technique and approach when I’m attempting to buy something. In the past week, I have seen the opposite ends of the sales spectrum. Two recent “buy” decisions involved VERY different sales approaches. As you might expect, both situations involved retail sales. The first situation involved a sales person performing a knowledge dump of all the COOL, VERY COOL technology I would be getting. The sales person had NO idea what I was looking for, how I would use the technology or why I came through… Read More
Continue ReadingJust Getting Started
The decision has been made. The offer has been extended. The offer has been accepted, and the start date is just around the corner. The “newbie” is joining the sales team. Now what? That can be a bit of a scary question for the sales manager responsible for the success of a new hire. Hiring a candidate that has been and properly assessed, profiled, interviewed and evaluated is an excellent foundation for success. But hold on. It’s just the start to the process. As you might guess, an industry term to address these situations has already been crafted . “Onboarding” is the most commonly used term to reference the plan… Read More
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