Talent Acquisition

Boost Revenue Forever

Notebook work with statistics on sofa business
Photographer: Lukas Blazek | Source: Unsplash

I’m unaware of any business that, for most of its existence anyway, has not been focused on increasing revenue. Increased revenue allows an organization to hire more people, add products, expand territories, and all the other things on their wish lists. I’m in the business of helping businesses implement a day in, day out system that will play a big role in increasing revenue forever. The biggest role actually.

Having a team of great sellers is the key to constant revenue growth. And the key to having a team of great sellers is to be focused on a systematic, ongoing sales recruitment effort. Systematic? Ongoing? I’ve heard it hundreds of times. Sales leaders generally turn on a recruitment effort when they have an opening. Makes sense. But it eliminates focus on finding talent, whether you need it right then or not.

Therefore, I suggest that you need to get your mind around a total change in sales hiring philosophy. Don’t hire in a panic because one of your people just bailed out on you. Be on the lookout for good sales talent. And have a system to push anyone with great potential into your recruitment pipeline. If you found someone who you really believed could be a top producer for your team, I’d suggest you figure out how to get them on board. Maybe they could replace your weakest player.

A sales recruitment pipeline that always has more people in it than you need is a good thing. It positions you to move quickly if an urgent need arises. More importantly, it keeps you focused on looking at new talent to add to your team. With the philosophy of wanting sales hiring options all the time, you’re unlike to be caught flat footed. And you’ll never be hiring in a panic.

To learn about developing a sales team that boost revenue forever, click HERE.

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Will More Training Help?

A recent study in market trends indicated that the sales training business is poised to grow nicely over the next several years. Huh? It seems counter intuitive that anyone would be thinking about spending money on things not deemed essential under the current circumstances.

A man in front of a screen with a red arrow
Photographer: Frank Busch | Source: Unsplash

I have to agree with the prediction in that I believe it will be the sales department and its team that will be the instrument of recovery for most battered businesses. It is not as complicated to”flip the on switch” for the production side of most businesses as it is to get customers to start buying from YOU again. Therefore, your businesses survival is contingent upon the ability of your sales team to get business rolling again.

Back to the prediction about training and training in general. It is likely that you will see benefit from getting some sales training on how to sell in the new reality. General sales training might not be as valuable or important right now. We’re selling in a new reality right now and nobody is sure exactly what to do to get customers buying again.

Training certainly has its place in any sales team, in fact it’s incredibly important. Especially for new members of your team.

Even more important than training, however, is that your sales team has as many top producers as possible. And by top producers, I mean entrepreneurial, driven closers who will figure out how to make sales in any environment. Therefore, before even thinking about spending money on training, you should be looking at who you have on your team.

There is a ton of sales talent looking for work right now. More than in the last decade at least, maybe in the last 50 years. You should always be recruiting new sales talent. Now is a great time to be doing it in preparation for your business grabbing more than its fair share of the market. Hiring real sellers can be tough. If you’d like to learn how a strategic system for hiring salespeople can make a huge difference in your business recovery, click HERE.

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Talent Acquisition

Sales Recruitment: First Things First

One of the first things I ask a new prospect for our service is that they explain to me how they are planning to compensate their new sales representative. Remarkably, it’s not infrequent that they provide some ideas of what they think they’re going to do. I immediately wonder if they are also unsure of exactly what they want their new hire to do.

Anticipatiom
Photographer: Ariel | Source: Unsplash

Failing to develop a compensation plan that really rewards productivity is likely to doom the organization to high turnover of top performers. If your number one seller doesn’t make a LOT more money than the average, count on her to be open to better offers. Sales should be a true meritocracy where the best producers are clearly rewarded and appreciated.

And don’t think that little perks, like an extra day off, will be the same as being compensated monetarily according to performance. A real seller, making six figures, is going to see an extra day off as a cut to his income. Weekend work is routine for top performers. So how is an “extra day off” going to be of any value?

When thinking of compensation plans, first know what you really want the seller to do. Are they responsible for managing existing clients and growing revenue from them? Or are they responsible for developing new accounts? Focus the upside of the plan on achieving the predetermined goal. And don’t be stingy for exceeding the goal. Look for ways you can include profitability bonuses in the compensation plan. A seller who brings in deals more profitable than expected should be able to share in the extra dough. Talk about a motivator! It will make your top performers feel as though they have equity in the business as they’re sharing profits.

Shower rewards on the top performers. To learn more about compensation strategies and its impact on sales recruitment, click HERE.

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