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States With the Best & Worst Job Markets as Economy Strengthens

For the first time in a long time, there is cautious optimism about the U.S. economy. It is being fueled by a strong labor market. In May, 339,000 jobs were added – nearly double projections – and while that cooled to 209,000 new jobs in June, many experts are predicting a soft landing for the economy instead of a recession.

The number of open jobs sits at 9.8 million. At a time when quit rates are declining, this signifies that the labor market is strengthening, and companies are looking to expand and hire as many workers as they can. It also means job seekers have more choices and opportunities. 

Recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics sheds light on the country’s most in-demand sectors. Notably, most of the recent hires were in professional and business services (64,000); professional, scientific and technical services (43,000); government (56,000) and health care (52,000).

Leverage Between Employers and Employees

The ongoing fight for leverage betweens employers and job seekers remains a complex and rapidly evolving issue. The labor market during and following the global pandemic was largely defined by “The Great Resignation.” A record 50 million people quit their jobs in 2022, breaking the previous record set in 2021. 

With so many unfilled jobs, job seekers had historic leverage and employers had to roll out the red carpet and acquiesce to worker-friendly policies such as higher pay and the ability to work remotely. 

The most recent federal data shows the Great Resignation has come to an end with national quit rates falling to 2.4% in March, just .1% higher than in February of 2020. To be clear, lower quit rates do not equate to the strengthening of the economy – in fact it is quite the opposite. 

A BLS report notes, “Quit rates tend to rise during expansions, when workers’ prospects for finding a better job brighten.” The Roosevelt Institute also notes higher quit rates represent, “A necessary reshuffling of jobs leading marginalized workers to pursue better working conditions and wages.”

But what the return to pre-pandemic quit rates may signal is that employers are regaining some leverage. We are seeing many of them attempt to exercise that leverage by ending another pandemic workplace trend – working from home. 

Many Fortune 500 companies such as Disney and JP Morgan are mandating that employees return to the office. Even Big Tech companies like Meta and Google – who were the ones who introduced remote work and extravagant workplace perks in the first place  – are now opting for a return to work or a hybrid model. 

However, employers must not get too complacent. Projections from the World Economic Forum indicate that over the next five years, approximately 17% of North American workers are expected to switch jobs. This trend is even more pronounced within the business development sector. In the current climate, a company’s ability to recruit and retain top talent is critical to success.

Purpose of the Study and How We Determined The Rankings

As a whole, things are looking up for business owners and American workers across the country. But the dynamics between employers and employees continues to be in flux as the economy attempts to recover and enter a long awaited period of prosperity. 

As experts in B2B sales recruiting, Peak Sales Recruiting has conducted extensive research on the labor market at large to inform business owners, entrepreneurs and job seekers about the state of the labor market in their area.

It is critical to understand the rapidly changing landscape in the state that you reside in order to achieve success. 

To determine which states have the strongest labor markets we analyzed the most recent data from BLS. We factored in positive indicators such as employment, wage growth, labor productivity, quit rates (higher rates means the labor market is expanding) and job openings (a sign that employers are looking to expand their businesses). We also factored in negative benchmarks such as layoffs and underemployment. 

A Few Key Findings:

  • The Southeast is home to the states with the strongest labor markets in 2023, driven by strong employment growth, job openings and quits – meaning job seekers have their pick of the litter. Louisiana is the No. 1 state, with the highest rates of labor productivity increases and quit rates than any other state, while nearby South Carolina and Florida also rank in the top five.
  • Notably, economic powerhouses California and New York rank among the states with the weakest labor markets. That’s not due to a lack of opportunity, with both states reporting above-average employment growth rates. But they are also experiencing major drops in average wages, as well as high underemployment and declines in labor productivity.
  • Despite ranking near the bottom, No. 45 Nevada saw greater employment growth than nearly any other state, while No. 43 Alaska had a higher job openings rate and No. 37 Washington, D.C., saw the lower rate of layoffs.

Best and Worst States

Louisiana has the country’s strongest labor market, likely bolstered by its diverse economy and range of industries, from energy to aerospace to advanced manufacturing. Using the most recent data, Louisiana’s labor productivity was up by 6.1%, while job openings increased by 7.3% and the quit rate reached 3.7% – a higher rate than any other state.

Even so, Louisiana falls in the middle of the pack for employment and wage growth and has a slightly above-average rate of layoffs and underemployment, serving as a reminder that Louisaiana’s opportunity is not felt equally by all workers, and that no state has perfect labor conditions.

States With the Best & Worst Job Markets

State

Overall Ranking

Overall Z Score

Louisiana

1

0.851

South Carolina

2

0.748

Florida

3

0.709

Virginia

4

0.647

Idaho

5

0.644

Georgia

6

0.636

Alabama

7

0.591

Kentucky

8

0.569

Arkansas

9

0.459

Delaware

10

0.374

Texas

11

0.372

Utah

12

0.325

West Virginia

13

0.314

Nebraska

14

0.297

South Dakota

15

0.284

Wyoming

16

0.213

North Dakota

17

0.196

New Mexico

18

0.178

Oklahoma

19

0.174

Minnesota

20

0.171

North Carolina

21

0.165

Iowa

22

0.112

Vermont

23

0.094

Mississippi

24

0.033

Indiana

25

0.022

Wisconsin

26

0.010

Montana

27

-0.014

Maine

28

-0.029

Missouri

29

-0.050

Tennessee

30

-0.054

Kansas

31

-0.059

Arizona

32

-0.091

Colorado

33

-0.103

Ohio

34

-0.137

Maryland

35

-0.142

Pennsylvania

36

-0.199

District of Columbia

37

-0.232

New Hampshire

38

-0.240

Oregon

39

-0.244

Hawaii

40

-0.260

Connecticut

41

-0.329

Alaska

42

-0.460

Massachusetts

43

-0.471

New Jersey

44

-0.485

Nevada

45

-0.504

Illinois

46

-0.528

Michigan

47

-0.653

Washington

48

-0.660

Rhode Island

49

-0.840

New York

50

-1.019

California

51

-1.228

Source: Peak Sales Recruiting analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data

South Carolina, Florida, Virginia and Idaho also landed among the top five. Each of these states has higher rates of job openings and employment growth, while average weekly wages have increased by 0.9% in South Carolina between December 2021 and 2022.

Despite its reputation as a hub for innovation and technological advancement, California faces significant challenges in its labor market – and it ranks last. Average weekly wages in the state have dropped by 6.9%, while 8.7% of workers are underemployed and the quit and job opening rates were lower than in most other states.

New York, Rhode Island, Washington and Michigan rounded out the bottom five due to poor scores for labor productivity, wages, underemployment and job openings. However, these states also have some bright spots: New York’s layoffs rate was 0.8% in March, lower than almost anywhere else, while Washington saw strong employment growth (3.1%).

5 Tips To Recruit And Retain Talent In 2023

Recruiting and retaining top talent is crucial for the success and growth of any organization. In 2023, with the evolving job market and changing expectations of employees, it’s important to adapt your recruitment and retention strategies. Here are five tips to help you recruit and retain talent in 2023:

  • Embrace remote work and flexibility: With the rise of remote work and hybrid models, offering flexibility in working arrangements is highly valued by employees. Consider implementing remote work policies, flexible hours, and other initiatives that promote work-life balance. This will attract candidates who prioritize flexibility and enable you to retain existing employees who value remote work options.

