Salesforce Search

The Canadian economy added a record 108,700 jobs in April bringing our unemployment rate down to 8.1%. The gains were four times the number economists were expecting. Most of the gains were in the private sector and construction and building services sectors. The biggest gains were seen in Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba. Alberta continues to lag the rest of the country as it is the only province to see no job gains since July 2009. This just confirms what we at SalesForce Search have been witnessing over the past 6 weeks. Companies seem to be picking up the pace on hiring after a relatively slow first quarter.  

This has implications for employers with respect to turnover and hiring cycles. Here are a few observations based on discussions we’ve had with candidates and clients over the past 2 months:

·         The market is heating up and hiring cycles need to shorten or you may miss out on good candidates.

·         Top sales people are receiving multiple offers. If you find a great candidate, be prepared for the fact they have other offers and move quickly.

·         Retain your top sales people. Good sales people have weathered the economic storm and are now being approached by competitors and entertaining offers. Give them a reason to stay through rewards and recognition programs or risk losing them.

The market for great sales people has changed in the past month. Be prepared to take advantage of top talent and help retain the good people you have.

SalesForce Search is a sales recruiting company which specializes exclusively in the recruitment and placement of sales professionals. To contact us please call 1-800-461-SELL (7355) or email us at info@salesforcesearch.ca

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The use of social media websites has increased to staggering levels and the trend doesn’t appear to be slowing down. Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter have become intertwined with the daily lives of millions of people around the globe. And for those searching for a new job, the use of social media can certainly have a major impact. However, the impact can be either negative or positive.

The Good

Social media can be a powerful tool to increase the scope of your professional network. Connecting with potential employers on a site like LinkedIn can increase your chances of being considered for new opportunities as they become available. Corporate recruiters and recruitment agencies also utilize social media to find and contact candidates regarding job openings. At SalesForce Search we regularly use social media sites to source candidates rather than the traditional job boards. Social media sites allow you to post your information including work history, education, skills, and major achievements. This information can be viewed by significantly more people than would be able to if you simply submitted your resume to a standard resume database.

The Bad

There are also some negatives to using social media sites when it comes to your job search. By increasing the number of people who can access your profile, you increase the chance of being solicited for jobs that are not suitable or relevant to your background. It may also compromise the confidentiality of your job search – imagine your boss noticing that you have recently connected to a number of recruiters or competitors. From a privacy perspective, there may be concerns for some due to the sheer number of people who can view the details of their background including where they have worked, where they went to school, and what social organizations they belong to.

The Ugly

As a worst case scenario, the use of social media sites can jeopardize your job search and exclude you for consideration from a potential job opportunity entirely. Many companies have started using social media sites as part of their due diligence when conducting reference checks. Cases have been documented where candidates, about to be hired, have been turned down because the company has found compromising (i.e., embarrassing) information or pictures of the candidate. A good rule of thumb: if there’s something you wouldn’t want a potential employer to see, don’t post it.

Used properly, social media can be an invaluable tool during your job search. Just make sure that you connect to the right people and use discretion when deciding what information about yourself you should post and what you should keep private.

WORK SMARTER NOT SMART.

How often would you attempt something if you knew there was a 90% chance you’d fail?  While not an exact science, evidence* has shown this is exactly what people face when looking in the mirror to proclaim this year’s New Year’s resolution.

The New Year’s resolution, while inspirational in theory, has become a laughable, amusing topic of conversation that by now is more often an image in our rear view versus a destination.  Try 90% more often. 

While the resolution is typically of a personal flavor be it through weight loss (or weight gain), spending more time with family, or giving more of ourselves to philanthropic efforts, the business side of us is not immune.  How many of us have approached the New Year with optimism around attaining more customers,  increasing marketshare, earning greater revenue, larger T4’s and so on…Well, we’re 7 weeks into 2010, how are you doing?   For those of you on target, keep up the great work (and email me with your reasons for success).   For those who can’t remember what their resolution was by now, keep reading.

