Editor’s note: Paul Kirch is CEO of ActusMR Inc., a Fort Worth, Texas, business and sales consulting agency. Kirch can be reached at 214-295-6111 or at pkirch@actusmr.com.
When you think of salespeople, you often think of a person who might hold more jobs than the average employee. The first instinct is to think that a sales professional who has a handful of jobs on their résumé is not very good, causing them to bounce around. In some cases, this may be an accurate assumption but it’s not always the case. There are many factors that lead a sales professional to explore new opportunities. If you want to keep your salespeople happy and on board, there are several things that can be done. Surprisingly, money has much less to do with this than one would think.
A line is drawn
Let’s take a look at some challenges driving sales professionals to look for other opportunities. In so many firms, especially in the research industry, the people responsible for bringing in new business are made to feel like outsiders. As much as many companies like to believe that they operate as a team, far too often a line is drawn between the business development team and the rest of the company. I spent 10 years in operations before moving into a career in sales so I’ve been on both sides. Though often unfounded or at least unfair, there’s a mind-set that salespeople over-promise - leaving everyone else to scramble to get the job done. I say this is unfounded because frequently the clients are dictating needs or there may be unforeseen issues that arise, which salespeople are assumed to have overlooked.
Coincidentally, these are the same things that the sales team is reprimanded for getting involved in, making it a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation. Also, clients may not have all of the answers when a proposal is developed or the project may change from what was originally stated. Anyone in research knows this happens regularly but it’s easy to blame a salesperson for not getting all of the information, though some salespeople are better at gathering information than others.
Can you imagine if this was what you faced in your job? What if management even supported the negative position? So often this is reality. To satisfy the needs of the salespeople, find a way to bring everyone together as a team and help each person understand the other person’s role.
Problems with the relationship
What happens when there are problems within project fulfillment? In research, many situations can go wrong. It happens to the best project managers and researchers. Sometimes it’s based upon a misunderstanding between client needs and expectations or the operations person. Other times it may be an error that wasn’t caught during quality-control measures. When it happens, it can create problems with the relationship. However, the operations team will move on to other projects, leaving the salesperson holding the bag.
Salespeople face a different challenge. They weren’t involved in the project but the next time they call the customer they need to find a way to mend the relationship and regain trust. Can you imagine if you reached out to a customer who had a bad experience, assured them that it was a rare mistake, regained their trust to be awarded another project and the same mistake happened? How would you feel? I have seen this happen on multiple occasions. How many times do you think a client will understand?
It is a bad situation when your sales team loses confidence in the fulfillment team. This alone will cause them to look for other opportunities, since they would rather move on than lose another client relationship. To keep sales team focused, address operation problems from the top down. When a problem occurs, create solutions to prevent it from happening again. Make sure everyone is on the same page. Don’t let the blame game take over. Instead, recognize that problems happen and work to prevent the same issue from happening twice. Also recognize the position that the salesperson is in. Apologizing for someone else’s mistake can be difficult, especially if they have to do it repeatedly with the same customer.
The operational legacy
As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, one of the biggest challenges sales professionals face is the operational legacy our industry is based upon. So many firms have lived without an organized sales force because they didn’t require it to grow. Word-of-mouth, referrals, top-of-mind recognition and loyal customers were all many firms need to grow. If there was a sales effort, it was probably the owner or a senior member making some calls. If you did good work, the word spread and you were likely to gain more opportunities.
Today, however, the research space has grown significantly and there are many more competitors. Each of those competitors is out prospecting, often with a me-too marketing message. This means that you really won’t stand out except through actions and results, which doesn’t lead to a lot of new business (unless your reputation is widely known as positive) but can garner a significant amount of repeat business. Does repeat business mean loyalty? If you’re reading this, you’re likely a researcher. I’m willing to bet that you know that research tells us the answer to that question is, in most cases, no. Loyalty may exist but it is rooted beyond a few successful projects. Any way you look at it, in today’s market it’s scary to attempt to grow without some sort of proactive sales effort. I’m not saying it’s impossible but I question the long-term viability of that model.
I’ve witnessed some well-intentioned owners who push to hire sales staff but then neglect to provide the necessary tools or systems in place to help their new team succeed. If you believe sales success requires a phone and a PC with PowerPoint then you’re probably going to fall short of your expectations. Also, if you don’t take the steps to change the mind-set of other employees to embrace and accept the salespeople as part of the team then you’re likely to breed underperformance and a lack of loyalty. After all, if you felt like your company wasn’t supporting you properly and you were treated as an outsider, would you be loyal?
Managed and treated
Another factor that can lead to sales professionals leaving a job is how they are managed and treated. Investing in a sales team means investing in the tools to support them (e.g., updated marketing, a CRM system, etc.). How your sales team is compensated also matters greatly. Salespeople should be some of the highest earners within an organization. The reality is they face a challenging job and their performance can be measured easily. Compensate them well if they succeed and if not, bring in people who can. If you believe that salespeople shouldn’t be paid differently than others in your company, that’s your prerogative. But good luck hiring anyone who is worth their salt. I’ve known many a leader who wanted to eliminate commissions to gain more profit margins. Not a single sales team member would have stayed on board in those situations and it would have been hard to replace them.
If you have pushback by other staff members who complain that it’s unfair, tell them that if they want to move to a career in sales then they too can be on a commission plan. However, also let them know that their job vulnerability will increase dramatically. After all, the performance measurability of a salesperson can make or break their stability within a firm. In fact, if you weigh in some of the scenarios above where client relations may be severed due to the poor performance of other team members, which can lead a well-performing sales professional to fall short of their targets due to no fault of their own, then job security is something many sales professionals always struggle with.
However, in marketing research, employers often hold on to underperforming sales professionals far too long since they treat them like everyone else on staff. I encourage those firms to measure performance fairly and develop those who are underperforming. If you don’t see a positive change, replace them. If you provide a competitive pay structure that has high earning potential, you should also expect a high rate of return. If it’s not happening, it’s OK to bring in someone who can be successful.
Don’t assume
When hiring a salesperson with a strong résumé and a great set of recommendations or references, don’t assume that they’ll perform for you the same way they performed at their previous firm. Your structure may be different. They may have been selling a different product. They may have had one or two major accounts giving them the bulk of their revenue. If you see that they aren’t performing up to expectation, ask them why. Ask them what they need or what they had before. I see so many managers wait to do this and they get to the point that they harbor hard feelings. Address it fairly and early and give them a chance to succeed. You might find that they were spending a lot of face-to-face time with clients and you’re expecting them to smile and dial all day. Find out what they need and if you can accommodate them, do it. If not, maybe they aren’t the right fit. There’s no shame in finding the right person for the role.
Do your research
When you look at all of the above factors, is it any wonder that so many sales professionals have multiple jobs on their résumé? A good friend of mine, who is an incredibly talented sales professional, has worked for three companies that went out of business. One of them was poorly managed and shut their doors and the other two were acquired by larger firms who eliminated some of the sales team. He was unfortunate in both cases. If you see his résumé, there are three jobs listed in four years, which is a red flag in most people’s eyes. However, if you overlooked him due to that, you’d be missing out on a rock star.
Do your research and learn what you can. LinkedIn testimonials, Google searches, Facebook and their résumé and references are all great starting points. From there, I’d highly recommend you take any salesperson through an assessment test to determine if they are a fit for your organization. I personally recommend the Divine Inventory’s assessment tool. If they seem to be a fit and they pass all of your other vetting, invest in making them a team member. Educate your employees on why this person is on board and make sure they all work toward a successful outcome. To me it’s not how many times a sales professional has held a new job but why they left and what their track record is.