LET’S DRILL DOWN AND DISCOVER THE TURNOVER ISSUES
Like most things, turnover problems come back to leadership. However, knowing that may not help you solve the problems that cause it. Especially if you are the leader.
What can you do if something is broken? Perhaps you have tried quick “fixes” to patch up some of the holes. Or maybe you just put your head in the sand and hope it improves on its own. We want to encourage you to enter on a journey that can actually lead to a transformation in your entire sales culture, if you allow it. People can get better and happier. They can become more productive and the bottom line can grow in great ways. And you can become much more successful as a leader.
FIRST OF ALL, WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THE COST
What does high sales turnover really cost your company? Can it be measured in $$ dollars? Many dollars? You may be shocked, especially if you have never added it up.
Let’s just look at a short list of some of the costs — there are more, but we can start here:
- The cost of hiring the rep.
- The cost of training and team overhead during the period the rep was with you.
- The salary paid, especially if the rep did not become productive for the company.
- The cost of lost business in leads given, prospects handed over and reputation, particularly if attitude was a problem.
- The emotional toll on the team of the “revolving door.” It affects the feelings of stability in others who stay.
- Lost friendships and lost positive energy from the good ones who leave.
That is just the toll on the company and your sales team. But what about the toll on the reps themselves? What does the turnover do to the ones who have to leave or choose to leave?
- With reps who do not produce, a feeling of deep personal failure.
- A tendency to blame themselves and perhaps give up trying (the better ones sometimes).
- A tendency to blame your company, other salespeople, managers, even your products.
The cost of turnover is usually very high, to the bottom line, to the team, to the individual who was mis-hired or not coached, and to your reputation.
Above all, it can keep your sales culture in a spiral, never gaining altitude.
DO YOU DO THESE THINGS TO HELP TURNOVER?
- Do you hire well, really well?
- Do you use assessments and layered interview questions to determine if the candidate has character, motivation, and sales and prospecting skills?
- Do you have a vigorous and effective on-boarding system for new sales/recruiting hires?
- Do you have an excellent coaching system to get them productive and successful, both in their sales life but also in their personal lives at work?
- Do you mentor them with a good mentoring system?
- Do you help them set goals, understand their “WHY?, and help them track, improve and extend their performance?
- Here is the hard one: Do your salespeople and recruiters really like working with you?
A thought from Travis Bradberry, author of Emotional Intelligence 2.0 and cofounder of TalentSmart.
“Managers tend to blame their turnover problems on everything under the sun, while ignoring the crux of the matter: people don’t leave jobs; they leave managers.” — Travis Bradberry