  • Prioritize diversity and inclusion: Inclusion and diversity are critical factors in attracting and retaining talent. Foster a culture that celebrates diversity and creates an inclusive environment for employees from different backgrounds. Establish diverse hiring practices, offer diversity training, and promote inclusive policies. A diverse workforce not only brings varied perspectives but also enhances creativity, innovation, and employee satisfaction.

  • Offer competitive compensation and benefits: To attract and retain top talent, ensure your compensation packages are competitive in the market. Stay updated on industry standards and adjust your salary ranges accordingly. Additionally, provide attractive benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, professional development opportunities, and employee perks. Conduct regular salary reviews and ensure your benefits package remains enticing.

  • Focus on employee growth and development: Employees value organizations that invest in their growth and provide opportunities for skill development. Implement mentorship programs, offer training workshops, and support continued education. Create personalized development plans for employees and provide regular feedback to help them grow professionally. This emphasis on growth and development will not only attract high-potential candidates but also contribute to employee retention.

  • Foster a positive company culture: A positive company culture plays a significant role in attracting and retaining talent. Cultivate a work environment that promotes open communication, teamwork, and a sense of purpose. Recognize and reward employee achievements, encourage collaboration, and foster a supportive atmosphere. A strong and positive company culture will not only attract top talent but also ensure that employees are motivated and engaged in their roles.

Remember, these tips should be adapted to your specific industry, organizational culture, and the needs of your employees. Stay abreast of current trends and continuously seek feedback from your workforce to refine your recruitment and retention strategies in line with the evolving landscape.

5 Tips For Job Seekers In 2023

In recent years, employees have had more leverage and choice in where they work than they have historically. Amid the changing landscape, competition for top jobs remains fierce but there are ways to stand out from the pack. Here are five tips for job seekers in 2023.

  1. Embrace Remote and Hybrid Work: In response to the global pandemic, remote and hybrid work arrangements have become more prevalent. Be open to these options and showcase your ability to work effectively in a remote or flexible environment. Highlight your communication and collaboration skills in virtual settings, as well as your ability to adapt to new technologies and tools.
  2. Develop In-Demand Skills: Stay updated on the latest trends and technologies in your field and invest time in developing in-demand skills. Consider taking online courses, attending webinars, reading books, or participating in workshops to enhance your expertise. This proactive approach will make you more attractive to potential employers who are seeking candidates with relevant and up-to-date skill sets.
  3. Network Strategically: Networking remains a crucial aspect of job searching. Leverage both online and offline platforms to connect with professionals in your industry. Engage with relevant communities, join industry-specific groups on social media, and attend virtual conferences or meetups. Establishing meaningful connections can lead to valuable job opportunities or referrals.
  4. Customize Your Application Materials: Avoid sending out generic resumes and cover letters. Tailor your application materials to each specific job you apply for. Research the company and the position, and highlight the skills and experiences that align with their requirements. This personalized approach demonstrates your genuine interest and attention to detail, increasing your chances of standing out among other candidates.
  5. Leverage Online Job Search Tools: Take advantage of the numerous online platforms and job search tools available. Explore professional networking sites like LinkedIn and job search websites to find relevant openings. Set up job alerts and create a comprehensive profile that showcases your skills and experiences. Additionally, consider using AI-powered job search platforms that match your profile with suitable job opportunities.

Remember, persistence and a positive attitude are key throughout the job search process. Keep refining your skills, adapting to the changing job market, and seeking opportunities to grow both personally and professionally. Good luck!

Conclusion

While the economy remains steady the state of the labor market varies greatly depending on the state and region in which you reside. Pandemic trends such as the Great Resignation are in the rearview mirror, and while things are looking up for both employers and employees, the state of the labor market remains a complex issue. It is critical that job seekers and business owners understand the rapidly changing landscape in order to achieve success. 

Methodology

We used the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for seven metrics to determine the states with the strongest job markets. We used a Z-score distribution to scale each metric relative to the mean across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., and capped outliers at 3. We multiplied some Z-scores by -1, given a higher score was negatively associated with being above the national average, including layoffs and underemployment. A state’s overall ranking was calculated using its average Z-score across the seven metrics. Here’s a closer look at the metrics we used:

 

 

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How to Find A Salesperson

In today’s competitive market, finding the right salesperson is crucial. As turnover rates among sales professionals hover around 20%, businesses must focus on effective recruitment and retention strategies. Let’s face it: businesses hate losing money. So when companies start shelling out $115,000 for every salesperson lost and replaced, C-Suite executives double down and focus their efforts on employee retention. 

This status quo creates one big problem: businesses are constantly losing sales talent, unable to build a steady sales team and always in search of new, quality salespeople to replace the outgoing ones. Additionally, new businesses struggle to find available and committed salespeople due to their high mobility.

This blog post covers our strategy to find a salesperson — how to begin, where to look and what to do to keep them after you find them. 

1. Create the Ideal Candidate Profile

Crafting the ideal candidate profile starts with the customer. Since your customers directly interface with the sales team, they should have a say on who gets hired. Using a feedback form (or any equivalent), nudge your customers to tell you the traits they value most in a salesperson. 

From there, you can take over. Ask yourself and other stakeholders questions like:

  • What qualifications do we want in a candidate?
  • Will experience rank over qualifications?
  • Entry-level or experience?
  • Do we need someone to aggressively pursue new leads or gently nurture our existing ones?
  • Is geography a factor?

In other words, create your profile based on the sales task. You’ll notice we didn’t mention considering parameters like — goal-oriented, active listener, problem solver etc. Those things are just a ‘bland summary of the Boy Scout handbook.’ 

Odds are every sales candidate will say they are those things even when they’re not. Instead, shift the focus to your company’s sales tasks so it’ll be easier to build a custom candidate profile.

2. Write a Thorough Job Description

Since you’re searching for a unique salesperson, creating a distinct call sign to help them identify your business as a good place to thrive is necessary. How? Job descriptions. 

You need them no matter where you find your sales candidates, not just job boards. 

Job descriptions present your first opportunity to set the right expectations — your requirements, candidate responsibilities, company culture, and compensation structure. 

Contrary to public opinion, job descriptions are best kept short and engaging. A one-pager is sufficient. 

Top sales candidates look for keywords like ‘team leader’, ‘industry-specific experience,’ and ‘build customer relationships’, so be sure to include the right keyword blend in your job listing.

Here’s a good job description template you can work with. 

Remember, if the job description isn’t good, the candidates who apply won’t be either.

3. Search in the Right Place

Good salespeople that match your specific requirements are not scarce if you know where to look — and there are several places to look. 

Let’s go through those places together:

Your Network

Some say you’re never more than six people from meeting someone famous. They are absolutely right; fortunately for us, that dynamic operates the same way with salespeople. 

Though generic, your professional and social network is indeed an ideal place to begin your search for top salespeople. Talk to your family, friends, and colleagues (past and present). 

Don’t leave out salespeople who have already pitched or are still pitching a product to you. They’re worth hiring if they can get you to buy their product while working for someone else.

Networking events (for entry-level and senior roles)

Thousands of sales conferences are held annually, meaning thousands of salespeople are together in conference halls yearly, sipping drinks and eating low-fat pretzels.

That’s good news for you. 

Look up events (sales conferences, trade shows and seminars) in your preferred area, then make an appearance. It’ll be like fishing in a small packed pond with a big net especially if they are already looking for you too.

