Staff turnover in sales teams is typically twice the level of the general workforce. Some see the revolving door of sales staff coming and going as inevitable: ‘it’s how things are in sales.’
But what a colossal waste of time, money and opportunity!
And it’s not inevitable. Some sales leaders decide to do something about it and stop the revolving door from spinning.
When you look at the cost that comes with the revolving door you wonder why more sales leaders don’t take action. Time is wasted through endless cycles of recruitment, interviewing, induction and introducing new hires to the product and your customers.
Money evaporates because recruitment is expensive - particularly if you use an agency. And the adage of ‘time is money’ holds true.
And opportunity? Think of the potential deals that pass you by because there’s always at least one empty desk and one phone not being used to reach out to prospects.
Who’s Leaving?
Results of research into sales staff turnover in B2B companies was published in the Harvard Business Review back in 2017. It revealed that the least likely people to leave were the best and worst performers.
Best performers have a product they know how to sell and a client base they know how to sell to. But even though their reputation and rewards are safeguarded by staying put they are still prime targets for head hunters (so take nothing for granted).
The worst performers tend to cling on for as long as possible, sucking up your time in performance management issues.
The biggest turnover risk tends to be in the middling performers. They’re not putting much on the line in terms of earnings or reputation by trying their luck in one of the many empty chairs in other sales teams.
You CAN Stop the Revolving Door from Turning
How can you make your sales team one that’s harder to leave? And how can you make sure you have fewer people that you want to leave because their performance isn’t up to scratch?
The answer is to invest in sales enablement and build a culture where everyone raises their game. One where middling (or even poor) performers become high performers. And where high performers realise that their performance is largely a product of the culture they work in.
Better prospecting and lead nurturing processes don’t just bring more sales, they create a culture where people routinely succeed and get rewarded. And who’d want to leave that for a boxful of the same old promises?
Sure Train training programmes are highly accessible and easy to manage through comprehensive management reports linked to key milestones assigned to set dates over the duration of the programme.
If the thought of a more stable and higher-performing sales team seems appealing, talk to Sure Train about our proven sales enablement training programmes. To find out more, contact us on 0800 840 1501 or email hello@suretrain.co.uk.