The Sales Talent Excellence webinar hosted by Lumenii was a resounding success, with a lot of engagement from attendees. We've gathered the insightful responses from our panel of experts to address the audience's burning questions.
Table of Contents - Leadership in Selection and Retention
- Finding and Hiring Sales Talent
- Managing and Developing Sales Talent Excellence
- Engaging and Retaining High Performers
Finding and Hiring Sales Talent
Q: What are the best sources of sales talent? Can you reflect on bringing in junior sales talent versus experienced hires?
Many organisations only hire graduates and don't take people with experience from other industries. That is a very deliberate strategy that is employed by Intelligent Debt Management that was put into place when the organisation was started about 20 years ago. With junior talent, their development and their career transitions through the organisation are absolutely critical, and support systems such as onboarding, mentoring, coaching and communication become ever more important. As this junior talent becomes more proficient, they can then be moved through the organisation.
The consideration of hiring junior vs experienced sales talent should also be influenced by the role, the nature of client interactions and the amount of time that can be dedicated to their development. If you need someone to hit the ground quickly, you don't have a lot of time to spend with them, and you need a big impact, then hiring an experienced person may be more beneficial.
When sourcing sales talent, besides job advertisements, effective methods can be word of mouth via an existing network of businesses and clients, as well as reaching out to existing sales talent on LinkedIn. Reaching out to people on Linkedin doesn't necessarily have to be about headhunting, but can also be asking for their recommendations and word of mouth suggestions.
Q: What are the recommended assessments for selecting sales potential in a target driven, competitive volatile industry, apart from employment history or an interview?
According to research, specific factors can be measured that predict high sales performance. Among these are the individual’s personality factors, motivation, cognitive ability, and degree of adaptiveness (Agility). Increased emphasis is placed on adaptive selling, which has a strong relationship with performance. We recommend incorporating personality, motivations, cognitive ability and Learning Agility assessments into your recruitment approach. The above will assist you with identifying high-potential sales talent and reduce the likelihood of recruitment mistakes, poor performance and high turnover. You can find more information on our sales potential assessment, which is designed to measure the most critical competencies for effective sales performance.
Q: How important is agility in sales potential and sales performance?
Agility plays an important role in performance in general, as well as specifically in sales performance. With the pandemic fast forwarding changes such as AI, Agility becomes even more important, as agile people are more able to cope with whatever gets thrown at them. Agility is about the future and about being able to perform and demonstrate effective behaviours even when you don't know what to do. Agility can be measured for selection decisions as well as in a development and performance context.
Q: Can you share some examples of successful sales training programs or initiatives that have significantly improved sales team performance?
Deciding on which programs or initiatives are most impactful depends on the nature of the product, solution, organisation and industry. In a solutions, technology or strategy-driven organisation, extensive product and technical training has to be done before the individual can actually be operational as a salesperson.
Regardless of the type of training chosen, it can be made more effective by understanding the person's potential, selling style, motivators, and relative strengths and limitations for the role. If you know what the requirements are for a role, and you know how the person matches up to the requirements for the role, in the training and onboarding you can focus on how to leverage these strengths and how to be aware of any potential limitations and development areas.
Examples of effective sales training are knowledge incubators, as well as ongoing mentorship and coaching. People have to have support and self-reflection. Over time, it can be useful to hold sessions that refresh fundamental knowledge and touch on sales fundamentals: are you practicing the basic tools of selling, of closing the deal, and are you reflecting on this?
Q: How do you measure effectiveness of a training intervention / development initiative that you have put in place for a sales team?
Measuring the effectiveness of training is important to ensure that the investment is delivering the desired results and improving performance. When it comes to training, adults retain between 10 to 30 percent of what they learn in a classroom, but they retain up to 90% of what they do. Leaders need to support ongoing learning and development initiatives, through regular feedback, engagement and one-on-ones.
