Do You Have the Right People for a Virtual Work Force?
May 22, 20207 Signs You Have a Bad Apple Employee
July 10, 2020Companies are evaluating their sales teams to determine if they have the right players to move them forward during the 2020 economic downturn. With recent layoffs and furloughs, the talent pool is more plentiful than pre-COVID. Now is a great time to take advantage of the current market place to expand or enhance your sales team. But don’t plan on getting bargain hires. The best sales performers know their value and are being selective.
Let’s assume you’ve invested wisely in a good recruiting process that has produced a top tier sales candidate. What must you offer to ensure that top candidate accepts your offer? Be prepared to successfully address three key points in your offer to ensure that you are not left standing alone at the altar.
Overcome these three challenges in your efforts to recruit sales candidates.
1. Compensation:
For lateral moves, the average bump in base pay is 10-20% to have a solid player move over to your side of the court. If the position is a promotion with more responsibility and higher expectations, that percentage may rise to 20-30%. Are you prepared to offer your sales candidate more than they currently earn? And, with COVID health concerns, good healthcare benefits are critically important. If you don’t offer benefits, be prepared to increase pay to offset their cost in obtaining benefits.
2. Value Add:
Let’s assume you have successfully scaled the compensation hurdle. Now, let’s consider other factors that may be just as important as money. Switching employers is a major risk/reward decision for sales candidates. Best to offer something in addition to money to attract a superstar sales professional. Consider these value-adds: Is your company mission motivating and rewarding? Does your company have a reputation for innovation? Would your employees say the company is managed by solid leadership?
3. Career Growth:
A superstar sales rep needs to see a future that is golden. If your company does not offer the next step in their career growth, why should they make the move? For sales professionals, career growth could be a bigger territory, more innovative products or services to sell, or the opportunity to advance into sales management. The status quo is not an option for superstars. They crave new challenges so they get their achievement needs met.
If you are actively recruiting sales professionals or are planning a search, be prepared to show your best hand if you want them to accept your offer. Superstar sales professionals can significantly outsell average performers so an attractive compensation plan will pay off in the end.
If you would like to implement a proven process to recruit superstar sales talent, give us a call at 317-578-1310.
