Like this article? PLEASE +1 it! Evan Signature
Evan Carmichael Top Header
Share for a Cause









The War to Attract and Retain Sales Talent

Written by: John Brennan

Article Overview: The need for superior sales talent is increasing, but many big North American companies are fighting-and losing-the war to attract and retain it. The McKinsey Quarterly reports that a two percent economic growth rate for 15 years would increase the demand for executives by about a third. Meanwhile, supply is moving in the opposite direction: the number of US 35- to 44-year-olds will decline by 15 percent from 2000 to 2015. The report concludes that "Companies must make talent management a top priority, create and perpetually refine their employee value proposition, and source and, above all, develop talent systematically while removing underperformers."

Free Download - Adapting to Technology and the Internet By John Brennan
Name: Email:

The War to Attract and Retain Sales Talent

You might ask yourself what you are doing to develop leaders for tomorrow in your sales organization, or on your team.

Do your sales people have an individual development plan that identifies gaps in their competencies and includes a plan to close them?

Do you regularly coach your sales people to improve their performance?

Are you aware of all the educational and training resources available to your sales people and do you recommend appropriate resources to them?

Is every problem truly a learning opportunity? Do you first fix the problem, not the blame, and then involve your sales people in a root cause analysis to prevent the problem from recurring?

Can you "let go" your disappointment and frustration when a sales person is the problem and deal with them in an objective and fair manner?

When a new project comes your way do you ask yourself what parts of it you can delegate to develop your sales people? Do you delegate autonomy and responsibility while retaining adequate control?

Do you regularly "catch your sales people doing something right" and praise them for it? Do your sales people feel valued and respected?

Could your organization compete well in a "Best Places to Work" contest?

Related Articles
  You Have To Be Hungry - Part I of III
  Talent Management Merits Your Board's Full Attention
  Those With the Best Talent Win
  Managing Skills for Business Continuity
  Quick Tips For Hiring In A Recession

Home > Sales > John Brennan > The War to Attract and Retain Sales Talent
Article Tags: economic growth rate, hiring, recruiting, superior sales

About the Author: John Brennan
RSS for John's articles - Visit John's website

John Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses.

Click here to visit John's website
Dashed Line

More from John Brennan
Measure Customer Loyalty
Webinar Plan
Internet Marketing Campaigns
Campaigns to Customers


Related Forum Posts
Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing
Re: Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional Re: Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - [quote="ltrahan":31w9r2iz]Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing[/quote:31w9r2iz] I second the request...
Seek Venture Capital & Funding Seek Venture Capital & Funding - Hello, Greetings from India. I am Seeking Venture Capital for Offshore Software Company Start-up. Need advise along with Business Model Sample. I have a basic outline for an offshore company. 1. Technology - like Microsoft Dot Net, Java, LAMP 2. Talent Team - Found Good Technology Developers. 3. Where I can get the leads/potential customers - Leads have been identified who are willing to move forward offshore projects. 4. I do not have resources like funding. It is a very critical factor to me Industries: Manufacturing, Real Estate, Retail, Insurance, Distribution & Logistics, Healthcare, Industry Associations and Software Product Development, Agricultural Industries and Etc. Services: Offshore Software Development Company. Offices to be located: Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India and USA. Products/Services/Applications in areas like POS & Billing, Sales & Distribution, Production Planning, Material Management, Inventory Control, Plant Maintenance, Purchasing, Accounting and Logistics. Dynamic Web Programming with Database Driven Content Management Systems, Online Stores for E-Commerce, B2B Solutions, Community Portals, Website Redesign and Development, Custom ERP with Enterprise Wide Functional Modules such as Marketing, CRM, Accounting, Inventory Control, Sales & Distribution, Production Planning, Purchase & Stores, Logistics and Supply Chain. Seek your further questions and help. Thank you, Best Regards, Jayapratap.
Quote of the Day - ?"I've never met a successful entrepreneu Quote of the Day - ?"I've never met a successful entrepreneu - ?"I've never met a successful entrepreneur that didn't simply outwork all others. Talent is important, but the work ethic is a necessity." - Adam Braun (Pencils Of Promise)
HRPreneur HRPreneur - Hi everyone, I am new to the forum and I recently started my own Human Capital (HR) consulting firm called HRPreneur Inc. HRP focuses on making human capital a strategic differentiator for SME's. Below is a summary about HRP; Who We Are: HRP is a Human Capital consulting firm with 30 years of experience that becomes an extension of your company by providing a full array of services to help you create a highly engaged workforce focused on achieving strategic results in order to build a long lasting great company! Mission: HRP provides small and medium sized businesses a Strategic HR Business Partner to increase employee engagement, resulting in cost savings, increased productivity and results at an affordable rate! Vision: To inspire and warrant SME's reach their full competency! Cost Effectiveness: We provide over 30 years of experience at a fraction of the cost at a strategic executive HR business level You will save between 50% to 60% in costs per year on salary, bonus, benefits, training, office space alone We will provide you additional cost efficiencies through our services Services: • Strategic Human Resources Planning • Organizational Redesign • Change Management • Organizational Culture Development • Employee Engagement Programs • Leadership Assessment and Development • Compensation Design • Talent Acquisition • Assimilation and On-Boarding • Performance Management • Talent Management & Succession Planning • Human Resources Due Diligence • Human Resources Audit • Full Service HR Outsourcing


Recommended Article for You close

  You Have To Be Hungry - Part I of III

Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.



Featured Article


Bottom Footer
Share for a Cause












Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Popular Articles

Effective Leadership

Google Panda and Your Search Engine Rankings

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.