That first bit is more suited to senior roles. If you want entry-level sales talent, redirect your search to look for college career fairs and alumni events.

Or, you can steal a page from the playbook of corporate R & D. Form a partnership with a university to set up an award or sponsor an event to get backstage access to teeming sales superstars. 

Sales recruiting firms/agencies

If you’d rather skip the time-consuming process of finding great sales candidates, a sales recruiting firm is the way to go.

Sales recruiting firms are heavily connected. They know all the best salespeople and where to find them, even those who might be engaged elsewhere.  

They’re about the best medium to find salespeople for any role in your company. Make sure to select the right recruiting firm. 

Check the track record of the firm and ask about their process. Prioritize firms with exceptional reach and customer support.

Job boards

Job boards for salespeople are everywhere, listing a thousand sales jobs to ten thousand sales reps. 

To be fair, job boards don’t always work. Many times, applications from these sites are less-than-satisfactory. However, you can still make lemonade from lemons by observing job descriptions and salary structures posted by your competitors. That insight can be instrumental.

One more thing to note on job boards: 

Your ideal salesperson could be anywhere, including a current engagement with another company. They won’t be looking at a job board and are unlikely to see you. This is often the case when searching for a salesperson to fill a senior role. Now you know what to expect.

Other social media

Twitter, Facebook, and Slack communities are also good platforms to help you find top salespeople. Use hashtags to navigate your way on them.

4. Leverage the Network of Your Current Sales Team

If you already have a sales team, speak to them. Their knowledge and experience count more than you think. 

The sales profession, though unfairly, has always been associated with false positives or, if we’re being blunt, lying. 

No one is better suited to differentiate between people of true substance and those with credentials as false as a politician’s promise.. Plus, your next hire probably shared a seat in college with someone currently on your team.

Ask for their input, and they’ll point you in the right direction.

If you don’t have an existing sales team, simply reach out to a sales recruiting expert willing to help. Sales recruiting firms and LinkedIn are good places to discover salespeople who will share valuable insights. 

5. Prioritize Promising Candidates

Top-performing sales reps can be elusive. They’re sifting through multiple job offers simultaneously, so they can be undecided, choosy, or both. 

If you feel strongly about a candidate’s potential to positively impact your business growth, reach out immediately.

6. Go Through Resumes With Intent

Online job openings are reported to attract 250+ resumes, so we’ll run through a few helpful tips to help you review them better and faster:

  • Look for resumes (and cover letters) with a personal touch. This is especially important in the post-generative AI era.
  • Be open-minded about sales background and experience. Although experience in selling software is not the same as selling hospital machines, it doesn’t necessarily mean a candidate won’t succeed if given a chance. 
  • Check for tangible results. Don’t be swayed by resumes that claim to have had ‘huge success’ without proof. Pay more attention to a resume that says ‘exceeded my sales target by 15% developing X strategy.’

250+ resumes won’t survive this process — and that’s a good thing. This process is admittedly tedious but the results are worth it.

7. Make the Most of a Screening Call

During this phase, your job is to become familiar with the potential sales candidates. Ideally, you’d want to know more about their qualifications, basic expectations, and whether or not they fit the company culture.

A short phone call or video of 15-30 minutes feels appropriate for a screening call. You might ask questions like: 

  • Tell me briefly about your sales experience
  • What are your short-term career goals?
  • What are your salary expectations?
  • What’s your favourite sales strategy?

If you have any concerns after reviewing the resume, now’s the best time to review them.

One more thing, a screening should be informal. That might be the best way to establish a genuine connection since everyone’s on edge during formal interviews.

8. Ask the Right Questions in the Final Interview

Interviews are really about questions. Ask the right questions, and you’ll find the right salesperson.

We can’t tell you what the right interview questions are for your company (unless we know more), but you can’t go wrong with asking questions that help you understand a candidate’s approach to tackling sales tasks. 

Once the interview is complete, ask your hiring team these questions:

  • Does the candidate have the ability to be vulnerable and honest about shortcomings?
  • Do they set learning intentions for themselves and strive to become more successful?
  • Do they have a good approach to customer service?
  • Do they have experience upselling customers?
  • Can they thrive in a competitive environment?

9. Keep Communication Open

The interview may be complete, but there’s still work to do. It’s no good going through all that stress only to lose a top candidate to a competitor. 

Keep conversing with the promising candidates if you’re still deciding or sorting through administrative red tape. Tell them they’re on your mind and will be contacted once a final decision is made.

10. Negotiate. Hire. Onboard. 

Top salespeople will negotiate their pay. Negotiating is practically habitual to them, and you might even be bothered if they don’t try to get you to pay more.

Make a hiring decision based on sound logic and good judgment.

Finally, patiently review short-term and long-term company goals, office policies, and other important information with the new hire(s). 

Recap

To find successful salespeople, do these things:

  • Mold your target candidate profile
  • Write detailed job descriptions
  • Search your network
  • Attend networking events (senior roles) and college career fairs (young talent)  
  • Leverage LinkedIn and other social media platforms
  • Don’t rely heavily on job boards
  • Hire a sales recruiting firm
  • Ask your sales team for advice
  • Search for non-generic salesperson roles
  • Review resumes
  • Screen candidates
  • Conduct immersive interviews
  • Follow-up on promising candidates
  • Negotiate pay. Hire and onboard.

Leave the Search to Peak

Finding the right salesperson can be a daunting task. It requires tact, expertise, and a bucket load of research. But that doesn’t have to be your burden.

At Peak Sales Recruiting, we know the best sales talent and are constantly discovering more. We can help you find and recruit your next sales superstar without hiccups.

Contact us today to get started. We’ll take care of the rest.

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What You’re Missing When You Hire Based on Resumes Alone

Candidate resumes can be a great starting point for hiring, but they rarely tell the most important parts of a professional’s story. In sales, a candidate’s sales DNA almost always beats the resume. We encourage you to look beyond it.

What is Sales DNA?

Sales DNA is all about how someone approaches their role and performs their job. Sales DNA includes the traits that someone naturally embodies and qualities they have learned to develop over time. 

Should We Throw Out The Resume Entirely?

In short, no. If you enter your hiring process with a clear hiring strategy, you will likely start by screening resumes for specific skills or experience. Let’s say you’re hiring a VP of sales. You certainly don’t want to interview or hire someone with only marketing experience. 

Why Isn’t a Resume Enough?

When you overemphasize the qualifications someone displays on their resume, you considerably narrow the pool of talent you can draw from. This puts you at a disadvantage and eliminates potentially optimal candidates. 

What Should You Look for Beyond the Resume?

The top traits of high-performers include ambition, competitiveness, confidence, and resilience. These traits are intangible but are strong indicators of tangible success. Sales representatives with these traits are able to capitalize on opportunities that average salespeople miss.

Let us help you spot the Sales DNA in your job candidates. Contact us today to get started with our recruitment specialists!

 

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Austin’s Sales Hiring Landscape

Austin TX Sales Hiring Landscape In 2022

Austin is a growing city that offers an attractive lifestyle and opportunities for salespeople and businesses looking for growth. SpaceX and Oracle relocated their corporate headquarters to the city in recent years. These moves enhance Austin’s appeal to salespeople and growing companies. Let’s take a closer look at typical Austin sales salaries next.

Sales Salaries In Austin, TX

The following list shows the range of salaries available for salespeople at all levels in Austin, TX. These salaries come from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics as of May 2021. Round them up higher to reflect the impact of inflation.