At some point in your sales career you probably made your team come up with a set of S.M.A.R.T goals as part of a performance review or perhaps New Year’s resolution.  Perhaps, you recall being a rep and jotting down a few goals on an empty Starbucks cup minutes before your review (actual story from a colleague who will remain nameless).  If you’re not familiar with “SMART” goals it’s an acronym (with various meanings) that can be used as a guide to achieving the said goal.  Here is a widely accepted version:  Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely.  However, there may be other variations that make sense for you.  For example the “S” could also be for sustainable (as in monthly quotas) or stretch (as in President’s Club), the “A” could be for agreed-upon (important for team based goals) or achievable (so as not to be part of the 90% club).  Whatever it is, customize it, keep it and review it. 

What’s important is that the acronym is clearly defined and memorable (hey, another option for “M”).  It should be written down and visible for daily review (think Rocky eyeing up Drago every morning in the bathroom mirror).  Also, I believe it should be shared.  Nothing helps you hold up your end of a commitment, if there’s someone to hold it up with- accountability.  

Getting SMARTER.   If you’re not Enthusiastic about your goal why would you ever think you’d achieve it?  Don’t aim for something only because a colleague is.  Choose a goal that you will benefit from.   Lastly, when you reach your goal, what do you get?  Achieving your goal should be a catalyst to a Reward.  We have been conditioned from an early age that winning results in a tangible reward i.e. a smiley sticker, a trophy, etc.   If you set a 25% revenue growth target and you achieve it, perhaps you receive a monetary bonus.  Great!  Reward yourself with a “trophy” that can act as a reminder of the sacrifices and moments outside of your comfort zone that it took to achieve the goal. 

In conclusion work S.M.A.R.T.E.R.  Cross reference your resolution with the SMART acronym and then make it SMARTER.  Be Enthusiastic and Reward yourself and you may just reduce the failure rate to 89%.

SalesForce Search specializes in sales recruiting and sales compensation design. To discuss our sales recruitment or sales compensation services, please call 1-800-461-SELL (7355) or email us at info@salesforcesearch.ca

 www.SalesForceSearch.ca

4 Things your sales people need to hit their sales targets.

Try this out with your sales team in the next sales meeting. Start by asking a question about a key feature of the product or service you sell such as why should I buy from you? Ask every person for their answer.

Are the answers all the same? The answer is likely, no.

One of the biggest reasons sales people fail to hit their targets is lack of a clear, consistent message around the key features and benefits of your product or service. The next question to ask is, “Have we given them a sales toolkit to succeed.”

Even seasoned sales professionals require a great toolkit to succeed and here are a few things your team should have:

1.       A well thought out 30 second elevator pitch on your company’s value proposition. Work on this with your team so that every person gives the same answer to the question, “Why should we buy from you?”

2.       A clear sales process that everyone follows including the initial approach, discovery and close. By doing this you will know where the process is falling short and you can take corrective action.

3.       Great collateral marketing material that supports the sales person throughout the process reinforcing the value proposition of your company.

4.       A CRM system to track, schedule and measure activity for the purposes of forecasting and planning.  Too often we speak with companies that have nothing in place and deals fall through the cracks.

If your company has 1 or more of these, great you are on the right track. Getting all 4 will take your sales team and business to the next level.

SalesForce Search specializes in sales recruiting and sales compensation design. To discuss our sales recruitment or sales compensation services, please call 1-800-461-SELL (7355) or email us at info@salesforcesearch.ca

 www.SalesForceSearch.ca

 Follow us on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/salesjobsearch

Keep your search active

Usually at this time of year, things are winding down and companies are not in hiring mode. This year couldn’t be any further from the truth. We have seen our busiest December in years and based on discussions with our clients, 2010 looks to be a great year for hiring sales people, sales managers and sales executives. Here are a few things you can do over the holidays to keep your search active:

Update your resume – Many people have a generic resume that they send to companies and recruiters like us. In a lot of cases, the resumes are outdated or don’t contain specific details on sales success, president’s clubs or specific accounts managed. Take the time over the holidays to update your resume so it is specific and relevant to the sales job you want.

Network – This is a great time of year to catch up with old colleagues or meet new people who may be able to help you in your search.

