Merry Christmas from everyone at Hays Sales!

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As offices start to wind down for the Christmas holidays, we thought you would enjoy this festive poem. It’s a little out of date now, but still has a great message for salespeople:

Twas the Recession before Christmas, and all down the hall 
The Sales Manager was yelling, “Just make one more call”. 
The reports were hung on the manager’s door with despair 
And all hoped that in the new year their jobs would still be there... 

You can read the full poem at: http://blog.meetingtowin.com/2009/11/17/twas-the-recession-before-christmas.

We hope that you have had a successful year and enjoy your time off.

How can small businesses attract and keep talented employees?

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A recent survey by Hays has found that small businesses may be losing out on the most talented employees due to concerns among jobseekers around pay and benefits.

A number of concerns about working for small businesses were expressed by respondents. 49% of those surveyed believed salaries are not as competitive within small companies as they are within larger companies and 55% believed smaller businesses are not able to offer as many benefits. 52% expressed concerns about the stability of smaller organisations.

However, the results did have some good news for small businesses, with 74% of people reporting a positive experience of working in smaller businesses. Benefits of working for a small business include a more hands-on experience, greater responsibility and a greater understanding of the business as a whole. There are more opportunities to work closely with senior staff, who are also more likely to recognise hard work.

Our experience at Hays shows that many salespeople are as motivated by the challenge of their job as they are by the money, and in some cases they consider the challenge and job satisfaction to be more important. Respondents felt that job satisfaction and interesting work can be found in both large and small organisations. 

We believe that it is important for small businesses to combat the stereotypes and sell the advantages their companies can offer in order to attract and retain the top talent. Do you think that stereotypes are harming small companies?

Can telesales replace field sales?

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In the current climate, everyone is trying to reduce costs. We have spoken to many companies who plan to reduce their sales teams in order to cut costs. In particular, many are considering replacing field salespeople with telesales staff. However, we believe that while this may temporarily reduce costs, it can seriously harm the company prospects in the long term.

There may be a place for telesales in a lot of companies. If a telesales campaign is well-planned with a good script, a good list of numbers to call and well-trained staff, it can be very effective and you can reach a lot of potential clients very quickly. Furthermore, it could be argued that a good salesperson should be able to show their ability whether they are talking over the phone or face to face. Good telesales people can generate profits.
However, a good field salesperson can be an invaluable asset for any company. There is no better way to find out a client’s needs and build a relationship than by meeting face to face. It helps to build a level of trust and customer service that cannot be replicated over the phone and ensures that you develop repeat business. By reducing the number of field salespeople, a company is lowering its chances of making much greater profit in future.
Does your company recognise the value of field salespeople? 

Has Social Media Changed Everything?

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Sales has undeniably changed in the last 20 years. There are question marks over the effectiveness of cold-calling, while everybody is talking about sales 2.0 and the rise of social media. But is social media the future of sales? Do salespeople need it to succeed?

Social media is definitely a powerful tool for salespeople. It provides an endless list of people to contact. It allows salespeople to find out all sorts of useful information about potential customers. It can even give access to contact details for these potential customers. In theory, it gives salespeople all they could need to be successful.
However, without an understanding of how to make the most of these new opportunities, social media is no more effective than approaching people in the street and forcing your product under their nose. Salespeople cannot just create a Twitter account, posts constant messages about their product and expect to get a response. As with any other tool, it is important to understand how to engage with people in a way that they will respond positively to. Social media can be extremely effective as long as salespeople understand how to make the most of it.
There are also sales skills that are important whether you choose to sell over the phone, in person or through social media. Whichever channel you use, you need to be able to develop a relationship with the customer and  convince them of the benefits of your product.
Have you used social media effectively to increase sales? How have you achieved this?

What Makes a Great Sales Manager?

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Sales managers are notoriously hard to recruit for. The qualities that make a great salesperson are very different from those that make a great manager. This means that very good salespeople get promoted to reward them for their hard work, but end up becoming average or worse sales managers, which damages the whole team.
There are some areas where there is definite overlap between salespeople and their managers. Both need to have passion, integrity, commitment, confidence and motivation in order to succeed. Sometimes coming from a sales background will be helpful, as it means you can coach and lead by example. You will understand the mindset of your sales team.
However, being a sales manager also requires some skills that are frequently incompatible with those of a successful salesperson. They need to be able to delegate effectively, entrusting sales to somebody else, which can be difficult for a successful sales person who may feel they can do it better themselves. They also need to take a back seat in some situations, recognising the successes of others in their team rather than striving to stand out themselves. While not impossible, it can be very difficult for a salesperson to adjust their attitude in this way.
Do you think that it is better to look for different kinds of people when recruiting sales managers, or ensure that sales managers receive training and support to ease the transition? Have you successfully progressed from salesperson to sales manager? What skills were most important for you?