  • Advertising Sales Agents: $60,270
  • Insurance Sales Agents: $65,160
  • Parts Salespersons: $39,100
  • First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers: $84,450
  • Real Estate Brokers: 
  • Real Estate Sales Agents: $64,240
  • Sales Engineers:  $124,340
  • Sales Managers: $145,420
  • Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel: $63,010
  • Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products: $95,220
  • Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents: $79,990

Many of these positions put a person above the city’s per capita income of $47,161, and some even put a person above the region’s median household income of $86,530. There’s never been a better time to build a sales career in the capital of Texas.

Major Employers In Austin

As one of Texas’s best-known cities, Austin has boomed. As a result, the city is home to a growing list of primary corporate and regional headquarters. Some major companies with a significant presence in Austin include the following.

Technology Companies:

  • AMD
  • Apple
  • BigCommerce
  • Dell
  • Facebook
  • IBM
  • National Instruments
  • NXP Semiconductors
  • Oracle

Finance

  • Charles Schwab
  • Dimensional Fund Advisors
  • Texas Mutual Insurance
  • Visa

Retail

  • eBay
  • Home Depot
  • Yeti

The appeal of Austin isn’t limited to large established companies either. Many other employers are scaling up their presence in the city.

Companies Are Adding Hundreds of New Jobs In Austin

From 2020 to 2022, Austin has continued attracting many companies and employers. According to the Austin Chamber of Commerce, the following companies have added over 100 jobs in the Austin area in 2022.

  • BAE Systems: 100 jobs
  • Cognizant: 300 jobs
  • GoStudent: 130 jobs
  • Kroger: 161 jobs
  • Roku: 100 jobs
  • TCS Mechanical: 444 jobs
  • Wise: 225 jobs

Over $5 Billion Invested in Austin Startups

In addition to these well-established companies, Austin is also becoming a thriving destination for entrepreneurs and startups. TechCrunch said investors supplied over $5 billion in funding to the city’s startup companies in 2021. That is a major increased compared to 2016, when investors supplied $940 million in funding to the city’s startup businesses.

Several of the city’s startups have achieved a $1 billion valuation, like Iodine Software, Workrise, and ZenBusiness. In addition, a growing number of Texas-focused investment firms are focused on growing companies in the city. If these trends continue, the Austin area is bound to continue to grow.

High Demand For Salespeople In Austin 

Employer demand for sales talent remains strong in Austin, TX. As of the fall of 2022, there are approximately 25,000 open sales positions in the Austin area on LinkedIn. Approximately 13,000 of these sales positions are remote, suggesting a significant openness to flexible working in the Austin area.

Employers seeking sales talent in Austin include larger businesses (e.g., Adobe, US Bank, Salesforce) and many smaller businesses. The city is powerful as a technology hub, but that is just one aspect of the city’s appeal.

What Does Austin Offer For Salespeople and Companies?

In addition to the opportunity to earn a great income, Austin has a great deal to offer professionals and their families. Let’s look at the city’s culture, health, and education.

Austin’s Culture 

With its unofficial motto, Keep Austin Weird, the city has something to offer almost everybody. History buffs will enjoy visiting the LBJ Presidential Museum and Library dedicated to the life and career of Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th US President. Austin is also important to the George Washington Carver Museum and the Mexican American Cultural Center. 

The city’s culture goes beyond the heritage. Those interested in cutting-edge culture and technology will look forward to the city’s annual SXSW Festival. 

Austin is also well known for its live music scene. Major Austin music festivals include Austin City Limits Music Festival, the Austin Celtic Festival, and the Urban Music Festival. The city is also well known for homegrown musical talents like Janis Joplin, Spoon, and Willie Nelson.

Austin’s Health and Education

As the state capital, it should be no surprise that Austin has excellent health and education institutions. In addition to making the city highly livable, these institutions also represent opportunities for the right salesperson. 

K-12 Education In Austin, Texas

Austin is rightly proud of the quality of its schools. The area has many exceptional high schools like the Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA), Chaparral Star Academy, and the Richards School for Young Women Leaders. In addition, the city also has well-regarded public elementary schools like Allison Elementary and Andrews Elementary, which have an 11:1 student-to-teacher ratio. 

Families seeking private education have plenty of choices in Austin as well. The Texas state capital is home to the Magellan International School, which offers the International Baccalaureate program and Spanish immersion. Located just outside of Austin, the Austin Waldorf School offers kindergarten to grade twelve education and the opportunity to learn multiple foreign languages. Further, the Griffin School in Austin is an excellent choice for students seeking small class sizes as they prepare for college.

Higher Education

Students in Austin have access to multiple four-year institutions and two-year colleges. The city’s best-known college is the University of Texas at Austin, which offers undergraduate and graduate degrees. In addition, students have the opportunity to attend Austin Community Colege, Central Texas College, and Texas State University. 

Health

Austin has excellent healthcare facilities offering a wide range of care. The region is home to approximately fifty hospitals, including specialized facilities like the Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas. Austin’s healthcare providers include for-profit and non-profit organizations, giving patients and healthcare professionals many choices. The future is bright for Austin health care, thanks to the recently opened Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin. The Dell Medical School enrolled its inaugural class in 2016.

Austin’s Future Prospects

For employers and salespeople, Austin’s future growth prospects are up-and-coming. A recent estimate found that Austin’s population may surpass San Antonio by 2040. If that estimate comes true, the Autin metropolitan area will have a population of 3.3 million in less than twenty years. This growth would make Austin similar to California’s San Diego area. 

Multiple factors drive Austin’s growth potential. The city is a growing magnet for venture capital investment. In addition, major companies like Oracle and SpaceX are growing their presence in the city. It’s not just dollars and cents that make Austin attractive, either. The city’s crime rate is significantly below the US average. As of 2019, Austin’s violent crime rate was 75% of the US average. Further, the city has an average annual temperature of 69.3 Fahrenheit and less than one inch of snowfall per year. 

Do You Want To Start or Grow Your Austin Sales Team?

Hiring sales talent in Austin is easier when you have the proper support. Learn more about Peak’s Austin office and contact us today.

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Boston’s Sales Hiring Landscape

Boston Sales Recruiters

Are you looking for sales talent in Boston and the New England region? Peak has expertise in recruiting sales professionals in B2B, technology, and industrial companies. The first step to effectively recruiting sales representatives in Boston is understanding expectations.

Sales Salaries In Boston, MA: Market Expectations

Competing effectively for sales talent in Boston starts with understanding the market’s expectations. The following data comes from a May 2021 survey conducted by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics for the Boston region. Remember that heightened inflation in 2020-2022 has impacted the market in interpreting this salary information. 

  • Advertising Sales Agents: $73,920
  • Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products: $122,430
  • Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel: $84,400
  • Sales Engineers: $114,450
  • Retail Salespersons: $36,240
  • Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products: $88,210

Boston has an average household income of $76,298, so the sales profession offers excellent opportunities to thrive. 

Boston Sales Recruiting Success Stories

Peak has successfully helped multiple Boston companies grow faster with sales recruitment. 

Ritchie Bros

Founded in 1958, Richie Bros helps businesses buy and sell heavy equipment, trucks, and other industrial goods. Tim Keane, sales director at Richie Bros, says, “Peak’s process found us great candidates that fit our requirements. We made a great hire who’s continuing to perform.