One suggestion to measure effectiveness is to conduct a pre-assessment of the sales team's skills, knowledge, and performance before the training begins. Document the need that you want the training to solve. This helps establish a starting point and provides a basis for comparison after the training. After the training, assess the sales team's performance again using the same metrics and assessments used in the pre-training phase. Compare the post-training results to the baseline data to determine if there have been improvements. Examples of sales metrics to measure include conversion rates, average deal size, and sales cycle length.
Q: How should leaders work with sales teams to get the most from them?
There are some standard strategies that leaders can implement to help their teams be more effective. There are also research studies that analyse which type of leadership styles work best for boosting sales team performance and engagement.
Standard strategies include developing a clear vision for the organisation as well as a clear sales strategy. This vision has to be shared with the team, with an explanation of how their individual efforts contribute to the overall success of the organisation. In that way everyone feels involved, with open communication and ongoing feedback being integral to ongoing engagement.
Turning to research, one study found that sales managers may be able to improve their effectiveness substantially by paying more attention to their transformational leadership behaviour. This means that they need to think more carefully about how they can do a better job of articulating a vision, providing an appropriate model, fostering the acceptance of group goals and providing individualised support.
Engaging and Retaining High Performers
Q: What measures can startups put in place to manage talent retention in sales?
Before recruiting employees, it is vital to ensure that there is a good-person organisation fit. The organisation should select individuals whose interests, motivations, and preferred roles align with what the organisation can provide. This alignment ensures that employees can fulfil their motivations within the workplace, creating engagement and a mutually beneficial match between the two.
Once employees are appointed, a start-up or small company should consider several key aspects. Firstly, clear role expectations should be communicated during onboarding, ensuring employees understand their responsibilities. If role responsibilities can't always be clear cut due to the nature of the business, make sure to communicate this up front before hiring and during onboarding. Career development is another important area to consider - people love to know that they're learning, growing and being exposed to new things.
Constructive feedback is essential for employees to understand how they can improve. In addition, adequately rewarding and incentivising employees is critical. While financial rewards may not always be possible for a start-up, offering non-financial rewards can make employees feel valued. It might be advantageous for the organisation to offer benefits such as healthcare or flexible work hours.
Q: In light of the current trends in sales automation, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and the increasing importance of data and trend analysis in sales, how essential is a robust sales talent retention strategy for businesses, and to what extent will it determine success in sales, especially when compared to having proficient data and trend analysts?
In light of the current trends mentioned, a clear-cut sales talent retention strategy can contribute successfully not only to engagement but also to performance. High performing salespeople are critical and you don't want to lose them. They also have something that data and analysis doesn't - their innate capacity for human interaction and relationship-building, which cannot be easily replicated. Furthermore, their adaptability, creativity, and adeptness in handling complex sales situations are important in securing high-value deals. While data analysts offer insights, it is the sales team that breathes life into these findings, driving revenue and customer satisfaction. In essence, the combination of proficient sales personnel and data analysts is what can give you the edge for sales success, with a well-structured talent retention strategy being the foundation.
Q: Sales people, in part, are motivated by closing orders. In our industry, the sales cycle can be 18 - 24 months. Is it possible to assess "perseverence" and, importantly, how does one keep people motivated?
In industries where the sales cycle can extend to 18-24 months, sustaining motivation and perseverance in salespeople is important, as you mention. It is possible to measure "perseverance", although we may refer to a different name. At Lumenii, we can assess sales-relevant competencies such as result-orientation, initiative, drive to keep going and the ability to perform under pressure.
To keep salespeople motivated in this environment, it's critical to establish realistic expectations from the outset, outlining the prolonged nature of the sales process and its associated benefits. Recognising and celebrating smaller milestones throughout the extended cycle, such as advancing through sales stages or achieving key project milestones, can be helpful. Regularly acknowledging and rewarding efforts, regardless of final deal closure, is important. Providing the necessary tools, resources, and support, coupled with ongoing communication on industry trends and company progress, will enable sales teams to navigate the protracted cycle effectively. Offering opportunities for professional development, promoting a growth mindset, and fostering a supportive team environment can all contribute to sustaining motivation.
Author
Lumenii's team of expert psychologists regularly collaborate to share their ideas and knowledge. The latest case studies, thought leadership, and research.