Great salespeople are resilient, independent go-getters who drive revenue for your organization. So, why do these great sales hires leave?
From the rookie employee with plenty of potential to the veteran who knows the business and product like the back of their hand, people leave for different many different reasons. Here are the top four reasons we find why they leave, and what you can do to help great salespeople stay.
1.The Payoff Doesn’t Match the Promise
They aced the interview, and you know they can sell your product or widget. So, when they hand in their resignation before the end of their first 90 days, what went wrong? It often comes down to discrepancies between the job ad and the job itself.
Scroll through LinkedIn, search on Indeed or skim through any sales job ad on any major job portal, and you’ll come across the same set of buzzwords: we’re a family, it’s a great working environment, we have a strong sales culture.
You can advertise a ‘strong sales culture,’ but you should have a reliable support team that empowers salespeople to spend more time selling. If not, you risk over-promising and under-delivering, which can quickly lead to job dissatisfaction.
So, how do you create a sales ad that lives up to the job description? Ensure that you, as the sales manager, are involved in crafting the ad from the beginning. No one knows the sales culture better than you, and it’s your job to set the right expectations for new hires.
2. Revitalize Your Onboarding Plan
The other common cause of rookies leaving early comes down to the onboarding process. If you’ve designed an honest and inspiring job ad and worked with a reputable sales recruiter to find strong sales candidates but new hires are still leaving, your onboarding plan could be the culprit.
When you bring on a new hire, you can’t wait to see what they can do once they’re set loose, and your new sales star is excited to help find new clients, build relationships and watch the business grow. This is the honeymoon phase, and a formal onboarding plan helps ensure you and your new sales hire are on the same page.
The first 90 days are crucial. Before your new hire’s three-month probationary period ends, you should have seen their skills and capabilities in action. The candidate, in turn, should know what’s expected of them and be fully engaged in the company culture.
While many sales managers do a good job of onboarding and training junior salespeople, even sales veterans new to your organization crave this training. How else will they know the sales process and expectations?
Without a formal onboarding plan, new hires can feel unsupported and unprepared in their roles, which can lead to early departures.
3. Lack of Support from Management
What about your top-performing salespeople who have been with the organization for years? Any qualms with the job ad or onboarding process dissolved long ago, so what pushes long-time salespeople to leave an organization? After years of service, great salespeople often leave due to management. Here’s why.
You’ve developed a training plan for new hires and you coach salespeople when they’re falling behind on their targets, but what do you do for your top sales staff who have been with you from the beginning?
In many organizations, coaching occurs only when mistakes are made. Their numbers are below target, they didn’t get the proper authorization on a discount, and they haven’t made use of the new software—you get the picture.
Each member of your team has different strengths, weaknesses and needs. Keep your top salespeople motivated, give kudos when it’s earned, and coach based on needs and tenure.
4. Changes to Compensation
Pay and incentives are one of the most common reasons great salespeople leave an organization. If they’ve been selling strongly for years, are earning good money and enjoy working with the team, they should have no reason to leave.
While changes to compensation plans are sure to happen throughout a long career, capping commissions or other changes that hurt the sales staff can often lead to the loss of top performers.
The best sales compensation plans are transparent, align with your company’s expectations and encourage your salespeople to reach beyond the quota with generous accelerators and bonus incentives.
How We Can Help You Hire and Retain Great Salespeople
At HireMeASalesperson, we have over five decades of combined experience recruiting, hiring and leading salespeople. From start-ups to seasoned organizations looking to get ahead, we work with people who are serious about investing in great sales hires.
Contact us online or give us a call at 1-888-966-2284 to learn more about how we can help you hire great salespeople.