Sales & Marketing Management - October 2007 - (Page 24)

finding, keeping and grooming SALES BEST THE with customers rather than doing paperwork,” he says. The third consideration for building a top-rate sales force, according to Alexander, is that the sales strategy needs to be aligned with the business strategy. Unfortunately, he explains, only seven percent of CEOs currently in the Global 2000 rose through the sales ranks. As such, most don’t understand “best in class” sales force management. “They use concepts such as ‘reverse engineering’ and ‘think analytically,’” Alexander explains. “Salespeople who reach the chief sales officer level have relied on gut instincts, charisma and tribal knowledge. As such, the communication is not there between the CEO and CSO.” The result? The average tenure for a vice president of sales is 19 months. “When a business embraces sales benchmarking and data-driven decision-making, the entire executive suite speaks the same language,” Alexander says. “And that is the language of empirical data.” Industry experts Sales & Marketing Management talked with agree that the best way to be prepared for sales vacancies is to have a “virtual bench,” or a pool of salespeople you cultivate in your industry. “Don’t wait until you have a vacancy to begin recruiting, and don’t leave the recruiting to your sales department,” says Rick Page, chairman and CEO of The Complex Sale, also in Alpharetta. “You’ve got to cultivate people on your own,” Page says, “and you’ve got to pay recruiters a competitive rate, or they won’t send you the best recruits. If you think it’s expensive, just remember—lost sales are the biggest expense item that never hits your books.” Alexander says the best candidates never get to the open market because they are networking and choosing where they will work next, instead of being offered a job. “High performers don’t respond to job boards, recruiters or advertising,” he says. “They’re selecting who they will work for, not vice-versa.” Alexander says to always “draft the best athlete,” even if you don’t have a home for him, because having him onboard raises the collective ability of your entire sales force. Page looks for chemistry or a good fit with the corporate culture, competence, commitment, communication skills and character in superior salespeople. “The first thing you have to do, though, is to define what success looks like for your organization and let that www.salesandmarketing.com www.salesandmarketingmanagement.com FORCE data, Alexander’s company compiled information from a 10-year period (1996 to 2006) and found the turnover rate (including voluntary and involuntary departures) among 3,700 U.S. publicly traded companies across 19 industries was 39.6%. “Best-in-class companies have a turnover rate of 11 percent,” Alexander says. “Based on the example above, that 100-salesperson company could save $9 million on sales compensation just by improving their hiring practices.” And if those statistics aren’t compelling enough, Sales Benchmark Index and Miller Heiman, a sales training company in Reno, Nev., undertook a sales force effectiveness study, “Winning Sales Organizations.” They received 5,538 responses based on the 75-question survey regarding sales force effectiveness, of which talent selection is a component. THE SURVEY FOUND THREE KEY DRIVERS TO TURNOVER: 1. Poor hiring 2. Poor onboarding (training once hired) 3. Poor coaching from a supervisor “Poor hiring decisions contribute to turnover more than the other two,” Alexander says. So, what’s a hiring manager to do? “A manager needs to make hiring decisions based on data and benchmarking against peers,” Alexander says. “The idea of ‘sales as an art’ does not produce results. We compiled information for the 10-year period between 1996 and 2006 and found that only 60% of salespeople reached their quota. That means there’s a 40% opportunity for improvement.” Second, companies need to invest in infrastructure. “The talent selection process needs to be standardized and adhered to across the company. Also, invest in information technology systems that allow salespeople to be 24 SALES &MARKETING MANAGEMENT OCTOBER 2007 http://www.salesandmarketingmanagement.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Sales & Marketing Management - October 2007

Sales & Marketing Management - October 2007 Contents Editor’s Letter Management Strategies Why Prospecting Gets No Respect Sales Strategy: Spotlight your Services Marketing: A Social Intelligence Primer Management: Steer your Team to Success Motivation/Incentives: The No-Pain Way to Gain Training: Looking for Yesterday’s Learning or Tomorrow’s? Technology: Get Trade Show Satisfaction with the Video Massage Focusing on SMB Solutions The Best Sales Force The Hottest Job Industries Overseas Aggravation Gadgets & Gear: Pen and Ink as an Art Form Books that Improve Strategic Thinking, People Skills and Sales One Foot Out the Door Work/Life: Calling in the Fitness Cavalry. Take-Aways: Bite-size Strategies to Help You Sell More, Market Smarter and Manage Better

Sales & Marketing Management - October 2007

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