Uponor

In business for over one hundred years, Uponor offers plumbing and related products for homes and commercial buildings.  “Peak doesn’t waste your time. They quickly send you fully vetted candidates who meet your requirements,” says Jennifer Gies, human resources manager at Uponor.

Avast

Avast is best known for its antivirus software and offers some of the world’s most popular security software. Tina Moon, human resources at Avast, says, “we chose Peak because they proved they understood the external marketing and had an established network.”

The Largest Boston Employers

Peak’s expertise in the Boston job market extends to understanding the region’s major employers. Many of the best professionals, including sales pros, are already working at these large companies. The Boston job market is, therefore, significantly influenced by the decisions of these large organizations.

Over forty companies employ more than one thousand people in the Boston area. These significant employers account for over one in five (i.e., 21%) of the city’s jobs.

  • Massachusetts General Hospital (health care): 11,415 employees
  • Fidelity Investments (finance): 8,000 employees
  • BankBoston (finance): 5,429 employees
  • Liberty Mutual (insurance): 4,657 employees 
  • Gilette Company (personal care products): 3,404 employees
  • Boston Globe (newspaper and media company): 2,250 employees
  • American Airlines (Airline): 1,600 employees

In addition to large companies, Boston is home to more than 1,000 startup companies. In 2021, Boston-based life sciences company Ginkgo Bioworks went public. Toast, a startup software company focused on the software industry, went public in 2021 and raised hundreds of millions of dollars in funding. These success stories show what ambitious companies can achieve in Boston.

The region also has a pipeline of growing startup companies thanks to support from investors and major companies. The region’s long-established startup accelerators include the Boston Founder Institute, Greentown Labs, and Harvard Innovation Labs. In 2022, Intel announced that it expanded its early-stage acceleration program for startup companies to Boston. 

Companies Investing In The Boston Region

Boston’s growing economy makes it an attractive place to build your sales team. The following companies have recently invested substantially in the region.

  • Amazon. The e-commerce firm announced opening an office with 3,000 employees in Boston in 2021.
  • Boston Sword and Tuna. The seafood company opened a new 50,000-foot facility in the region in 2020.
  • Prodrive Technologies. Based in the Netherlands, the technology business opened a new facility in the Boston region focused on manufacturing and R&D in 2020.
  • Law Firms Expanding In Boston. Multiple law firms, including Akin Gump, Allen & Overy, Barnes & Thornburg, and Fox Rothschild have recently expanded their presence in Boston. 

These expansion efforts mean more business opportunities for Boston sales professionals. Work with Peak today to find the right sales talent for your growth goals.

State of The Sales Profession In Boston

Demand for sales professionals in the Boston region remains high. More than five thousand full-time sales job positions are available in Boston. Roughly 10% of these positions are remote. More employers are offering hybrid positions. Industries currently hiring for sales positions in Boston include financial services, technology, pharmaceuticals, home goods, and many other industries.

Boston’s Growth Prospects

As one of the largest cities in New England, Boston is projected to grow substantially in the 2020s. By 2030, the city’s population is expected to grow to 710,000, a substantial increase from the current population of 654,000. In particular, East Boston, Dorchester, the Seaport, and the Southend are expected to grow the most. That’s not all; the Boston region is expected to add 50,000 new jobs by 2030. This growth means more opportunities for salespeople and growing companies throughout Massachusetts.

Experiencing The Boston Lifestyle

Boston is an attractive place to live because of its history, connection to New England, and outstanding health and education. Founded in 1630, Boston is one of the oldest cities in the US. The city’s famous Freedom Trial offers a unique way to experience America’s early history and museums. While proud of its past, Boston is also noted for its innovation, especially in health science.

Higher education is one of Boston’s greatest strengths. Nearby, Cambridge is home to two world-class universities: the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. In addition, the city itself is home to more than a dozen universities and colleges, including Boston University, Northeastern University, University of Massachusetts Boston, and the New England Conservatory. As a place to grow and learn, it’s tough to beat Boston.

Want To Recruit Boston Sales Talent?

Hiring sales talent in Boston is easier when you have the proper support. Learn more about Peak’s Boston office and contact us today. Peak has expertise in recruiting industrial, B2B, and technology sales talent at all experience levels. 




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How To Keep More Of Your Sales Top Performers With A Sales Career Path

We must keep our best-performing sales professionals growing and engaged in your sales organization. Successful salespeople contribute practical value to their employers. They also know that they could work for other companies. They are at heightened risk of leaving. You may never know if your salespeople have reached their full potential.

Keeping your star salespeople engaged and growing takes multiple strategies and creative leadership. In particular, crafting a sales career path for your department is vital. Use these steps to build a career progression adapted to your department and staff’s specific needs. 

Step 1: Evaluate Your Sales Team

Your sales career progression opportunities must be grounded in your department’s realities. Start by looking at the patterns in your sales team using the following reflection questions.

  • What is the turnover pattern in the sales team? Where are my salespeople going (i.e., to other positions in the company or leaving the company entirely)? Are turnover rates increasing over time?
  • What roadblocks and obstacles do your salespeople regularly mention?
  • Does your sales team have any potential up-and-coming leaders?
  • How is your sales team balanced between new vs. experienced salespeople?
  • What are the different sales positions your team has (i.e., are there specialists by market, different levels of sales representatives?)

In addition to the questions above, take a few minutes to review the annual goals documents your salespeople have completed. In particular, look for indicators that your people are seeking growth opportunities (e.g., increased interest in leadership opportunities, explicit interest in promotion). Further, look for people excelling in specific sales areas like retaining customers, prospecting, or working with specific types of customers.

Step 2: Identify The Top Talent To Retain With Growth Opportunities

The next step is to make a list of your best performers. Start by looking at sales performance measures like sales productivity and quota attainment. Next, look for leadership potential, such as evidence of your people supporting new highers or supporting corporate initiatives. 

Keep this list in mind as you transform your sales team with a new career path. Organizational change can frustrate people and trigger anxiety. Take extra time and attention to ensure that your top performers feel appreciated and valued as the sales department changes.

Step 3: Build Out Your Sales Career Path With New Sales Positions 

Now, it’s time to get creative to build new sales positions. Don’t worry – there’s no need to create and fill these positions immediately. We recommend taking a gradual approach to add these positions over months or several quarters. There are a few factors to remember when adding new sales positions: breadth, depth, and leadership.

Breadth of Sales Positions

Breadth in sales means looking at the sales process and customer journey. Many sales processes start with prospecting. The next step is meeting with the prospect and developing a proposal or quote. The final step is customer success or service fulfillment.

Depth of Sales Positions

Depth in sales positions means taking a single position (e.g., account executive) and breaking it into incremental positions. For example, an entry-level account executive position might focus on the small and medium-sized business segment, while the senior account executive position focuses on larger opportunities.

Leadership

The third dimension to consider in building out your sales career path is to look at adding leadership opportunities. For example, what is next on the career leader for a successful account executive with 5-10 years of experience? They might be interested in a promotion to a sales manager role. 

Step 4: Enhance Sales Compensation And Flexibility

Adding new job titles needs to come with meaningful increases in responsibility, compensation, and impact. Likewise, offering flexibility, like the option to work remotely, is critical to retain talent. Use these self-assessment questions to validate the competitiveness of your compensation and flexibility.

  • When was the last time our sales compensation was reviewed and compared to industry benchmarks?

If it has been more than 12 months since you last reviewed sales compensation in detail, it is time to perform another review. Unusually high inflation means reviewing compensation more often is essential.

