Plagued by Sales Rep turnover? Is it high compared to your competitors? If this is a trend, do you know why?

This post is to help discover the root cause of Sales Rep turnover. It is for R !usiness Partners working with Sales "eaders. Included is a tool that helps pinpoint your root cause of turnover.

$25 Million a year! Is this a problem to resolve? Think about boosting your company#s bottom line by $%&' a year. ere#s a sales rep turnover e(ample. *Per 100 Reps* Turnover Rate+ *ost per 'ishire+ 3nnual "oss+ 3nnual Revenue Increase by improving to industry tunrover rate+ See this post for determining your mishire cost.
So whats the problem

)our *ompany )our Industry ,&$/0&1 $.0.0' $10.5M .&$20&1 $%0' 4

3ccording to 5allup research, the top five predictors of turnover 6in general7 are+ %. The immediate manager .. Poor fit to the 8ob ,. *oworkers not committed to 9uality :. Pay and benefits 0. *onnection to the organi;ation or to senior management These also relate to Sales Rep turnover. !elow, I describe , areas commonly causing high turnover. !his a"ailable download lists another 2 potential root causes including the <!ad !oss<. It has symptoms and 9uestions to ask to determine which one is =it>.

Poor Hiring

Sales success is 0&- talent and 0&- performance conditions. iring someone with the wrong talent will 9uickly remove 0&- of the e9uation. Poor hiring could be caused by a bad process or a bad profile 6or both7. If this cause is suspected, it is often resolved by outsourcing recruiting. That may not be the best option. ?ig in to these 9uestions to be sure+ Process issues+
o o o o ?o recruiter incentives include speed to fill or low vacancy metrics? ?o you have a commitment to respond to all candidates within a certain time period? 3re more than , people re9uired to screen candidates? ?oes your hiring process include 8ob try outs or probationary periods?

Profile issues+
o o o o Poor onboarding ?oes the profile for this Rep position include e(pected accountabilities 3@? re9uired competencies? as the profile been reviewed by Sales personnel 6both Rep and 'anagement7 before use? ?oes the profile specifically weed out un9ualified candidates? Is the profile attractive to A3A player reps?

Bhen a candidate is hired, they need to be onboarded to your company. The usual goal is to get a Sales Rep to full productivity fast. !ut using a trial by fire approach will not develop loyalty. Instead, the new hire may be thinking this new company is not as good as thought. 3 solid onboarding program can be used during hiring as a way to attract. Bhat happens here is that new hires hear promises during hiring. The first couple months do not live up to those promises. The onboarding program is deficient.
o o o o 3re candidates made aware of an onboarding program during the recruiting phase? Is Rep ramp time to productivity more than C months? ?o new hires have a structured schedule for their first , months of employment? 3re Sales 'anagers held accountable for the use of the onboarding program?

Insufficient Marketing-Provided Leads

Sales Reps depend on a continual flow of 9uality leads to work as opportunities. They find leads themselves through prospecting. The 'arketing department is also supposed to provide leads. Dnfortunately, many marketing organi;ations confuse demand generation with providing leads. They lack a lead nurturing program. The leads they do provide are not 9uality. Ever time, Sales Reps ignore leads from 'arketing because 9uantity and 9uality is low. Sales Reps leave when no support for leads comes from 'arketing. This is usually coupled with increased 9uotas year after year. Some 9uestions to determine if this is a root cause+
o o ?o the Sales Reps complain of too much time spent prospecting for leads? ?oes 'arketing have a defined "ead 'anagement process including lead nurturing?

o o

Is 'arketing goaled on delivering leads to Sales? Is the Sales Epportunity close rate very low 6less than .&-7?