Make Your Sales CV Stand Out

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At Hays Sales, we see a large number of CVs every day. We know the mistakes candidates make and how to avoid them. We know that the average recruiter only spends 30 seconds looking at a CV and they need to make an impact as quickly as possible. We’ve put together a few tips to make sure your CV gets read.
1. Clearly show key achievements
Immediately below the introduction section of your CV, have a section with around 6 bullet points outlining your key achievements. This should include big deals you have achieved, big clients you have worked with and tangible figures showing growth and incremental revenue.
2. Drive the point home
For each role, have two sections – one for key responsibilities, one for key achievements. This should reflect and elaborate on the key achievements from the first section, with more information about how you have achieved this success.
3. Include testimonials with your CV
Everyone knows there is a lot of staff turnover at the moment. A lot of people are leaving jobs for reasons that are not their fault. Show that you have nothing to hide. Include testimonials from your recent employers to put a positive spin on what might otherwise be perceived as a negative situation.
4. Show you can add value
As competition for positions increases, employers are looking for value for money. Talk about additional responsibilities you have taken on and any work you have done with other parts of the business. Demonstrate your transferable skills and add value wherever you can.
5. Keep it short and relevant
No matter how experienced you are, 3 pages are enough to show your value to an employer. Bullet points are key. Everything on the CV must add value. Do not include a photo. Do make your CV clear and concise and ensure you include specific dates.
From our experience, these are the most important things you can do to ensure your CV stands out. Is there anything else that you think is important?

Getting a Sales Job in a Recession

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In this difficult economic climate, companies have become a lot more careful about whom they hire. Sales directors have become a lot more sceptical about candidates and are not willing to take a risk on candidates who have not proved they can sell. Redundancies and a shortage of jobs have made CVs look unstructured, giving the impression that candidates cannot sell. There are three main things that candidates can do to overcome these obstacles.
1. Make it clear what has happened and why
Despite the difficult circumstances, sales directors will often assume that if someone has changed jobs a lot recently, it is because they cannot sell. You need to make it clear that this is not the case. Testimonials from recent employers can be a good way to show that you left the company on good terms and are capable of selling. P60s can also be a good way to demonstrate the commission you have received to prove your ability.
2. Show motivation
Companies need to show that you are passionate and enthusiastic and want to sell. Whether you are motivated by money, competition, or pure enjoyment of the job, make this clear to potential employers. Show that you want to be there and that you want to succeed.
3. Prove your worth
There are a number of ways to do this – maybe the revenue you have delivered, your experience managing important accounts, your recent and relevant relationships that you can bring to the job. Make sure potential employers are aware of the value you can bring to the company.
As the jobs market gets tougher, it becomes more important to stand out. However, there are still plenty of opportunities for those with the experience and the desire to sell. Do you have any other tips on how to impress potential employers? What have you found most effective?

Hays Sales Bonus and Commission Survey Results 2011

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It has been make or break for many organisations over the last few years and the pressure has been on sales professionals to bring in the business. Are sales professionals being rewarded for their efforts or are they ready to jump ship? Alison Goodman, Director at Hays Sales, the leading recruiting expert, offers insight into findings from a new survey examining commission structure and satisfaction for employees across all sales functions in the UK.

The new research should set alarm bells ringing among employers. It shows one quarter of employees are planning on moving jobs within the next three months, just under a third are unsure how long they will remain in their current post, and only 12 per cent predict they will remain in post for the next three years. With the UK sales market currently quite buoyant and many start-up and European companies looking to break into the UK for the first time and capitalise on experienced UK sales professionals, employers clearly need to do more to hang on to their top sales professionals.

So what are organisations doing when it comes to bonuses? Interestingly, the survey finds a surprisingly large proportion, around a third of those questioned, state that they do not receive a bonus. In the sales profession, where targets and revenue generated are key and many professionals are financially motivated, the lack of a bonus seems to go against the grain.

In fact recent research, from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), echoes the importance of reward in retaining and attracting talent. It finds the prospect of better pay and benefits has overtaken job satisfaction as the main reason for moving to another job, so clearly there is a need for employers to assess what they are offering in a bid to attract, retain and motivate their sales staff.

It is important to define the sales bonus package to attract staff but also ensure that employees are targeted to deliver profitable revenue at a reasonable cost to the organisation. Organisations also need to be as transparent as possible when communicating such rewards. Doing so will help employers compete in the ‘war for talent’.

The report also looked into how often professionals are awarded a bonus, and how they are targeted. Other key findings include:

Bonus
- One quarter of those who receive a bonus are awarded it on an annual basis.
- Over half (56%) of those within IT & Telecoms receive their bonus on a monthly or quarterly basis.
- 60% of those working within FMCG have a limited bonus, compared to only 17% in professional services and 20% in telecoms.

KPIs
- The majority of KPIs set by organisations are revenue generated (58%).
- Only one quarter of sales professionals indicate that their KPIs focus on customer service.
- Just under one third of professionals say they are rewarded on company performance – this rises to 44% for those earning over £75,000.

For a copy of the full report please visit hays.co.uk/sales.   

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