The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

You did it! You finally built a great sales team! They are destroying their budgets, the team challenges each other but gets along beautifully and they are a delight to manage. And then… someone quits. Maybe more than one. What happened?!

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of May 31, 2023, there were 9.8 million job openings across industries, and the number of people voluntarily quitting their jobs rose to 4 million.

In April 2023, LinkedIn reported a shocking 61% of American workers are considering leaving their jobs in 2023. This number is especially high among the younger generations, Millennials (66%) and Gen Z (72%).

Perhaps worse from a management standpoint, top sellers are being headhunted more than ever. One top seller I know said it was a bad week if they got less than three job offers. Competition for talent is fierce since the talent pool over the last few years has not fully recovered from COVID and “the Great Resignation.”

With those terrifying statistics in mind, let’s discuss ways to keep your top talent happy and wanting to be long-term employees.

A few years ago, the idea of hiring a candidate without an in-person meeting seemed ridiculous. Since hiring the right person is vital to a team's success, the idea of not being in the same room, shaking hands, and making an in-person connection was, at best, a last resort and, at worst, unthinkable.

But whether you embraced video conferencing or were dragged into it kicking and screaming, over the last three years we have developed the technology, know-how, and experience to conduct most interactions online. Here are some ways to get the most out of your recruitment.

Sales management is a tough job.

I googled why sales managers fail and got “About 206,000,000 results (0.40 seconds).” “About 60% of new managers fail within the first 24 months in their new role”, according to research from CEB Global.

Why?

There are a lot of reasons (just ask Google), but it often comes down to not knowing how to manage people effectively and not being able to implement changes and improve the selling process.

Simply put, to be successful as a sales manager, you must understand people and how to help people sell.

Scenario: A team member comes to you, excited because a former coworker, a Top Performer, has just let them know that they are looking for a new position.

They are perfect for an opening on your team! You become excited because that opening has been hard to fill. Finding quality candidates has been hard and the competitive job market brutal.

So you can’t wait to hire this person. But before you meet with them, you have them take the Sales Talent Assessment, confident that their talents will match the glowing description by your AE.

Then comes that email. Not recommended to move forward in your process.

What?! How can this happen? And what do you do next?

Wouldn’t it be lovely if each sales candidate that you interviewed came holding a sign? “I’m Coachable.” “I’m a Hard Worker.” “I’m disorganized.” “You can’t trust me!”

Think of the time savings if everyone summed up their best strengths and their worst weaknesses for you and handed them over before an interview. You could come prepared with questions to find out how those strengths work for them (or trip them up) and if/how they work around those weaknesses.

Too good to be true? It’s not. All you need is a validated talent assessment like the Sales Talent Assessment (STA) and a conversation with a Talent Analyst.

In a tight job market, finding candidates, qualifying them, conducting interviews, and hiring are all rushed and stressful.

Many managers are in the position of having open positions on their teams that they're desperate to fill and having candidates enter and leave the job market quickly, so having a well-thought-out interviewing plan is vital. Equally important is learning to look and listen for the talents necessary for success in sales.

On a coaching call last week, a manager and I were discussing a seller new to his team. On pulling up this person’s sales assessment, all I could think was, “WOW! Look at all that talent!” This person was strong across the board.

So much potential.

Unfortunately, this seller was definitely not reaching their potential. Struggling, not making budget, not willing to learn, and a poor attitude. So, what was happening? Why was this highly talented person struggling, and is coaching them worth the effort?

Productivity refers to moving the sales cycle forward, improving application numbers, and increasing booked volume. Productivity measures how well you're able to meet the goals and objectives of your company, regardless of whether these are short-term or long-term goals.

On a day-to-day basis, if you write out a to-do list at the start of the day and are able to cross off most or all of the items by the end of the day, then you can consider it productive.

On a bigger scale, if you're able to meet the goals and objectives you have established for your company, then you're seeing productivity. Increasing productivity means that you will come closer to your goals. Remember, some people are more natural at this than others based on their talents.

During the first 90 days at a new job, the relationship between a new hire and their employer is as vulnerable as it gets: 20% of all employee turnover happens during those crucial three months.

Leaving a job before things really get going is becoming increasingly normal, especially for younger workers: Jobvite’s oft-cited annual “Job Seeker Nation” survey reports that 34% of them have, at some point in their young careers, left a job in the first 90 days.

An interview can make or break a company’s relationship with a new hire.

A thorough interview process, using a validated talent assessment, looking for strengths, talents, and fit for the position, and examining fit to culture, can provide a strong jump off to a successful and lucrative career.

A desperation hire where a “warm body” is hired with no thought to their success can only lead to frustration, bad feelings on both sides, and repeating the process when the new hire quits. So, what are the secrets to a strong interviewing process and successful employer/employee relationship?