Update your LinkedIn profile – Employers are using LinkedIn more and more before interviewing candidates. They want to have as much information as possible about you. Make sure your profile gives people a good overview of your background and success. Perhaps most importantly, make sure you have recommendations as they are seen as having more credibility because they exist in the public domain.

The holidays are a great time to relax and spend time with family and friends. By taking a bit of time to work on these items, it will allow you to hit the ground running come January. All the best for the holidays and we wish you nothing but success in the New Year.

SalesForce Search specializes in sales recruiting and sales compensation design. To discuss our sales recruitment or sales compensation services, please call 1-800-461-SELL (7355) or email us at info@salesforcesearch.ca

 www.SalesForceSearch.ca

 Follow us on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/salesjobsearch

3 Keys to Successful Networking

Recently we’ve met with a number of candidates who are recently out of work. Victims of a corporate restructuring, they now find themselves on the street looking for a new sales job. When we asked them who they have been networking with the response was the same, “I’m just starting to do that”.  The biggest mistake most people (not just sales people) make is waiting until they are out of a job before they begin to network.

Networking is very similar to selling in that it is a process not an event. It’s about building lasting relationships with people who can help you at some point in the future.  Sales people in general tend to focus on hitting their quarterly targets or making the next sale rather than spending time with someone who can’t help them right away.  This is dangerous. By following a few simple rules, you will be well on your way to building a valuable network of contacts.

1.       Always be networking. Meeting new people may lead to new business, new friends or a new job.

2.       It’s not just about you.  Be genuine and network because you want to help others as well and the more you help others, the more you’ll get in return.

3.       Make time for networking. Set aside 1 hour a week to meet someone, attend an event, meet with a recruiter or reconnect with someone you’ve lost touch with. If you do, you’ll meet at least 52 new people a year who are in a position to help you and vice versa.

According to some studies, networking is 7 times more likely to bring in new business than all other forms of advertizing and marketing combined. If you do find yourself without a job, a well established network will have a much greater chance of landing your next role.

SalesForce Search specializes in sales recruiting and sales compensation design. To discuss our sales recruitment or sales compensation services, please call 1-800-461-SELL (7355) or email us at info@salesforcesearch.ca

 www.SalesForceSearch.ca

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Update on Employment Trends in Sales

We have spent the past 3 months meeting with CEO’s, VP’s of Sales and sales managers in order to determine what their hiring and training needs are for the next 12-18 months and we wanted to share the results.

·         80% of the companies we spoke with are planning on adding sales people to their teams, not just replacing poor performing reps

·         65% are making a large investment in sales training for their sales teams to improve and retain top sales people

·         Companies are receiving large volumes of resumes but most are not suitable for their sales jobs

·         Only 30% are investing in training to make their sales managers better coaches

·         Most have a positive outlook for revenue growth for the next 12 months but lack the internal resources to properly source, screen and hire top sales reps

·         Sectors such as manufacturing and packaging which have lagged for the past year are looking to add headcount to their sales teams

·         The majority of those surveyed, feel industry specific experience has become less important and the focus is now more on the selling skills. To this point, most companies agreed their internal screening process is inadequate to screen for selling skills

·         10% of companies are looking to outsource part or all of their sales function

We’ve also been meeting with a lot of great sales people looking for their next sales job. Here’s what we’ve found:

·         There are a lot of great sales people on the market right now

·         Candidates are frustrated with the length of the interview process with many organizations

·         In many cases, they are not contacted after an initial interview to get feedback or closure on the process

·         Expectations for base salaries for sales people has come down dramatically over the past year

·         Most are looking for a stable, growing company to work for

·         Even veteran sales people want to know potential employers have great training and development programs for their sales people

·         Contrary to popular belief, younger sales people are looking for a company to spend most of their sales careers with one or two companies

The results are important for employers as they compete to win the top sales people on the market today.  If you have any questions, feel free to give us a call at 1-800-461-SELL or email us at info@salesforcesearch.ca.

