Are You Working For A Sales-Driven Company?

The Discontent Among Sales Professionals

A recent study found that 65% of professional salespeople today are unhappy in their current roles. Two-thirds of all professional salespeople wake up every morning not looking forward to their day and enjoying what they do and who they work for. The study also found that over half of these folks are actively looking for new sales jobs. I was asked recently if I found these statistics surprising, and I don’t for a few reasons.

Why Salespeople Feel Stuck

First, most salespeople today are not happy in their current roles because they are not getting the support they need – regardless of their level of success or years with the company. For those who are struggling to meet quota, they are not getting the proper training, mentoring and coaching to make improvements in the key areas for their personal development.

This is because companies have about 50% more salespeople than they truly need. Wait – 50% more salespeople than they need? Yes, because most companies build in high failure rates for salespeople, knowing most won’t hit quota.

The Plight of Successful Salespeople

For those who are successful and overachieving quota, they feel like they are having to overcome needless internal obstacles and their management isn’t providing any value to their selling. In short, they feel like their management isn’t moving things out of their way so they can do what they do best – sell more. And then when it comes crunch time and quarter-end or year-end numbers need to be hit, management pushes these ultra-high performers to sell more or accelerate deals to close when they aren’t ready.

Now, this isn’t a new phenomenon. It has recently surfaced because of the study, but in reality, it has been going on for years. The core reason this has gone on for so long within sales organizations is that most companies are not sales-driven. True sales-driven companies recognize that the most important people in the organization are the salespeople.

Seven Indicators of a Truly Sales-Driven Company

If you want to know if a company is truly sales-driven, then there are seven things you need to look for.

1. There has to be a belief throughout the company that the salespeople are the most important people.
2. Look at the senior sales leader and see how long they have been at the company and how are they viewed among the executives.
3. From top down, are sales plans allowing salespeople to make more money from one year to the next.
4. There should be an investment in individual development, going beyond basic sales training or CRM systems.
5. The turnover of salespeople every year should be under 10%.
6. There should be a good sense of friendly competition among salespeople coupled with a spirit of comradery.
7. There needs to be appropriate recognition and reward, not just for the salesperson, but also for those that support them.

The Disturbing Trend in Sales Compensation and Recognition

Unfortunately, I have seen a disturbing trend over the past few years regarding sales compensation and recognition that seems to be following some social trends. I have seen companies start to treat sales recognition like youth tee ball and soccer. Their view, typically led by HR, is that all employees are the same and should be treated equally.

The Bottom Line for Sales-Driven Success

Folks, the bottom line is this – salespeople ARE the most important people in the company – period. If they don’t do their job – then no more company.

To have a true sales-driven company culture, you should hold up these highest performers in front of everyone and let them know that through their efforts, the company has done well.

If you want to know if your company is truly sales-driven, or before you join another company only to find out they aren’t sales-driven, then look for evidence of these seven factors of truly sales-driven companies.