Sales can be a fickle industry, but a very lucrative and rewarding job for all parties.
Sales is the engine room of any business; it generates the income at the frontlines and creates a pathway for all other departments to succeed. It is precious and should be nurtured – this isn’t to say the other departments in your business are inferior, but this is the department that needs most of your attention due to it’s naturally inconsistent nature.
The inconsistency of a sales department comes in many forms: Results will always fluctuate, the quality of leads won’t always high… but the most obvious inconsistency is staff attrition. Salespeople come and salespeople go, often with a very quick turnaround, which can be harmful to morale and gross revenue.
Why is it harmful?
….because the costs of onboarding staff shouldn’t be overlooked: Marketing, recruitment & training will obviously cost you money, so when 25% of those new starters leave within 6 months without reaching their full potential – that is money wasted. Additionally, if this happens 5/6 times during the course of the year, you’re looking at heavy losses in revenue.
Growing companies are always hungry to recruit and evolve, and this can lead to rushed recruiting & an impatience during the new starters’ embedding period. Subsequently, agents will fall short of their projected KPI’s, grow unhappy and leave. That’s the cycle…
Rushed Recruitment > Negligible Training > Grow Unhappy > Leave
I have seen this throughout many sales departments and it’s a common problem. The age group for starting a sales career has become younger and younger over the years, they see adverts for big wages and OTE’s and want that immediate gratification. So it’s a problem shared between staff and those hiring. BUT, young people are hungry nonetheless, and with an effective process, they will reach their full potential within 6 months of being hired… I say 6 months because that’s a realistic timeline for a new starter to become experienced and hitting, even exceeding their KPI’s.
Breaking the cycle and getting the process right can be very eye opening for the perspective on your sales department.
How do we break the cycle?
- Recruit well
Use the recruitment process as a huge opportunity to find the right people and aim for the younger demographic because they are hungry, they will learn and can be moulded to your methods. Hiring from hospitality is a big plus – they’re used to long hours, they understand hard work and will be under compensated in their current role so your OTEs will be extremely inviting.
- Embed your training
A frustrating thing with a lot of businesses is the lack of upkeep with their training process, they tend to train them for two weeks, then send them into the furnace of a sales floor and expect them to thrive. Any training SHOULD BE EMBEDDED to solidify their learnings. You can train a new salesperson on a particular Core Skill for a whole day, but after a weekend of drinking and having fun, it’s soon forgotten. Embed through regular coaching and call listening.
- Address Mindset
Most people these days will appreciate a space to talk and vent their frustrations, so facilitating this can really help morale. Sales is tough, we know that, but because of the inconsistencies, it’s easy to throw in the towel and become overwhelmed. Coaches and managers can be so invested in results, KPI’s and numbers, that they tend to add even more pressure which will lead to people being unhappy.
Training is a sensitive part of the onboarding process and something that can make or break a new starter’s journey. There is so much to be won from doing it the right way and breaking the cycle.
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