You’ve seen this movie before:
Manager interviews “superstar” salesperson and feels relieved that this prayers have been answered. Superstar candidate negotiates a base salary and draw that’s way out of the comfort zone of the manager, but, hey, she’s going to be worth every penny. One month into the relationship, nothing much happens. Three months into [...]
This recession is longer, deeper, and more painful than many business managers were prepared to handle. When things turn around – and they will – the expectations for the relationship between employer and employee will be dramatically different. A few key statistics highlight the coming shifts in the US workforce.
Here’s what you need to know:
Fact: 40% if the US workforce will be made up of independent contractors or contract-based labor by 2019, up from 26% today. (source: EPIC-MRA; Kelly Services)
Why: Older workers have seen their retirement accounts decimated by losses in the equities markets over the past 24 months, and they’ll need to work more years to make that magic nest egg number. Corporations haven’t done a very good job with succession planning, and they’ve been running so lean these past 2 years that middle management bench strength is nowhere near adequate. Additionally, many companies are shifting to a “get the labor that we need, when we need it” mentality, which is another way to say, “we’ll hire contractors on a per-project basis.”
What it Means: Ten years ago, it was unheard of to seriously look at a resume of a potential hire that had more than 3 positions in a five year period. Ten years from now, you’ll be seeing more and more candidates who have experience across multiple companies while working as a contractor. You won’t be able to dismiss candidates out of hand just because they appear to have short job stints. In the future, compressed job stints will be almost half of our nation’s employment.
Fact: In 2010, 28% of the US workforce will telecommute either part time or full time, up from 12% just ten years ago. (source: Gartner Dataquest)
Why: Companies are getting wise to the fact that telecommuting saves a ton of money…as much as 30% less per employee once you factor in savings with office rent, technology infrastructure, and other administrative overhead. And as corporate globalization continues to trend higher, project teams will become accustomed to having multiple disparate members located not just in multiple locations, but in multiple time zones.
What it Means: The notion of waking up in the morning and spending two hours driving to and from a desk – when you could do the same job, more productively, from a desk in your home – is going to make less and less sense to knowledge working in the economy of tomorrow. And it should make less and less sense to employers, as well, when they realize that employees typically replace those 2 hours of commuting time with 1.5 hours of productive work time, without working less hours overall.
Fact: 80% of employees want flexibility in their work arrangement provided it doesn’t harm their careers. (source: Georgetown University Law Center)
Why: As Gen X (those born 1965 – 1978) takes the management reigns from the Boomer generation, they bring with them a less structured view of the workplace. As managers, they’re less concerned with having people show up to a central work location every day. As employees, they’re accustomed to more flexibility in their employment arrangements. Attitudes about what constitutes “an office job” are radically different from the previous generation. Factor in Gen Y (born 1979-2000) and their propensity for “me first” work-life balance, and you’ve got some real change on your hands.
What it Means: Managers and companies will be required to rethink their view of employment, with the biggest change being the belief that people are after the top dollar possible. To the contrary, the research has shown that Gen X and Gen Y workers place a higher value on work flexibility than they do on salary or bonus. So, before you run off and throw money at that next crop of top-performing college seniors, consider that sabbaticals, time off for charitable pursuits, and generous flex time policies are all more effective – and cheaper – when the goal is attracting and retaining talent.
Few would argue that the US will emerge from this economic downturn without permanent changes to the way corporations plan for and manage employees. Make sure you’re on the front end of these huge changes in the way we work. You’ll be ahead of the game.
Sometimes it feels like companies make a concerted effort to drive their top-producing salespeople out of the organization and into the welcoming arms of the competition. If you read that line and chuckle, then you know exactly what I’m talking about.
