Friday 21 February 2014

My Dream Premiership Sales Team


I was in the process of making a couple of changes to my Fantasy Football Team the other day and it made me wonder what players would make the best possible sales team.
So, I think it’s only fair that I am the Chairman and the first thing required is to find the best Managing Director to manage my company.
Managing Director/Manager (Brendan Rodgers) – To have an excellent sales force I need an excellent manager. An excellent manager will inspire the rest of the team to be better. He may inherit average salespeople, but over time will nurture, develop and motivate until the entire team is excellent. Brendan has proved in the 2 years he has spent at Liverpool that he has the skills required in an MD, his subtle and successful man management of Luis Suarez, his expert coaching of Jordan Henderson and his nurturing of young talent the likes of Raheem Sterling.
Finance Manager/Goalkeeper (Peter Cech) – I want to know I’m in safe hands when it comes to company finances and by having the ever reliable Chelsea keeper as my Finance Manager I am confident I can let him get on with the job.
HR Manager/Centre Back (Per Mertesacker (VC)) – My HR Manager needs to be a team player, supportive, highly organized and able to communicate effectively. Per has all these skills in abundance. He came close to taking the captains armband but a strong vice-captain he is likely to be.
Sales & Marketing Director/Centre Back (Vincent Kompany ©) – I need my Sales& Marketing Manager to lead my team, he needs to identify opportunities and develop tactics and be able to take the tough decisions when necessary and as Captain of my team Vincent Kompany is the perfect man for the job.
Sales Administrator/Right Back (Seamus Coleman) – A good Sales Administrator will be able to support the Sales Manager and provide assistance to members of the sales team. Coleman shows a constant desire to get forward and support the attack week in week out which lands him the right back slot.
Sales Manager/Midfield Playmaker (David Silva) – My Sales Manager is my key player, the vital minority that produces more than the rest of my sales force, he has the natural talent and flair to get results, Silva oozes class and would raise the games of all around him.
Northern Regional Manager/Centre Midfield (Steven Gerrard) – A strong link between my Sales Director and my field sales team keeping things ticking over. Gerrard has a wealth of experience in the field and can drive the performance and growth of the team.
Southern Regional Manager/Centre Midfield (Yaya Toure) – Another very influential figure within my sales team, Toure is a winner and a charismatic leader in the field and can drive his subordinates forward.
Business Development Manager/Striker (Luis Suarez) – My top performer delivering consistent results well above target, Suarez puts in the extra hours to make things happen and would be a key player within my sales team.
Field Sales Rep/Right Wing Forward (Mesut Ozil) – The primary focus for my Field Sales Reps is to be able to find and create new opportunities and build on current success, Ozil has proven throughout his career he can find the gaps and create chances to close the deal.
Field Sales Rep/Left Wing Forward (Eden Hazard) – I want my Field Sales Reps to be above average with the right attitude and aspirations to be the best, Hazard is all of this and more. He has the skills and attributes to progress far is a future Sales Manager.
Graduate Internal Account Manager/Left Back (Luke Shaw) – The youngster within my team, still learning about the company but showing great potential Shaw is already showing a maturity beyond his years and I see him going through the ranks within the business and becoming a key player.
So here’s my line up as a football team:

Manager –Brendan Rodgers

Goalkeeper – Peter Cech
Right Back – Seamus Coleman
Left Back –Luke Shaw
Centre Back – Vincent Kompany (Captain)
Centre Back – Per Mertesacker (Vice-Captain)
Centre Midfield – Steven Gerrard
Centre Midfield – Yaya Toure
Attacking Midfield – David Silva
Right Wing Forward – Mesut Ozil
Left Wing Forward – Edin Hazard
Centre Forward – Luis Suarez
I look forward to hearing your thoughts and if you’d make any substitutions!

Written by Liam Oakes
Liam is the Candidate Manager at Aaron Wallis and has been with the company for 2 years after having a career with the RAF; Liam has helped hundreds of Sales Professionals secure a new Sales role and ensures that Aaron Wallis runs smoothly.

Tuesday 11 February 2014

Recruiting Cheap Could Be Costly

You've all heard the saying “you have to spend money to make money” and this is more often the case when it comes to your sales staff. I come across businesses quite often that either want to recruit sales staff on “Commission Only” or a 8k basic, 150k OTE!!!, however this mentality could actually cost you more in the long run.

