DevelopingaCompetitiveAdvantage
intheQuestforTopSalesTalent
AmitaiGivertz
SeniorConsultant,RCICenterofExcellence
February,2006
TheRCICenterofExcellence
550HeritageDrive,Suite200
Jupiter,Florida33458DevelopingaCompetitiveAdvantage
intheQuestforTopSalesTalent
StrategiesforpositioIntinshagrdtorecruitsalesstaff,duetotheshortageofquali
edtalent.Thischal-
yourcompanyasan lengeiswelldocumented,yetitcontinuestokeepmanycompaniesfromachiev-
employerofchoice. ingtheirsalespotential.Butyoucanreducetheimpactoftheprojectedshortage
ofquali
edsalespeoplebydevelopingacompetitiveadvantage,rightnow.
Theforecastisgloomy,andcompaniesthatdonottakeimmediatestepstosys-
tematically
nd,attract,hire,andretainthebestpeopletodaywill
ndthem-
selvesstarvedfortalenttomorrow.Todayssavvyemployersarestrategizingover
questionslikethese:
Howshouldwerespondtotheshiftingdemographicsthataffectourrecruitingand
retentionefforts?
Howwellareweadaptingtothechangingneeds,wantsandbehaviorsoftheavail-
abletalentpool?
Howdotheseadaptationsdrivechangesinourattraction,selectionandretention
practices?
Howdowedevelopstaf
ngstrategiesforourcurrentandfutureworkforce?
Whichelementsofourdesiredsourcingandretentionprogramsdowealready
have,andwhichdoweneedtoacquire?
Whatpartdoescompensationplayinrecruitingandretention?
Thispaperspeci
callyaddressesthelastquestion.Butwemustnotoverlookthe
factthatcompensationisjustoneelementinanarrayofprocessesthatdemands
alignmentandintegration.Todothejobproperly,everyaspectofyourstaf
ng
processneedstobeexaminedagainstabest-practicemodelappropriatefor
yourindustry,market,andtypeoforganization.Thatmeansalloftheabove
questionsshouldbeconsidered,alongwithanassessmentofyourcurrentneeds,
Copyright2006TheRCICenterofExcellence Pg.1/5resources,andoptionsforimplementation.Nonetheless,devisinganattractive
compensationplancangiveyourcompanythecompetitiveedgeinattracting
andretainingtopsalestalent.
MatchingCompensationAspartofyourpro
ling,youneedtoconsiderwhatyouridealcandidatesmoti-
toPro
ling:Warriorsand vatorsare.Ofcourse,traditionmaintainsthattheoverridingmotivatorforsales
ismoneyandearningpotential.Thatmaybetrueinsomeinstances,butvalues,
Hunters interests,andtheattitudesofcandidatesneedtobetakenintoaccountinboth
yourpro
lingandyourcompensationplan.
Forexample,ifyouarelookingforaseasonedroadwarrior,howwillpaid
vacationsandotherlife/workissuesbebalancedinthecompensationplan?If
yourenvironmentpromotesteamplay,howhaveyouincorporatedrewardsand
recognition?Conversely,ifyouareseekingindependent,self-relianthuntersto
bringinnewbusiness,howwillyouensurethatthethingsthosepeopletypically
dontdowell,suchasforecastingandreporting,aretakenintoaccountintheir
compensationplan?Ifambitionisaqualityyouseek,howhaveyouaddressed
promotionsandadvancement?Ifthemoneyearnedisgoingtobemostlycom-
mission-based,howdoesthataffectthepro
leofthecandidatebestsuitedfor
thejob?
Thethreemostcommonlymademistakesatthisstageoftheprocessare:
1. Assumingthatmoneyisalwaystheprimarymotivator.Moneyistypically
thellleeeaaaiisssmmtttppoorrttanattntthinhgfionraggforrageatcraendaitcdataen:addivdanacteem:aendtavnadrnceemcogenni-tandrecogni-
tionareoftenthedrivingforces.
2. Relyingonstereotypingforthesalesroleinsteadofcreatingapro
leofa
successfulhire.
3. Overlookingtherealkeystoretention,whichareonthefrontendofthe
recruitmentprocess.Actingpost-hireisoftentoolate.