After all the time and effort expended to locate, hire, and train top producers, why in the world do most compaines do things that make their top salespeople quit? In my opinion, companies don’t pay attention to the basic drivers/motivators for top producers. If your company has a hard time holding on to salespeople, it’s probably for one of the following reasons:
You’ve changed their compensation structure. And not for the better. The #1 cause of a disgruntled top producer is negative modifications to their compensation structure. With salepeople, the comp plan is a sacred covenant - everyone agrees that these are the rules. Top producers inevitable knock the ball out of the park, and management says, “Uh-oh. These guys are making too much money.” So they change the comp plan. The usual suspects are caps on commissions (ludicrous), reducing overall commission payouts (kills trust faster than anything), and taking away clients to give to other salespeople (all that hard work, stolen away). Please, don’t do this stuff.
They have an unhealthy relationship with their manager. This ususally happens when the top producer’s previous boss - who was awesome - gets promoted and is replace by a less-than-awesome boss who feels like they have to prove their worth by tinkering with everything that was working. I call this, “New Boss Syndrome.” It goes something like this: (1) New boss enters the picture, (2) new boss fails to take the time to build relationships with the top producers, (3) new boss says or does something to piss the top producers off, (4) new boss’ involvement actually starts to hinder the top producers’ ability to produce (read: mandatory attendance at excessive and pointless “sales meetings”), (5) top producer starts accepting headhunter phone calls, (6) they leave.
You’ve increased their risk. This risk may be caused by poor company financial performance, a merger or buyout, or an overall macro decline in the size of the market for the product or service that they’re selling. This one’s a bit more difficult to counter, and I mention it only because you need to pay twice the attention to top producers when a broad-based decline hits your industry. They begin to consider that move to Career X that they’ve always dreamed about.
These things are what headhunters are tuned to when calling your salespeople. If they perceive that one of the above is going on, they’ll zero in on your top producers like a missle.
The truth about top producers is that if their ego is sufficiently stroked, if they are fed with good marketing support, if their comp plan is solid, and if you get the heck out of their way, then they’ll be happily making your company money for as long as things stay rosy. If, however, you’d like to make you top salesperson quit and go work for a competitor, you’ve been taught how to do so.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with a number of bank executives on the topic of recruiting investment advisors, and thought I’d share with you, in the words of these bank execs, the specific traits and experiences that top-producing investment advisories look for when hiring representatives.
The list, in no particular order:
“The rep is a hunter, not a farmer. ” And not even a combination of the two, as many would suggest as a good fall-back plan if a pure hunter cannot be found.
“The rep isn’t afraid of the phone.” In fact, the rep loves the phone. They use it as the business tool that it is.
“The rep didn’t necessarily have financial experience when they joined.” But they had a track record of delivering above-quote sales numbers in a hunter role.
“The rep was perfectly comfortable with a low base / high commission structure.” Because they know what they’re capable of.
“It took months to lure them away from a great book of business.” Always the hardest part of luring them away - getting them to leave their book.
“The rep had a list of outstanding references a mile and a half long.” Important, because salepeople are great at selling themself in an interview, but, sometimes, that’s all they’re good at selling.
If you’re considering hiring an investment advisor for your bank, or if you currently have one or more investment advisors working for your bank who can’t seem to make it happen, then refer back to this list. Go with what’s worked for the best shops in the US.
If you’re a local or regional bank and run an in-house investment advisory practice, chances are that you’ve struggled with finding good talent. You’re not alone.
What are some things we know about recruiting investment reps?
- For starters, we know that there aren’t enough of them out there. Scratch that. There aren’t enough good ones out there. Sure, banks have been jettisoning Series 7-certified advisors for months now…but they’re keeping the top producers. This dynamic keeps the supply-side constraint as strong as ever.
- We know that only 5-10% of these reps are “lifers.” Performance and retention issues make this skill set a tough one to navigate.
- We know that care and feeding are critical, because these folks live on adrenaline and praise from their manager.
- Bottom line - Low supply + high wash rates + high maintenance = “let the Trust Department deal with it”
Where do top investment reps work? aka, “Where do you hunt for these people?”
