38 M any sales organizations miss revenue goals because they are understaffed and have open sales positions. This silent killer of productivity is a problem for many reasons: • Accounts on “open” lists are neglected, and billing suffers (billing decline). • Accounts on “open” lists are neglected to a point that causes the account to depart (total loss of billing). • Accountson“open”listsareassignedtooth- er sellers—this usually negatively impacts the seller’s new business development and time spent with regular customers. • Accounts on “open” lists are assigned to a manager already taxed with too much to do (see the first two items on this list for the potential outcome). Reactive versus Proactive Recruiting Open positions occur because most sales or- ganizations do not have a talent bank—ready, willing, and able candidates—and they prac- tice reactive recruiting. Here are a couple of working definitions that will add some clarity to this issue: CENTER FOR SALES STRATEGY BLOG Improving Sales Performance… It Starts with Recruiting! by Kurt Sima