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.

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