Managers and leaders play a critical role in setting the tone for the ethical climate in sales. Colleen Francis, good friend and author of Honesty Sells, states “Those who are in the top 10% of the sales profession have mastered the art of open, honest communication with their clients.” Is your team in that 10%? [...]
Components Of an Effective Sales Compensation Plan
We often help companies formulate sales compensation plans that produce results. One of the biggest questions from managers is where to start in creating effective compensation plans for salespeople. Pay them too little and they will leave. Pay them too much and they’ll get lazy. Straight commission is good, no wait, straight commission is bad. [...]
How Sales 2.0 is Affecting Sales Hiring
The buzz around Sales 2.0 existed for a couple of years now and perhaps your company has embraced the new way of selling to capture the tremendous opportunity it offers. Now your reps rely on marketing intelligence, social media, web networking, blogs, white papers, referral marketing, and CRM tools to amplify sales velocity and volume. [...]
The Markets are Dropping. Is Sales Compensation Dropping as Well?
We get a lot of questions about whether sales compensation is sagging in light of the economy. The simple answer is no, sales compensation is not dropping…for the reliable performers. The detail behind the answer involves looking at supply and demand. The model of supply and demand is the backbone of price determination in a [...]
Falling for the Halo Effect in Sales Hiring (Requires 25 seconds to read)
It’s easy to like someone based on good looks and personality. A professional with impressive credentials may seem like a great hire. But, do either of these single qualities translate into an exceptional sales person? What really is in play is the “halo effect”; the belief that one good trait means that all traits are [...]
5 Critical Things You Can Do to Increase Your Odds of Hiring a Top Performing Rep!
Want to hire the rainmaker that will change the course of your business? Increase your bottom line by hiring the right sales rep, the first time, by following these five steps. Know what you are looking for Drill down and define the skill set you need on your team. Hire based on the selling role [...]
The Differences Between Hiring A Sales Manager vs. Sales Producer
The top producer on your team has been pushing for a promotion and you need a new sales manager. If you promote your top person and put a team of five beneath him, will you have five more superstars? Just because someone can sell, does it mean they can manage? The process of promoting from [...]
Why Most CEO’s/VP Sales Make Mistakes Hiring Sales People
The CEO is the number one position in the organization. The VP of sales is high on the org chart too. It would make sense that these people would also be the best at unearthing and retaining top-notch sales talent. This is such a common belief that the creation of a sales team is often [...]
Sales Management Trends: Sales Agents or Full Time Sales – The Pro’s and Cons of Hiring vs. Outsourcing
The economy is creeping along. Revenue is down, the pressure is on to reduce overhead and the CFO is looking at the way you sell. You can choose from a variety of job candidates: full time staff, freelancers, independent contractors, temps and consultants. Now the big question, do you continue with a full time sales [...]
Sales Management Trends: Less and Less Active Candidates
The economy is improving. Job creation is increasing but unemployment remains high. So why is it so difficult to find and hire good salespeople? According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics (BLS), in May 2010 there were over 13 million wage and salary sales workers in the United States. The BLS also stated the [...]
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