SalesForce Search specializes in sales recruiting and sales compensation design. To discuss our sales recruitment or sales compensation services, please call 1-800-461-SELL (7355) or email us at info@salesforcesearch.ca

 www.SalesForceSearch.ca

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http://twitter.com/salesjobsearch

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OK, so you’ve finally managed to convince your sales team to do  more cold calling.  And perhaps you’ve even taken it a step further and got them to refine the message so that they’re leaving a strong benefit statement.  But 95% of your reps’ calls are going to hit voice mail.  So then what?  Well, if you’re like us, you leave a carefully crafted message that gives the prospect a reason to want to speak with us.  However, no matter how strong the reason, rarely does this alone initiate a call back from the prospect.

Poll your reps, and ask them what they do after this first voice mail.  Ask them when they make a second call, what is the second message, do they do anything special to warm up the calls, and do they do the same thing consistently with every single prospect.  Chances are strong that if you have ten reps, you’ll get ten different responses.  And why?  Shouldn’t all of your reps follow a defined, standardized and identified best practice? 

Our partners, SalesForce Training & Consulting, have built a phenomenal prospecting program they call an Approach Stream.  An Approach Stream is a series of planned set of messaging to prospects with defined ‘hit’ dates, varying from voice mail to a specialized email tool we use that allows us to track our prospect’s interest, as well as post cards and letters.  The SalesForce Approach Stream is a best practice, that is designed to do three things, namely;

1)      Send a more powerful and compelling message to our prospects;

2)      Improve our efficiency; and

3)      Differentiate our offering.  The aim is to stop asking your prospects to do things for you, like “Please call me back”, and to start to provide your prospects with items of value that can help their businesses run more efficiently.

With the right approach stream, you can track your prospect’s interest and then zero in on those prospects that look like they need your help, eventually discarding those that don’t respond at all.  To date, SalesForce clients that have leveraged this best practice have reported phenomenal results.  The process has allowed their reps to contact more decision makers, book more meetings, and edge out their competitors from the process. 

Regardless of what approach tool or call sequence you use, ensuring all of your sales people are sending a consistent, effective message may be the key to winning and losing deals in this tough selling environment.

 www.SalesForceSearch.ca

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Regardless of your profession, one of the most important things you can do to help ensure a successful career is to continously upgrade your skills. Staying current in your field of expertise can put you ahead of your peers and will increase your value to your organization.

As a sales professional keeping your skills sharp is critical. Even if you’ve been successful in the past there is always room for improvement. Whether it’s enhancing your prospecting approach or refining your objection handling techniques, even the smallest improvement can make a significant difference. Imagine increasing your close ratio by just five percent - this would translate into increased revenue for your company and more commission in your pocket.

With all of the uncertainty in today’s economy, some of you may be out of work or simply looking for a better opportunity. By upgrading your skills through sales training you are increasing your chances of a higher paying sales job and showing potential employers you are serious about improving your capabilities.

If you would like to learn more about our sales training programs, please call:

416-322-2888 x226

A well designed sales compensation plan will accomplish many things: motivate your sales team to increase sales, reward them for strong results, and retain your top performers. However, there is one important aspect of sales compensation design that is often overlooked: sales compensation plans should clearly communicate the focus of each sales job. Once a member of the sales team develops an understanding of the sales compensation plan, they should have full understanding of what activities they should be focusing on. In fact, if done well, a sales compensation plan should replace the traditional job description for sales jobs.

This type of communication can be achieved by the company weighing their sales compensation plan to payout higher rewards for the most desired activities. For example, if an organization wants to focus its sales team on developing new business, the sales compensation plan should be designed to pay out more commission for acquiring new accounts than for renewals. Sales people are driven by money, so when compensation is attached to certain activities and results it adds weight and gets their attention.

It’s also important to customize the sales compensation plan for each job. By doing so the company can clearly communicate the key activities and deliverables for each sales job. The commission for an account executive role focusing on “hunting” should be more heavily weighted on closing new business. And in comparison, the commission for an account management role should be more heavily weighted on customer retention and renewal measures.

Sales people will naturally spend more time and energy on the activities that will earn them more money – so it’s important that companies clearly define what their business objectives are make sure their sales compensation communicates those objectives to their sales team.

SalesForce Search specializes in sales recruiting and sales compensation design. To discuss our sales recruitment or sales compensation services, please call 1-800-461-SELL (7355) or email us at info@salesforcesearch.ca

www.SalesForceSearch.ca

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