  • What can we do to improve variable and bonus compensation?

Look for ways to add more rewards to your best salespeople, including more significant bonuses and equity. If increasing the dollar value of compensation is off the table, there’s another option. Look for ways to simplify the compensation formula and create a user-friendly compensation calculator for your staff. When it’s easy for salespeople to see how much they can earn to the dollar, working to close one more deal gets more appealing.

  • Do we have the right technology to support today’s remote and hybrid work expectations?

Your salespeople should never need to struggle to make calls or look good on video calls. Ask your sales employees if they have everything they need, like quality headsets, cameras, and related tools.

Step 5: Launch Your Sales Career Path With Promotions 

Up to this stage, the sales leader has spent most of their time building out the sales career path. In this step, it is time to bring it to life. We recommend starting by promoting your top performers for two reasons. First, offering promotions to your best performers is an excellent way to retain them. Second, launching your new sales career path with promotions signals that your transformation initiative will bring new opportunities.

Step 6: Complete The Sales Team Build Out With Expert Support

After promoting a few key staff to new positions, you’ll see an urgent need to keep building out your sales organization. You may need to hire more junior staff, like sales development representatives. Or you may need experienced staff or even sales leaders to guide the department’s growth further. 

Contact Peak Sales Executive Search to support the build-out of your sales organization.

Selling to Government 101

Government departments and entities represent one of the most significant sales opportunities. In fiscal 2021, the US federal government spent about $637 billion on contracts. It’s not all going to defense either – $250 billion in contract spending came from civilian agencies. When you add in state and local government procurement spending, it’s no surprise that some businesses have dedicated government or public sector sales teams.

Step 1: Assess whether government sales fit with your sales strategy first.

If your company’s sales force is accustomed to working with small businesses, enterprises, or consumers, adjusting to government customers is a significant change. Before you invest the time and effort required to succeed in government sales, assess if this opportunity is relevant to your department with the following self-assessment questions.

  • Is your company based in the United States?

While not a formal requirement in every case, US-based companies often have an advantage in selling to the US government. There is a similar “home team” advantage for other levels of government (e.g., it’s probably easier to sell to the California government if your company has a presence in the Golden State).

  • Are you comfortable with increasing your sales cycle time in the short term?

The government procurement process is known for its relatively slow speed. It’s not uncommon for purchases to take months. In addition, there is often significant upfront work effort required to search, analyze and respond to RFPs (i.e., requests for proposals).

  • Does your company have the administrative capacity for government customers?

The number of forms, reports and other administrators involved in serving public sector buyers is considerable. Think carefully about how you will handle this burden. If this workload falls on the sales team, their productivity will fall.

At this point, it should be clear that selling to government buyers is no good quick fit for a revenue shortfall. However, a patient sales force has the potential to earn significant returns. If you’re committed to further exploring the government sales opportunity, let’s continue.

Step 2: Understand the different types of government buyers

While government buyers have some similarities in mindset and process, there are significant nuances. Let’s consider a few ways to look at potential government buyers. 

Level of government

  • The national government represents the largest sales opportunity. The federal government may be the most complex opportunity. A significant portion of federal spending on contractors goes to defense spending. 
  • State. The following US state governments have an annual budget over $100 billion: California, New York, Ohio, Virginia, Texas, Washington, Oregon, and Florida. Whether you’re concerned with infrastructure projects, education, or healthcare, the states represent a significant opportunity.
  • Local. There are tens of thousands of local government entities in the US including large cities and counties. These governments need technology, employees, training, and many other services. 

Specialized government agencies

It’s also helpful to consider if a particular government entity has specialized rules, regulations, or goals that may impact its buying process.

  • Defense. The Defense department is the largest buyer of goods and services. Despite the challenges associated with defense sales, Amazon and Google have faced struggles from their employees related to their defense work. 
  • Regulatory Agencies. The US has over 80 active nuclear power plants, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulates these. Such organizations may have technical concerns regarding risk management and safety. 
  • Travel and Logistics. Whether you look at airports or ports, these heavily used facilities all need support from vendors.

Step 3: Research the sales process.

There are formal and informal strategies to prepare your sales team for the sales process. Use both of these methods to give your sales team the best advantage. 

Formal research.

Government websites offer a wealth of information to educate vendors on business opportunities and the selling process. As a starting point, visit SAM.gov. This federal website is an excellent resource – you can also sign up to receive updates.

Informal research.

Simply meeting the formal requirements is not enough to succeed. Informal research is your opportunity to use your networking skills to find out more. Set a goal to speak with 5-10 companies that are currently successfully selling to government agencies. 

Your sales team’s effort in researching how government buyers work will pay off in the next step.

Step 4: Complete the proposal 

In this step, your sales team will prepare a detailed response to the government’s requirements. Attention to detail is critically important because government procurement documents are highly detailed. When you first start government sales, it may take multiple proposals and presentations to make progress.

The insights you discover through networking will also help you to identify which opportunities are worth your time.

Step 5: Manage and grow the account

In government sales, there is considerable upfront investment in time and effort to win a contract. Once you have the account, it’s vital to look for ways to grow the account over time. Fortunately, you can use the same growth strategies that you would use for most more prominent organizations.

Here are some ways to grow a government account over time.

  • Software companies commonly use this sales strategy. You start by selling licenses to a single department. Once that department succeeds, look for ways to expand.
  • Monitor Political Priorities. Long-term success in government sales requires paying attention to politics. For example, recent legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 focuses on climate change, among other points. Acting quickly to take advantage of new programs like this is essential.
  • Become a thought leader in government. Over the long term, seek out ways to get in front of more government buyers at events. For example, look at the Illinois Digital Government Summit speakers (i.e., leaders from Amazon, Google, and government agencies). Developing speaker presentation ideas and pitching your company to event organizers is one of the best ways to leverage your current government accounts and win more business.

How To Put Your Government Sales Program On The Fast Track

Developing competence in government sales takes time. One way to achieve results faster is to bring in sales talent with a successful track record in government sales. Contact Peak Sales Recruiting today to discuss your sales growth goals. Peak’s success in helping businesses focused on the government sector includes helping GovSpend recruit four successful Account Executives.

Please visit our Blog section for further information.

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How To Manage Rapid Sales Team Expansion

Rapidly expanding a sales team is an exciting time to grow. The expansion opens new markets, allows the sales team to specialize further, and means faster top-line growth. These advantages are only possible if the risks of rapid expansion are well managed. Sales leaders can help to drive growth higher with the following support strategies.

What Got You Here Wouldn’t Get You There

The sales team management processes that worked when you only hired a handful of people simply will not work well at scale. When a sales team grows slowly, the impact of inefficient processes is harder to see. When you recruit 5, 10, or more people to the sales team in a month or quarter, it’s no longer good enough to rely on informal apprenticeship and leadership. 

To prepare your sales organization for rapid growth, use these support strategies. 

Support Strategy 1: Assess your onboarding processes

Imagine a promising salesperson asking you about their first 30 days at the company. What answer will you provide? Relying on each individual’s drive to “figure things out” is unlikely to yield predictable results. The first step to improving your onboarding process is to examine what you currently have in place and identify ways to improve it.

