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.

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

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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

 Follow us on Twitter:

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.

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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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In this series of articles, SalesForce Search will outline the basic principles and design considerations for developing your sales compensation plan.

 Determing the right pay mix for your sales compensation plan 

 When designing your sales compensation plan, you will need to consider how your sales team will be paid. Most companies pay their sales reps through sales commission, base salary, or a combination of both. There are many things to consider when determining the right pay mix for your sales organization.

First, what type of sales professional are you trying to attract and retain? When you have open sales jobs to fill, you need to make sure you’re attracting the best talent available. With that in mind, a 100% sales commission plan is a risky option. In many cases these types of sales compensation plans will attract people who hop from sales job to sales job, or in the worst case, people who are desperate and willing take anything. Also, with a 100% sales commission plan there is no commitment for a long-term relationship from either the company or the individual – this is a recipe for low performance and high turnover.

In most cases, then, a base salary is required to attract experienced and high performing sales professionals. But, a base salary only plan is not the answer. Such a plan will not drive and motivate performance – remember, top sales people are driven by money, and the potential to continuously earn more. Therefore, a well designed sales compensation plan will incorporate a base salary plus a sales commission component based on performance.

But what is the right base to commission ratio? While there is no steadfast rule, a general guideline is to provide your sales representatives with the opportunity to earn a total compensation, at target, of at least two times their base salary. For example, if you are paying a sales rep a base of $50,000 they should be able to earn an additional $50,000 for hitting their sales targets (for a total compensation of $100,000). Many companies will provide additional compensation, up to three or four times base salary, for sales reps who exceed their targets.

Overall, sales compensation plans should pay a solid base salary to attract and retain top performing sales professionals, and provide an aggressive commission structure to drive and reward performance.

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

 Follow us on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/salesjobsearch

http://twitter.com/salesforcecomp

www.SalesForceSearch.ca

In this series of articles, SalesForce Search will outline the basic principles and design considerations for developing your sales compensation plan.

 Align your sales compensation plan with your company’s business objectives

 Before starting the design of your sales compensation plan, you need to first define your company’s overall financial and business goals. In many cases a company’s goals are determined by what phase of development they are currently in. A start-up company may focus on revenue generation; a growth company may focus on increasing market share; and a mature company may focus solely on profitability.

 Whatever the case may be for your organization, it’s critical for your sales compensation plan to align with your company’s objectives. For example, if your organization’s top goal is to increase market share, your sales reps need to focus on acquiring new clients. To that end, your sales compensation plan should provide more aggressive rewards (i.e., higher commission) for closing new accounts as opposed to renewals or penetrating existing accounts.

 Sales compensation plans also need to align with your company’s business processes. If your company’s business is highly transactional with a short sales cycle, the sales compensation plan should reflect that and pay out sales commission on a more frequent basis. If on the other hand your business involves more consultative or solutions selling and has a longer sales cycle, the frequency of sales commission should reflect that. 

Overall your sales compensation plan needs to be customized to meet the specific needs of your organization. And as your company grows and evolves, your sales compensation plan needs to change with it. There is no generic sales compensation plan to fall back on – your company needs to create its own ‘best practices’ and design a sales compensation plan that is right for you.

 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

Follow us on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/salesjobsearch

http://twitter.com/salesforcecomp

www.SalesForceSearch.ca

SalesForce Search recently surveyed over 300 employers in our first ‘Employer Sales Force Survey’. Those surveyed included companies both small and large in all industries including Financial Services, Pharmaceutical, Consumer Goods, Manufacturing, Telecommunications, and Technology.

The response rate to the survey was great - thank-you to everyone who took the time to complete the survey. The results provided us with valuable information regarding trends in sales force management, specifically in the areas of attraction & retention, resources, and sales compensation. We hope you will find the following survey results both informative and useful.

Attraction & Retention of Sales Teams

• The majority of survey respondents indicated turnover in their sales team has increased slightly since the start of the economic downturn. However, a significant number of respondents indicated the recession has not changed their sales teams’ turnover rates.
• When asked about their plans for hiring sales people over the next 12 months, the overwhelming majority of respondents indicated they were going to replace poor performing sales reps with better sales talent. This shows that while much of the attention during the recession has focused on downsizing, a significant number of of company’s do not plan to reduce headcount. Instead, companies are focusing on improving their sales recruiting efforts to replace under-performing sales reps with high potential sales professionals.
• Surprisingly, while some companies have invested in sales training and sales performance technology, the majority of survey respondents have not implemented any specific initiatives to retain their top sales people.

Sales Force Resources

• The majority of survey respondents believe the economic downturn will have no impact on the level or frequency of sales training provided to their sales team.
• When asked about the focus of their company’s sales training, the responses were evenly split between product training and selling skills. Interestingly, almost a quarter of companies surveyed do not provide any sales training to their sales team.
• While a large number of companies plan to upgrade their existing sales support and tracking technology, the majority of respondents are not planning any changes to their sales technology over the next year.

Sales Compensation

• The economy has certainly had an impact on sales targets - the majority of respondents indicated their sales targets have decreased by more than 10% over the past year.
• An overwhelming number of companies surveyed said the majority of their sales force did not meet sales quotas and received below target commission.
• Despite these results, most companies do not have any plans to change their sales compensation plans in the next 12 months.