Commission Only – It may seem like a cost effective way of increasing your sales team but very rarely does it work out that way. It can work in some industries, and is normally only when the salesperson can be compensated quickly upon making a sale, however it is not the case with the longer and more common sales cycles, complex sales where it takes time to build your pipeline and win the bigger deals. Going down the “Commission Only” route costs you time and that time is going to cost you money.
Low Basic, High OTE – It can be tempting for companies to go with the low basic, high commission strategy. This strategy will almost certainly cost you more. Getting the remuneration plans right is not simply paying the lowest basic you can get away with paying, if this prevents you from hiring the best talent you need to compete and win, it’s an expensive sales force. You can put in a lot of effort, time and money without producing results.
A top salesperson will not want to work for either of the above, they want the security of a good basic package whilst having an uncapped commission scheme to really motivate them and drive them towards the bigger deals. This doesn't mean you should pay any price for the talent you need, getting the right talent requires the right recruitment process. You can’t build a professional sales force without making the necessary investment. The cheaper you are investing in your Sales force, the worse your sales will be.
Get your recruitment right first time, choose your recruitment partner carefully and it will save you time and money.

Written by Liam Oakes
Liam is the Office Manager at Aaron Wallis and has been with the company for 3 years after having a career with the RAF; Liam has helped hundreds of Sales Professionals secure a new Sales role and ensures that Aaron Wallis runs smoothly.

Monday 3 February 2014

Was Life Better For Teenagers Growing Up In The Eighties?

Do you wish you were a teenager growing up now instead of in the 80’s?” This was a question my fifteen year old daughter asked me recently and I found myself answering “No!” without a moment’s hesitation, as despite the technological advances that in many ways have made our lives easier, in so many other ways I think life as a teenager was better 30 years ago.

Today’s teenagers cannot make mistakes in the same way that we used to, no longer are they able to wake up after a party and cringe at the events of the night before in the privacy of their own bedroom. Now they are likely to wake up to every embarrassing detail being shared on Twitter and Facebook for all to see and comment on.

It is little wonder  that the Pastoral Care Officer at my daughter’s school now spends 90% of her time dealing with issues arising from social media -  all it takes is an unflattering photograph or video to be posted and before you know it some poor unsuspecting girl is being branded ‘ugly’ (or worse) for all to see. As parents we feel completely unprepared for handling these kind of situations, in our day it might have been a few nasty comments behind your back but now the humiliation (even by total strangers) is all so public and children growing up today need to be incredibly strong  to rise above it.

The result of this is that teenagers may feel that they have to be ‘on their guard’ when they start socialising which is something that we never had to worry about and in some ways is very sad. I am glad that I was able to grow up at my own pace, make mistakes and learn from them, knowing that the only person who would really know about my past was me (or those I chose to tell).

“So what else was better about growing up in the 80’s?” my daughter asked me. Well the job market for a start. I left school with ten O’ levels and two A’ levels and decided I wanted to work in a bank. I applied to Barclays, Natwest, Lloyds and Midland bank and was offered jobs at all of them, it was simply a case of deciding which one I liked the best. Even my friends who went to Uni came out with no debt and the promise of a good job at the end of their degree.

Now the competition is so fierce, even to get onto a good degree course, that the best Universities are looking at GCSE results and wanting students who are high achievers in all areas of life. The pressure to make the right choices, right from Year 9 when you are choosing which GCSE’s to study, is intense as it could affect your whole future in a way which we never had to worry about thirty years ago.

Even if you can get a decent job after completing your degree (rather than ending up working in a call centre or on a supermarket checkout), what are the chances of you ever being able to afford to get on the property ladder? We had to save hard for a year or so in our early twenties to be able to buy our first flat (it cost us £46,000 and we needed a £2300 deposit) but I never remember feeling concerned that it was something we couldn’t easily achieve.

Recently my nephew was able to buy his first home after working and living at home with his parents for many years, his flat cost £183,000 and he needed to save a £9150 deposit. For many young graduates coming out of University with thousands of pounds worth of debt and little prospect of walking into a well-paid job, the likelihood is that they will either be living with their parents or renting for a very long time.


So whilst today’s teenagers can download music instantly (rather than waiting with the cassette player on record on a Sunday night), view photographs instantly (rather than waiting weeks for their films to be developed at Borehamwood) and have information at their fingertips online (at the expense of learning to conduct research properly using a book), I would far rather have grown up in the 80’s as I think our generation had the kind of start in life which has given us the skills and work ethic to go out into the world of business and be high achievers .