CompensationasPartofTwenty-
veyearsago,thetwomostcovetedsalesjobsforentry-levelsalespeople
EmployerBranding werewithXeroxandYellowPages.Thesecompaniesunderstoodlongbefore
itwasfashionablethatbrandingpositionedthemasanemployerofchoice,so
theywereabletoattractandretainthebestnewentrantstothesellingprofes-
sion.
Xeroxwasrenownedforprovidingunparalleledsalestraining.IBM,Hewlett
Packard,andotherswerewellknownforpioneeringconsultative,solutions-
basedselling,butwhenitcamedowntostreetsmartsandrawtechnique,noone
Copyright2006TheRCICenterofExcellence Pg.2/5cameclosetowhatXeroxhadtooffer.Ontheotherhand,YellowPagesprovided
acareerpaththatwassecondtononeforpeoplewithambitionanddetermina-
tion.Ifyouwantedtogetonthefasttracktosalesmanagement,fewcompanies
couldcompetewithYellowPagesnotevenXerox.
Asemployerbrandinggoes,nothingmuchhaschanged.Ifyouregoingtocre-
atealastingimpressionintheheartsandmindsofpotentialhires,youdbetter
makeitagoodone.
Ontheretentionside,compensationaspartofthebrandisalsoanintegralpart
ofthedeal.JustasMaryKayspinkCadillacandRE/MAXsprestigiousMillion
DollarClubarepartoftheiremployerbrand,itiskeytorecognizethatyour
rewardsystemcanhelpdifferentiateyoufromyourcompetitors.Brandingto
differentiateyouasasalesorganizationiscriticalifyouareseriousaboutdevel-
opingacompetitiveadvantage.
Devisebrandingmessagesthatspeaktothesalespeopleyouwanttoattract.Tell
themwhytheyshouldapplytoyouandwhytheyshouldstay.ThinkofMicro-
softsHowfarwillyougo?andPictureyourselfatKodak.Addressdesires
anddreams.Doyouremployeesrecommendyourcompanyasagoodplaceto
work?Ifso,whatisitaboutyouthatresonateswiththem?
Howyourbusinesscomesacrossinthemarketplaceisoftentheworkofyour
salesteam.Thesepeopletransmitthemessagesaboutthecompanysproductsand
services.Howeffectivelytheysellthecompanyandhencehowsuccessfulyouare
isdirectlyrelatedtoyoursalescompensationprogram.Anattractive,andthere-
forewinning,salescompensationpackageenablesyourbusinesstofocussaleson
desiredresults,andyoushouldrewardtheseoutcomesappropriately.
TalentMagnetism Talentpreferstobearoundtalent.
Therefore,youshouldtakethetimetoformulatetalentmanagementandre-
cruitingplans.Firstinthisprocessisanidenti
cationofthespeci
ctraits,
skills,competencies,andtrackrecordsthatyourvarioussalespositionsdemand;
thesemightbeanabilitytoreboundortoembraceandimplementstrategic
plans.Buildanunderstandingofwhatmotivatesandattractsyouridealsales-
people,andrecognizethechallengestheymightface.
Veryfewgainatactical,competitiveedgewithoutawrittenandwell-formulated
openstrategicplan.
Copyright2006TheRCICenterofExcellence Pg.3/5Remembertoothatdevotinglittletimetohiringonlyworksifthoseyouhire
stickaroundandaresolidperformers.Thisresultisoftenachievedbyoffering
anexcellentcompensationplan.HumanresourceshasthebiggestpotentialROI
ofanyorganizationalactivity,andsoadoptingbestpracticesinbranding,sourc-
ingandretentionwillpayvaluabledividends.
EliminatingOpaque Appropriatescreeningisessentialiflevelsofcompetencyaretobeimprovedor
Screening maintained.Interviewsarede
cientinmanyways.Theyoftendonotaccom-
plishmuchmorethanbasicscreening.Actualhistoricalperformance,aswellas
caliberandpersonality
tareoftenunconsciously(andthusinadequately)as-
sessed.Fortheinterviewingprocesstoreallypayoff,itshouldgaugemotivation,
teamskills,lateralthinking,results,performance,andpotentialforprogress.
Inmanyways,commitmentdrivessuccessandthisappliestoyou,the
employer,aswellastheemployee.Devisingretentionstrategiespriortohiring
attractstopsalespeople,whichinturngeneratesadrivetowardtheachievement
ofdesignatedgoals.Thisprocessrequiresunderstandingandscreeningofmoti-
vators,whethertheyare
nancialsuccess,achievement,orpower.
