In business, there\u2019s an expression: To have and to hold, from this day forward. \u2026 Oh, wait, that\u2019s a marriage vow. And even then it doesn\u2019t bind. Here in the sales-verse, people coming and going like serial monogamists can sting your bottom line: Onboarding new hires is costly and time-consuming. Organizations must pay to find and vet potential new hires; they also need to invest at least six months and many person hours getting the newby up to speed and transformed into a contributing member of the organization. That initial investment can include helping them up and over the steep learning curve to know your product\/services line by heart, as well as helping them understand how to sell to what could be an unfamiliar demographic for them.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, you\u2019d like your new hires to be whistling while they work to bring in business and increase your earnings. But if your organization suffers from RDS (Revolving Door Syndrome), you\u2019ll squander company dollars making up for your attrition rate. In other words, until you get to the source of your retention problem and remedy it, you\u2019ll keep feeding monster.com.<\/p>\n
On average, it takes seven months and around $30K to find and onboard a new sales rep, according to a study by the Aberdeen Group. Such associated costs should be expected if your organization is in growth mode. Growth is a good problem to have! But if turnover is high year over year in your sales department, you\u2019ve got a systemic problem. Even worse is losing top performers when they decide to move on to a better opportunity. Suddenly you\u2019re busy trying to plug leaks in a ship from which everyone\u2019s jumping.<\/p>\n
From the Get-Go, Be Honest About Expectations <\/strong> Setting Realistic Goals and Monitoring Progress<\/strong> Outline Realistic Goals and Coach Accordingly<\/strong> Reexamine Your Compensation Package<\/strong> Engage in Incentivizing<\/strong> Exit Interview: What Went Wrong?<\/strong> Remember, when it comes to employee retention, it\u2019s one thing to get them to say \u201cI do\u201d; it\u2019s another to hold them and keep them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In business, there\u2019s an expression: To have and to hold, from this day forward. \u2026 Oh, wait, that\u2019s a marriage vow. And even then it doesn\u2019t bind. Here in the sales-verse, people coming and going like serial monogamists can sting your bottom line: Onboarding new hires is costly and time-consuming. Organizations must pay to find […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":91,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[15,11,16],"class_list":["post-90","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sales-training","tag-management","tag-sales","tag-talent"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/careerplustraining.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/careerplustraining.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/careerplustraining.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/careerplustraining.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/careerplustraining.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=90"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/careerplustraining.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/careerplustraining.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/91"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/careerplustraining.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=90"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/careerplustraining.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=90"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/careerplustraining.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=90"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nJust as you need to know who your prospective sales reps are, they need to know what sort of work environment they might be bringing their lunch box and framed family photos to. Signing them on to what they hadn\u2019t bargained for will hurt you as they grow disgruntled and cynical on the job and\/or quit in frustration. Instead of that fiasco, set realistic expectations at the interview stage, being honest with prospective hires about the workplace. You don\u2019t need to scare them off, just be upfront about challenging aspects they might face at your company. If they\u2019re good, they\u2019ll understand that no sales opportunity is without its pros and cons.<\/p>\n
\nBecause sales folks are a competitive bunch, you can set goals for them that are challenging\u2014but also attainable. And in doing so, don\u2019t fail to provide the resources necessary to reach those goals. Keep tabs on individual contributors\u2019 progress, and hold supportive one-on-one\u2019s in which you discuss their performance. What you\u2019re doing here is opening the lines of communication regarding job performance, and revealing where improvement and coaching are needed. Ever-competitive, your sales reps will take up the gauntlet.<\/p>\n
\nWhile we\u2019re on the topic of coaching \u2026 one of the best investments you can make in your new hires is to coach them. Coaching benefits the company by increasing staff competency rate, while at the same time signaling to your workforce that they are worth investing in. Coaching is something we\u2019ve blogged and \u201carticled\u201d about before because it\u2019s so important for the health of a company. Failing to nurture reps through ongoing coaching will result in a workforce that\u2019s frustrated at being underprepared and under-supported when doing their job.<\/p>\n
\nMoney is on the mind of top-performing sales reps. They\u2019re not coming to work for the free instant cocoa in the breakroom (with or without mini marshmallows). Casual Friday isn\u2019t tooting their horn. If not properly compensated, they\u2019re likely to shop their r\u00e9sum\u00e9 around to more generous companies. Reexamine your compensation package on an annual basis, taking into account what\u2019s being offered at competing organizations. Tiered plans with rewards for top performers can attract stronger candidates, as can additional compensation for lower-performing but still valuable reps. Put this question through the thought mill: How much are you saving with your slim-pickings compensation compared to how much you\u2019re losing in attrition costs each year?<\/p>\n
\nDeveloping fun and creative ways to show your appreciation for your valuable staff will further motivate them to stay with you. Incentives such as gym memberships, flex time, additional time off, even an in-house concierge will build loyalty; they also promote a more stress-free work environment. Holding weekly, monthly, or quarterly sales contests will additionally motivate your naturally competitive sales staff to do their best.<\/p>\n
\nSometimes despite a company doing everything right for their employees, they lose top people. That\u2019s just a difficult reality you face in business. But these days too many companies fail to take advantage of a relatively painless datamining tool: the exit interview. If you want to know why Jane or John Doe is \u201cbreaking up with you,\u201d sit them down one on one and ask why they\u2019re resigning. And don\u2019t have their direct supervisor be the one doing the asking\u2014you don\u2019t want those on the way out to hold back anything. Ideally, the exit interview should be conducted by a member of the HR team.<\/p>\n