1) Outline your current sale onboarding process

As a sales manager or executive, take five minutes to outline your understanding of what new salespeople get at the organization. To aid the process, consider the following self-assessment questions:

  • What sales training was provided?
  • How was the salesperson introduced to other key departments in the organization (e.g., customer service, finance, and training)?
  • What goals did the organization layout for the new person to achieve in their first 30-90 days?
  • What technology was given to the new person?
  • How was the new salesperson integrated into their new sales team?

Once you have your initial answers to these questions, validate your findings by speaking with the last three salespeople you hired. Take their answers with a grain of salt if they were hired over 12 months ago because they may have forgotten what it’s like to be new at your company.

2) Improve the first 30 days of the onboarding process with a checklist

Based on what you’ve discovered in the previous step, look for quick wins to implement in teh first 30 days. In many B2B sales organizations, it can take weeks or months to close complex deals. Therefore, your newly hired salespeople may have more capacity for onboarding in their first month.

In the first 30 days, look for ways to engage the newly hired salesperson with connections, training and your company culture. To avoid overwhelming new hires with a firehouse of information, use a limited checklist with 10 items or less. By focusing hires on the top 10 most valuable tasks, it is easier to stay focused on the top priorities.

Some potential items to include on your new hire checklist include:

  • Customer stories. Salespeople need to understand how your customers think. Equip them with case studies, testimonials, surveys and other direct feedback from your customers.
  • Sales technology setup. Make sure your salespeople have access to the critical tools they need like a phone, laptop, customer relationship management (CRM) and sales data (e.g. LinkedIn Sales Navigator).
  • Product knowledge. Salespeople also need to know your products work. If you have a large catalog of products, focus on your best selling products. For example, does the company have a library of recorded webinars or videos? If so, these resources may be helpful in supporting new salespeople. 
  • Sales Numbers. Give your new hire some guidance on what is typically involved in closing a deal. For example, let them the average sales cycle time (e.g. six weeks) so they can plan their activity accordingly.

3) Stay humble and get new hire feedback

Rapid growth tends to put pressure on systems, people, and processes. Sales onboarding is no different. Avoid assuming your sales onboarding process is flawless – everybody has blindspots. Invite new hires to give suggestions on ways to make onboarding more effective.

Support Strategy 2: Balance sales team growth across the experience spectrum

The second way to sustain rapid sales team growth is to assess growth in terms of work experience. A combination of junior sales professionals (e.g. sales development representatives) and more senior salespeople (e.g. account executives) is often desirable. 

Adding too many junior salespeople may be cost-effective. However, junior salespeople may require significantly more support to achieve their goals. The opposite is also true – a sales team that overly emphasizes highly experienced salespeople has its own challenges. Highly experienced salespeople can be more difficult to retain since they are in high demand.

There is no ideal ratio between junior salespeople and senior salespeople. Instead, it is a question of finding a balance that suits your sales goals.

Support Strategy 3: Reassessing your technology and process support

The process and technology that works with a sales team of a few people may not work when you add 10, 50 or 100 more salespeople rapidly joining the organization. To assess the quality of your sales processes and technology, use the following self-assessment questions.

  • What administrative tasks cause the most complaints?

For example, do your salespeople complain about how it takes to get quotes or proposals approved and sent? Taking too long to issue these documents may cause lost deals. Creating templates may help to speed up the process. Likewise, review the interaction of the sales team with other company departments. For example, if salespeople are spending significant time following up on service problems, this may suggest you need a better customer support model.

  • What activities keep salespeople away from interacting with customers?

When salespeople have to spend extended amounts of time finding sales data (e.g. prospect contact information), that research effort is acting as a break on productivity. Consider investigating a sales database like Zoominfo or Uplead to speed up the sales process. Alternatively, you may want to hire a sales researcher or sales development representative to support your more senior salespeople.

  • What technology does the sales team ask for?

Salespeople, especially recently joined the company, have probably seen various sales technologies that you may not have in place. They may know faster ways to make sales calls, book meetings, and more. Make it a priority to periodically ask your sales team about processes or technology that could make them more effective. Testing a few new sales technologies that improve efficiency can significantly lift sales productivity.

As a sales team scales up, inefficiencies add up. For example, insisting on paper signatures rather than e-signatures may no longer make sense today. Eliminating paper processes alone may cut days from your sales cycle.

You’re Not Alone In Growing Your Sales Team

Expanding a sales team takes a lot of time if you do it alone. Fortunately, Peak Sales Recruiting is here to help. By helping you outsource some or all of your recruiting process, we can help you add in more salespeople rapidly.

How to Sell Price Increases To Overcome Inflation

High inflation rates have been a reality for over a year. Whether you look at food, fuel, or other costs, the price of everything is going up. Central banks are doing what they can to combat the problem. In the meantime, salespeople have a unique capability to combat inflation: selling price increases.

Why Price Increases Are Powerful

Let’s imagine two companies selling similar products, like home air conditioning units. At first, they both make a gross profit of $250 per unit. When high inflation hit in 2021-22, suddenly, those profit margins shrank to $200. Higher prices for other supplies cause the shrinkage the companies have to pay for, like office goods, computers, and vehicles. One company implemented higher prices and raised its profit margin per unit sold to $275. The other company decides to do nothing hoping inflation will go away.

At the end of the year, the company that raised its prices enjoyed several benefits. First of all, they have a far better profit for the year. That means they can spend more on bonuses and improve customer service standards. If their competitor takes no action for another year, the competitive advantage will continue growing.

Why Don’t Salespeople Focus on Price Increases?

The business value of successfully raising your prices is powerful. Despite those benefits, very few salespeople are eager to pursue price increases. There are a few reasons for that. Sales incentives typically favor winning new accounts, so time spent attempting to get a price increase may feel wasted. Further, salespeople may not see the value or rationale for a price increase. When a salesperson is not sold on the purpose of price increases, they are unlikely to act.

Finally, proposing a price increase usually feels uncomfortable. This discomfort is partially irrational. Yet it is also partially grounded in risk. If you raise your prices, you might anger customers who may seek out other options. Left untreated, the unwillingness to administer moderate price increases erodes profitability over time and makes it tough to remain competitive.

Selling Price Increases Step By Step

The path to successfully selling price increases as a salesperson is fraught with dangers. Use this guidance to minimize the risks.

Step 1: Get Clarity On Pricing Decisions

Pricing decisions work a bit differently in every organization. Some salespeople, for example, have the discretion to offer discounts to retain customers or close a sale. Increasing prices may be a different matter altogether. Ask management about increasing prices significantly if your company has not updated prices in over a year.

Once you find the pricing decision maker internally at the company, ask them about pricing plans. Selling a price increase tends to be most successful when the salesperson has substantial preparation time. Proactively engaging with management early is essential. In all likelihood, you may discover that managers were already thinking about pricing changes.

Step 2: Review Your Pricing For Increase Opportunities

Assuming you have multiple products and services to sell, it is wise to customize your price increase decisions. For instance, increasing prices on a product that sells at a low volume will not help the bottom line much. In addition, consider whether contract-based pricing may constrain how and when your prices are changed.

Your mission in this step is to find two to three opportunities for price increases. Start with your products and services and then identify specific customers second.

Step 3: Get The Price Increase Quick Win

Typically increasing prices is relatively challenging, but there is one exception to this rule of thumb: new customers. Unlike your current customer base, new customers have little or no knowledge of your historical pricing. Therefore, do yourself a favor and increase prices for brand new customers first.

Implementing this step will help to support your case for other price increases – stay tuned for details in the following steps.