- Banks, like yours
- Investment shops & wire houses
- Insurance companies
- For themselves as independents
Guess where you don’t hunt for reps? On job boards like Monster.com or Careerbuilder. And certainlynot on Craigslist.
What are these top reps doing every day? Well…
- They’re making great money.
- They’re continually building their book of business - their clients love them and refer them business; in fact, 80% of new business comes from referrals for these folks!
- They’re happy.
All of these facts combine to form a truth that’s as plain as the nose on your face: you’re going to have to pry them out of a very good situation. In the next post in this series, we’ll talk about what you look for when recruiting a top rep away from a competitor.
Business owners and managers are tasked with getting the most possible productivity out of their team - it’s all about motivating and inspiring people to do their absolute best. The Talent Review is a tool that managers can employ to ensure that they’ve got the right people in the right jobs, and can really make [...]
Being from Chicago, where venturing outside during 7 out of every 12 months can give you hypothermia, it was a welcome relief this week to be in New Orleans for the Fortune Small Business Conference, where the weather has been fantastic. The focus was on sales and marketing, and several of the speakers honed in [...]
Companies that consistently produce top recruiting results never do so by accident. That these firms tend to outperform their industry peers is the end result of a journey that began with putting the right people in the right seats. How do the successful managers of these leading companies build high-performing teams? By staying true to these five recruiting habits:
They follow a defined process. There’s no shortcut when it comes to selecting the right person for the job. Managers who produce successful hire after successful hire do so because they follow a proven formula, including:
* Writing a well-defined Job Profile
* Using an effective Candidate Work History form
* Conducting a telephone interview
* Conducting an in-person work history interview, followed by an in-person behavioral interview
* Personally contacting each of the candidate’s references
* Using a Candidate Scorecard to make objective yes/no decisions
They’re always recruiting. I’ll say it another way - they don’t let recruiting become an exercise in crisis management. Highly successful hiring managers don’t wait until they have an open position to being recruiting. They’re constantly tapping their networks, asking colleagues for referrals and staying in touch with top prospects from their competitors’ payrolls. When their company wins the next big project, they’re not scrambling for new talent and settling for average performers due to a time constraint. Lack of preparation in recruiting leads to bad hires, and they’re always prepared with available talent.
They take the time to define the role. Without a Job Profile that explains, in detail, the specific, measurable outcomes required of the person filling the role, the recruiting process will produce erratic results. Successful hiring managers take the necessary time required to think through these outcomes, and to define them in quantifiable terms against which candidates can be evaluated. They never say to a recruiter, “I don’t really have a job description written, but you know what I’m looking for, right?”
They include others in the process. Successful hiring managers know that it takes a team to make a well-rounded, informed decision about a new hire. They ask other members of the organization to sit in on interviews as note-takers in order to get outside perspective. These managers know that two sets of eyes and ears are better than one, and they ask for and listen to feedback on their interviewing style and effectiveness.
They don’t talk themselves into saying yes. Most importantly, successful hiring managers don’t hesitate to pass on candidates who are anything less than an top performer. They’d rather go for months without a key position being filled than fill that position with someone who’s less than perfect - because they know that the time spent managing that bad hire will more than wipe out the benefits gained from having someone mediocre in the role. Successful managers look to the Candidate Scorecard and make emotionless decision rooted in facts.
Successful hiring managers follow these five habits to generate recruiting results that lead to high-performing teams. Focus on developing these habits, and watch your results begin to improve overnight.
In Part 1 and Part 2, we discussed why hiring salespeople is so difficult, and what to look for when reviewing a sales resume. Here, I’ll share with you the “rubber meeting the road” part of the process - the interview.
Sales interviews are a challenge to run if you’re not sure what to ask. That’s why I recommend coming armed with [...]
In Part 1 of this series on hiring salespeople, we explored the various reasons why hiring salespeople is so difficult. Here, we’ll discuss some tips and tricks for properly reviewing the resume of a potential sales hire.
All managers have made a hiring mistake at one time or another. My experience in interviewing sales talent on [...]