Life/workfactors,opportunitiesforadvancement,andmanagementrelation-
shipsallhaveadirectimpactonattractionandretention.Mentoringprograms,
reviews,ongoingtraining,andopportunitiesforfeedbackaresomestrategiesfor
retainingthebestsalespeopleinourcurrentenvireeeoxxxniiimbbbenaalllboeebeto.Bvveeeing
allelseintermsofthecompetitiveandmotivationalcompensationyouofferis
perhapsthekey.
SmorgasbordofRewardsCompensationpackagescanincorporateanythingfromchildcarefacilities,sub-
sidizedhealthclubmemberships,bonuses(notjustincash,butalsoingoods),
parties,orfreetrips.
Formalrewardsareoftenalongtimeinmaterializing:sixmonthscouldgoby
beforesalespeoplearerewardedfortheirperformance.Intrinsicpersonalized
rewards,suchasspontaneousverbalacknowledgements,orvisiblerewardssuch
asplaquesareoftensupremelyeffective.Sobemindfulthatmonetaryhandouts
arenotthebe-allandend-all.
Whateveryourapproach,acompensationplanmustrelatedirectlytoyourorga-
nizationshumancapitalphilosophy,butitmustalsomotivateyouremployees.
Thevariables,suchasthebalancebetweenintrinsicandextrinsic,mustbeeasily
understood(particularlybyaccounting),andcreateahighlevelofcredibility.
Copyright2006TheRCICenterofExcellence Pg.4/5Thevalueofinformalrewards,orspontaneousformsofrecognition,liesinthe
factthattheybecomemotivators.Monetarycompensationandpromotionsare
provingtobelesseffectiveinmotivatinghigh-performanceachievements.Fur-
thermore,todaystopsalestalentoftenprefersthemorepersonalizedapproach
tocompensation.Trytobecreativeandresourceful.
Therecruitmentlandscapeismorediversetodaythaneverbefore,andemploy-
eeshavedifferentneedsandfocusesintermsoflife/workbalance.Thechallenge
istodevelopavarietyofcompensationplansthatattractandretainvarying
pro
lesoftopsalestalent.
Ifyouthinkaboutit,allyouremployeesessentiallystriveforsimilarthings,
suchaspraise,socialaf
liation,leisure,andmoney.Butthewaysinwhichthey
wouldlikethempresentedarediverse.
Aneffectivemeanstogeneratingmoreexiblecompensationplansistoidentify
somespeci
ccategoriesofsalespeoplebasedontraitsandmotivators,incon-
junctionwithaseriesofpossibledesiredrewards.Thisprocesswillworkforany
companywillingtoembracedistinctivenessandinnovation.
Enablingyouremployeestoassistintheformulationoftheircompensation
plansiscomplexanddemanding.Buttheeffortwillpayoffintermsofsuccess-
fulhiringandretention.
Winningcompensationplansundoubtedlyboostyourtenacityinthemarket-
place,especiallyiftheyaretotheadvantageofyoursalesstaff.Outlineyour
criticalbusinessneedsandexplainhoweveryonewillpro
t;thisprocesswill
assistwiththebuildingofaccountability.Byofferingvaryingplans,including
differentcombinationsofsalariesandcommissionrates,youwillincreaseyour
appealtoagreaternumberofpotentialrecruits.Theendresultisapowerful,
competitivehiringadvantageinthemarketplace.
TheRCICenterofExcellenceisdedicatedtobringingyoutheopinionsoftheindustrysleadingthinkers,thelatest
provenapproachestodevelopinghighlyeffectiverecruitmentpracticesandanunbiasedviewofthestaf
nglandscape
andtrends.Ourtrainingprogramsandcontinuingeducationaredesignedtoenableandempowerourover2000
alumnitodevelopacriticaledgeintheirprofessionalandcorporatelife.
Ifyouhaveanyquestionsorcommentsregardingthispaper,orifyouwouldlikeadditionalinformationon
ourprograms,pleasedocontactus.
TheRCICenterofExcellence,550HeritageDrive,Suite200,Jupiter,Florida33458
Phone:561.686.6800,Email:info@performancestaf
ng.com,www.PerformanceStaf
ng.com
Copyright2006TheRCICenterofExcellence Pg.5/5