Good Salespeople Continue to be in Demand

Written by Mark Hunter

Good salespeople continue to be in demand. Finding a quality person to fill a position is not an easy job. Although many people think they can be effective in sales, the reality is that few can do it well. Even more amazing is how many employers want capable salespeople, but are not willing to compensate them accordingly or invest in their development.

I recently read a survey conducted by the employment organization, Manpower. They polled 32,000 employers in 23 countries. The results indicated that the number one position they had trouble filling was not specialized skill such as an engineer or accountant as some would expect, but, rather, sales representatives. Since competition in retail is not going to go away, the struggle to find quality employees is only going to get tougher.

This means that we need to focus even more on the on-going development of sales people, not just their entry-level training. When I have challenged employers with this information, I am amazed at the kind of response they give me. Some will comment on how they don’t want to invest in someone that can quit on them at any time. Unfortunately, if this is the belief system held by an employer, there are really far bigger issues and more than likely they won’t be in business five years from now. Any employer who is not willing to invest in a person’s ongoing development, especially in a field such as sales, is an employer that is not worthy of having employees.

Wanted I don’t believe it is the sole responsibility of the employer to develop the skills of their salespeople. The employee must also continue to grow. Many argue that they do not believe they are paid what they’re worth. Therefore, they question why they should invest in themselves, since the company isn’t paying them enough in the first place. Employers need to recognize that any sales person with this attitude will never be better than average at best. High-performing salespeople are successful because they have not relied solely on their company to supply training. They have made an investment into their own development.

Therefore, the question that must be considered is what is the right level of on-going development a sales person needs to perform at a high level. Unfortunately, there is no uniform answer, although I would venture to say that there are probably less than 5% of all salespeople receiving the correct amount. I believe that the answer lies not in the level of time or money spent developing somebody, but on the continuous results that person is achieving. It is important to remember that self-development must be on-going, not just when the person is falling behind. The best time to train for a new position is when things are going well. The person will be more relaxed and open to ideas, instead of being in a panic mode of trying to find short-term solutions. In the end, the salesperson and their employer must determine how much continual development is needed.

A benchmark developed and used by high-performing companies to determine how much personnel development should entail is 5% - 7% of time and resources. If a company is investing 5% of an employees time in development this translates to 2 hours per week, assuming a 40-hour workweek. The problem the majority of companies have with this is they believe it needs to be delivered all at one time. This immediately creates another problem in terms of scheduling and the perception of lost productivity. If a salesperson is going to be removed from their job for one day per month it’s easy for people on the outside (particularly the accounting department) to see it as frivolous and a waste. To work around this issue and to help maintain an even envirornment it is many times more productive to deliver the training in small segments on a more regular basis. This may consist of a 15-minute hands-on role-play at the start of the day. Another example would be a two-hour “lunch & lean” covering a key new item or sales process.

There are a wide range of ways to deliver training, the biggest concern is in developing a culture that embraces it and does it. As the baby-boomer generation begins to move aside and Generation X and Y take hold the emphasis on compensation is going to decrease. For Generation X and Y they want to be recognized for a job well done and in order to do this they need to feel like they are growing in their jobs. This means companies that are providing their employees with training and the opportunity to learn will be those most likely to succeed. In the end this means companies will need to view training as a cost benefit the same way they regard holidays, etc.

Mark Hunter -
	Mark Hunter, “The Sales Hunter,” is a sales expert who speaks to thousands each year on how to increase their sales profitability. For more information, to receive a free weekly email sales tip, or to read his Sales Motivation Blog, visit www.TheSalesHunter.com. You can also follow him on www.Twitter.com (TheSalesHunter), on www.LinkedIn.com (Mark Hunter), and on his Facebook Fan Page, www.facebook.com (The Sales Hunter). Read More >>
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Websiteblog twitterfacebook