(Guest Bloggers – Jeb Blount and Dr. Beverly Wright)
Last week, while on a flight, I sat next to an HR VP for a Fortune 100 company. During our conversation she told me that her biggest single worry was turnover in her sales force. Just consider that statement for a moment. This lady was the head of HR for a company that employs more than 200,000 people and her biggest issue is sales turnover. I was glad hear her say this for two reasons. A) it is fantastic that she places so much value on her Sales Professionals B) she clearly recognizes that sales turnover is the greatest single threat to sales productivity and ultimately business growth.
Curious, I asked her what strategy she had in place to retain her Sales Professionals. The first key, she said, was talent acquisition. She told me that her company would be working harder than ever to go out into the marketplace to find and attract the very best sales talent (it sounded as though they were putting together a professional sports team).
Next, she told me that her company had to do a better job of building a Sales Culture. Now if I had a dime for every time I’ve heard an executive tell me that they were going to improve, build, develop, implement, or work on Sales Culture I’d be hanging out with Bill Gates. Sales Culture is one of those ubiquitous clichés that corporations love to sling around when they are worried about sales turnover and productivity.
Intuitively we all recognize that good corporate Sales Culture usually leads to happier salespeople, lower turnover, and higher productivity. Unfortunately all the talk about creating great Sales Culture is usually a lot of hot air because most of the people who use the words “Sales Culture” can’t tell you what it means.
Even this talented HR VP, who was intent on finding and retaining the best sales talent in the world, struggled to provide a clear definition of Sales Culture in her company. She just didn’t have any data to back up her hunches. And she had no blueprint for the architecture of a Sales Culture that attracts the best sales talent, retains top performers, and fosters consistently high productivity.
Currently there is a worldwide shortage of sales talent. Sales is the most in demand career category worldwide. At the same time there is a sales turnover crisis in many organizations as salespeople jump ship to work for higher pay, better benefits, and better bosses. Sales turnover costs billions in real costs and lost sales and corporations and executives are desperate to find solutions that reduce turnover. So over the next few years you will begin to hear terms like employee engagement (we’ll save this one for another day) and Sales Culture rolling off the lips of gurus and executives at an ever increasing pace.
Because of this there are several major academic studies underway that are designed to define Sales Culture objectively. These groundbreaking studies may someday move the words Sales Culture from corporate cliché to corporate action. One of these studies is currently being undertaken by Dr. Beverly Wright, a professor of marketing, at East Carolina University. Dr. Wright’s almost 15 years of business experience includes positions ranging from business analyst to senior marketing intelligence manager. She has consulted for numerous companies including Coca-Cola, Chattanooga Gas Company, Kilgannon-McReynolds Advertising among others. She has also won numerous awards for excellence in academic research and contribution.
Dr. Wright and her colleagues are reaching out to the Sales Community asking that we take a few minutes to complete a survey that will help them gather data on Sales Culture and other factors that impact Sales Professionals on the job. When you take the survey you will also be eligible to win a $200 gift certificate. Please click on the link below and take a moment to complete the short questionnaire. Your small investment of time today could have a positive impact on the Sales Culture in your company tomorrow.
Here is the link: http://business2.ecu.edu/users/wrightb/Salesperson.htm
(please forward this link to the other Sales Professionals in your organization)
Additional Instructions From Dr. Wright:
We are conducting a study to develop a greater understanding of
1. sales work environments,
2. activities that salespeople engage in, and
3. business practices that are common to firms.
As a person in the sales field, we are asking for your help in completing this study. At the end of the questionnaire, you may enter your contact information for a chance to win a $200 money order.
Your opinions are critical to the success of this project. The information gathered will be used by researchers to aid in understanding the factors that affect salespeople when performing their jobs. It is hoped that this research will result in improvements in programs for salespeople, in addition to improvements in general business strategies. Please note that individual responses will be kept completely confidential and all responses will be aggregated with others for reporting purposes.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to participate in this brief survey. If you would like additional information or a copy of the results, please contact Dr. Beverly Wright, East Carolina University, wrightb@ecu.edu , or Dr. Amy McMillan Capehart, East Carolina University, mcmillancapharta@ecu.edu.
Please begin by taking ONE of the following actions:
a) Follow this link (or copy and paste to your browser’s address bar) to the SALES FORCE QUESTIONNAIRE and complete the form there: http://business2.ecu.edu/users/wrightb/
OR
b) Download the attached survey form, click on your responses, resave the file, and EMAIL your responses by replying to this message.
OR
c) Download the attached survey form, print your responses, and FAX your completed form to Dr. Beverly Wright, 252.328-4095.
OR
d) Download the attached survey form, print your responses, and MAIL your completed form to Dr. Beverly Wright, 3128 Bate Building, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858.
OR
e) Contact Dr. Beverly Wright by phone at 252.328-6603 to complete the survey form by interview.
Thank you for your participation!
“If you do not know how to ask the right question, you discover nothing.” – Deming
