How To Prevent Competitors From Taking Your Best Salespeople

Incentivize Them With More Than Money

Please allow me to make a public statement. Incentive programmers won't work if you're grossly underpaying your salespeople. Remember that your salespeople need to make a livelihood to support their families. Maintaining an employee requires more than just money, even if you pay them well. Employees are more likely to stay with a firm if the perks they get are relevant and enticing to them. Is there a clear knowledge of what motivates your sales team to succeed? How would you want to be compensated? Then you should interrogate them. Music and art appeal to a wide range of individuals. Some people favor intangible commodities, while others prefer physical objects. I once worked for a sales manager who I would have never let go of if given the chance. This boss handed me a wonderful sculpture as a gift for being the greatest salesman in the company. The second and third place winners received smaller sculptures, but I received the largest, which I will never forget. But it's the one-of-a-kind sculpture I see every day, and the employer I remember so fondly, who earned me that vacation. I would never have gone if I had worked for him. Give unseen rewards to salespeople who don't care about art. Have you ever told a high-performing employee that they deserved a day off? Because we don't have a lot of time, it's always appreciated. Do you recognize your top performers for a job well done with a thank you note? I still have a gratitude note from a company vice president. A good salary alone may not be enough to retain someone in a job.

Don’t Mess With The Compensation Structure When Talented Salespeople Make A Lot Of Money

How much do your top salespeople bring in? I truly hope they will. My extremely successful customer had a top salesperson who made over $500,000 per year selling products for less than $5 per gallon. The company's owner paid commission to his salesmen; they got a 17 percent commission on what was sold. Not only did the company's owner announce that all of his employees should be paid at least $500,000. "When my salespeople earn 17 percent of their sales, I make 83 percent of it," he says. In comparison to another business owner who was constantly changing the commission structure, his view on salespeople's pay is significantly more fair. "I didn't want my salespeople to make too much money," the firm's owner explained. Then I asked him why he was so upset about it. "They may get overconfident," he added. What in the world are you on about? I had no cause to oppose you with such irrational arguments. His salespeople were nowhere near as good as my other customers. This business owner had not been as successful in the past as my other customer. To keep your top salespeople, ask yourself if you're doing everything you can to help them earn more money. Remember that when they make more money, you make more money as well.

Think Like A Coach

You have several alternatives as a manager for getting the most out of your salespeople. One way to accomplish this is through feedback. Employees will perform better if you pay attention to positive activities and provide positive feedback on them. Negative feedback, on the other hand, can be utilized to put a stop to potentially revenue-losing behaviors. Positive feedback may be provided by pointing out the observed behavior and asking the salesperson how they felt about its efficacy. "How come your consumer didn't do (what you expected)?" You challenge certain behaviors that should contribute to sales success in a non-threatening manner. When managers eliminate roadblocks, salespeople may perform at their peak. Do you know what your salespeople feel are the most difficult obstacles to closing business with you? Have you asked about it? It is not enough to understand what motivates your team; you must also understand what prevents them from succeeding. Simple adjustments in a salesperson's approach can result in significant gains in productivity. 

Management modified an order taker's work function to allow a salesman to get better results. The function of the order taker has been expanded to include confirmation of salesperson appointments. Because all appointments were now assured, the salesman had more time to set up new ones, and clients were less likely to cancel or miss them.