Step 4: Create Price Increase Campaigns For Current Customers

The following approach suits companies selling high-value products to businesses or institutional customers. In this setting, a salesperson may have a book of accounts that she regularly works with. These longer-term relationships give you the understanding you need to present a price increase.

To build your price increase campaign, use the following steps:

  • Identify Wins

Start by finding wins for each customer you serve. This could be something like consistently delivering your service by the deadline. Or you might have taken extraordinary steps to meet a customer’s special requests. In each case, list the wins you’ve delivered for the customer.

  • Find and Fix Problems

Poor customer service is one of the fastest ways to fail in a price increase conversation. If a customer has pending issues or unresolved complaints, price increases may fall on deaf ears. Search your email archives, check your customer relationship management (CRM), and ask your customer service colleagues for support. Fixing problems will tip the odds of a price increase in your favor.

  • Design Your Price Increase Presentation

This step is vital if your price increases are substantial. If your prices are significantly more than inflation, creating a presentation and meeting with your customer is essential. The next part of the process explains this presentation further,

Step 5: Develop and deliver the price increase presentation

Presenting a price increase successfully requires knowledge of the account’s history and your plans. Use the following prompts to build the price increase presentation.

  • Review The Account

Set the stage by reviewing your history of performance for the customer. Leverage the wins and customer service improvements identified in previous steps here.

  • Present The Price Increase

In this stage, describe the price increase for the specific products and services that apply to the customer. In general, it is wise to give 30 days or more notice to the customer before the price increase takes effect.

  • State The Reasons For The Price Change

In this section, briefly explain the rationale for the price increase. You can reference the high level of customer service, planned improvements you will be offering (e.g., a new feature that will be released soon), and macroeconomic factors (e.g., cost of labor and supplies increasing).

The customer may want to negotiate the price increase, especially if it is significant. For larger accounts, considering a negotiated increase – like 7% instead of the 11% you planned – may be worthwhile. You may accept a minor increase but mention that prices will be reviewed again in 12 months because all of your new customers are already paying the higher price.

The Fastest Path To Price Increase Profitability

Increasing prices for current customers is possible, but many people find it challenging to do. The best way to grow your business with higher prices is to focus on new customers. Peak can help you find successful salespeople to join your organization. Just imagine you added two-star salespeople in the next 90 days, and they added a dozen accounts at your newly increased prices. That bottom line improvement could change everything for your company!

Contact Peak today to discuss your sales talent needs today – it’s one of the fastest ways to beat inflation!

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What Is RPO? Everything You Need To Know in 5 Minutes

What Is RPO? 

RPO means Recruitment process outsourcing. It is a newer way for companies to access talent quickly by developing a long-term relationship with a specialized recruiting firm. To help you understand if RPO is right for your company, keep reading to learn more. 

The best way to explain RPO is to contrast it with the conventional way of working with a recruitment service provider. For instance, a company’s Vice President of Sales leaves the organization for another opportunity at a different company. This development triggers hiring a new VP of Sales to keep the sales team focused. In this case, the company may reach out to Peak to support filling that position. Once the recruiting process is complete, the company and Peak go their separate ways.

In comparison, RPO is different in a few ways. First, recruitment process outsourcing is usually structured as an ongoing service relationship with multi-year agreements. Second, the scope of the relationship is often deeper. The recruiting provider offers more than identifying and qualifying potential job candidates (though that capability remains front and center). In the next section, we’ll cover why more companies are switching to RPO.

Why Are Companies Switching to RPO?

Unlike traditional recruiting, RPO is a long-term outsourcing relationship. There are several key benefits to adopting RPO.

Hire High-Quality Talent Faster 

In today’s job market, unemployment has reached record lows: 3.7% as of August 2022. 

Some industries are even lower: 3.2% in the information industry and 3.5% in business and professional services. This very low level of unemployment means employers are pursuing new methods to access talent.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reports that some companies are reducing their background check processes in 2022 to access more talent.

In these conditions, the best job candidates have multiple options. A disorganized or long-drawn-out hiring process can cost you the best talent. With recruitment process outsourcing in place, you will have the edge over your competitors in hiring great talent.

Reduce Time Spent On Recruiting 

Your managers and executives have multiple challenging responsibilities to fulfill each month. For example, we often hear that sales managers rarely have enough time to thoroughly coach their current employees as much as they would like. Given these limitations, it is unwise to waste management time meeting with poor fit job candidates. As an RPO firm discovers your preferences and optimizes its processes over time, companies get even better candidates.

Improved Company Reputation And Candidate Experience

Putting candidates thoroughly through a poorly thought out recruiting experience can hurt your company’s reputation. That reputational hit means disgruntled candidates may discourage others from working with you. This type of negative word of mouth can make hiring much more challenging. By adding RPO support to your organization, every hiring process quietly improves your company’s reputation. 

Gain Advanced Job Market Insights

The job market is constantly changing. A few short years ago, working remotely was relatively uncommon. Today, significant flexibility has become a standard expectation for many professionals. By working with an RPO firm, your company gains up-to-minute insights about what candidates want. That feedback is invaluable in fine-tuning your compensation programs, employer brand, and other aspects of your talent management program.

Accelerate Your Key Human Resources Initiatives 

Human resources professionals face growing demands on their limited time and resources today. For example, many HR professionals leads or provide critical support to their company’s diversity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. In addition, HR is also asked to lead employee engagement efforts and lead training programs. With all of these responsibilities in mind, HR needs a helping hand. When the human resources department is augmented through RPO, it frees up capacity to work on other initiatives.

Who Is Sales RPO For?

At Peak Sales Team RPO Search, we live and breathe sales. If you are looking to grow a sales team, we can help. Some of the industries we have deep expertise in include:

  • B2B Software
  • Software As A Service (SaaS)
  • Professional Services
  • Industrial and Manufacturing
  • CleanTech, FinTech and Clean Tech

In terms of sales positions, Peak helps companies recruit across the sales spectrum starting with junior roles like sales development representatives (SDRs) all the way to sales executives.

What Is The RPO Process?

To customize the RPO process for your needs, we follow a four step methodology every time.

1. Understand Client Objectives

The entire process starts with asking the right questions about what YOU want. For example, some of the questions we typically ask include:

  • What does your sales organization look like today? Where do you want to grow?
  • What worked well in past hiring efforts? What’s not working effectively?
  • What major company projects or initiatives are underway that require new sales talent?

2. Ideal Profiling

The next step of the process is to build a profile of the ideal sales candidates you are looking for. This process weaves together a focus on traditional sales skills and culture fit. A top performer who clashes with your company culture wouldn’t stay long and we aim for long term placements. 

3. Targeted Search

Our sales recruiters are constantly meeting with sales professionals, managers and executives in multiple industries. That means we know far more about candidate capabilities than anyone could discover from browsing LinkedIn and other websites. The targeted search approach means companies only have interviews with the the best of the best.

4. Scientific Testing

While instinct and experience have significant value, our process is also balanced by using scientific methods. We verify the candidates background (including their sales achievements), use role playing and behavior interviewing techniques. All of these techniques give a deeper view in how a candidate approaches sales.

After going through these steps, we build a customized RPO offering tailored to your needs. It may include a targeted focus (e.g. recruiting for junior sales reps, sales talent for a specific office etc) or broader support. 

How To Learn More About Applying RPO In Your Organization?

Adding recruitment process outsourcing to your company means faster access to talent and ultimately more revenue.

Contact us today to find out how RPO can help your sales team grow.