| Recruiting sales people should be an ongoing and | | | | - How does your sales compensation plan compare |
| never ending process. You may not be hiring but you | | | | to other firms in your industry? |
| should always been recruiting for sales people. | | | | - Will sales commissioned be uncapped or limited? |
| Because sales is such a critical role to every | | | | These are just a few of the issues that can come |
| company, you should always be on the lookout for | | | | up and if you don't know the answers to any of the |
| top sales talent. | | | | questions above, it may be time to review your |
| The biggest challenge for most companies in | | | | compensation structure for your sales team. |
| recruiting sales people are: | | | | Retaining Sales People |
| - Where do I find good sales people? | | | | You've recruited and hired a great sales person. |
| - How do I pay them? | | | | You've spent a lot of time, money and resources to |
| - How do I keep good sales people once I have | | | | find this person...now what? How can you ensure that |
| found them? | | | | they will be successful and stay with your company |
| Finding Good Sales people | | | | for years to come? |
| As we said before you may not be hiring but you | | | | A common mistake is to hire a sales person and |
| should always be recruiting sales people. You should | | | | hope they have contacts that can bring in big sales. |
| have a recruitment strategy in place to provide you | | | | The reality is that even experience, well connected |
| with a steady stream of qualified sales people to | | | | sales people need help to be successful. Here is what |
| interview. They can come from a number of sources: | | | | your company needs in place in order to ensure a |
| - Employee Referrals | | | | successful sales person: |
| - Sales Recruiters | | | | - A good sales manager - A big reason sales people |
| - Job Postings On Your Website | | | | leave or do not live up to expectations is they have |
| - HR Department | | | | no one to rely on to coach them, mentor them and |
| - Industry Conferences & Events | | | | help achieve their goals |
| It is best to use a few if not all of these sources to | | | | - On boarding process - What happens when this |
| find sales people so when an opening comes up, you | | | | person starts? Who is responsible for teaching them |
| will be able to fill the job quickly. | | | | about the company, products and services? What |
| How Do I Pay Sales People? | | | | kind of support is available? What type of training will |
| From our experience, the biggest reason sales people | | | | be done? These are all important steps to ensuring |
| don't work out or don't stay with a company is the | | | | success. |
| design of the sales compensation plan. Pay a sales | | | | - Sales Training & Coaching - Tiger Woods uses |
| person too little and they're not happy...too much and | | | | a coach not because he doesn't know how to swing |
| the company isn't happy. Here are a few things to | | | | a golf club. He uses a coach to fine tune his swing |
| keep in mind when reviewing your sales | | | | and improve his performance. Sales is no different. |
| compensation plan: | | | | Even experienced sales people need reminders and |
| - What is the desired level of income for a sales | | | | refreshers on how to approach new business and |
| person in your industry and what sales volume is | | | | how to move potential clients along in the sales |
| necessary to achieve this income? | | | | process. Investing in ongoing training and |
| - Is the plan tied to gross sales or gross profit? | | | | development will go a long way to securing more |
| - In most cases, it is not advisable to pay commission | | | | business. |
| of more than 20% of gross profit (this may vary by | | | | Good companies should always be on the lookout for |
| industry and product). Any more than this and you | | | | top sales people. Once you have found them be then |
| are paying too much. | | | | prepared to hire, train and retain! |