Sales people won’t stay with you for the money – but they will for the training

I thought I would share two small bits of research with you that I found pretty interesting and that affect your business.

The first graph represents the characteristics people need to be effective in sales.  I think many salespeople spend a lot of time getting to know their market and product, and while that’s important, they are actually two of the bottom 3 least important factors.  The most important characteristics are good communication and listening, and a positive outlook reinforced by behaviour.  What’s their mood like in the office?  How do salespeople keep on picking themselves up?  Are they resilient & determined, or do they make excuses such as the economy or lack of resources?

The other graph I have picked for you I know will be interesting to you, because it’s so costly to keep on hiring sales people.  The research relates to how to retain the best people you have.  I love this one, because it reinforces something I have long believed, but haven’t seen much research on, which is money isn’t the conclusive answer, and that sales training comes out on top!  Retention is of course even higher with sales training if you can create a pathway for an individual over say a couple of years, and that pathway builds to some sort of conclusive, CV and life-enriching outcome or certification.

Source:  BMS Quarterly Business Services Sales Index – Published July 2013 – 200 sales leaders were surveyed.

Hope you found that interesting!  We do sales training workshops, strategy and consulting for companies all over the UK and Europe, so drop me a line – hello@naturaltraining.com – and let me know what you are hoping to achieve this year!