Tag Archives: Sales jobs

When the stock market fell off a cliff and credit was frozen and virtually impossible to find, companies moved aggressively to take shelter and weather the storm by cutting payroll and other expenses.  Those who managed to survive and stay standing at the end of 2009 will see revenue growth in 2010.  Those resilient companies will prosper on this long road to recovery throughout the coming years and they will create opportunities and focus on growth, not consolidation.  The strong companies today are betting on their ability to bring in revenue and they are confident and see an incredible opportunity to grow their business.  2010 will be a building year, a year to focus on re-securing the footings and foundation in order to build a stronger more aggressive company in 2011.  So what is the one job companies create when they are feeling confident in their ability to drive revenue?  

SALES JOBS!
Companies are now starting to see some relief.  As credit continues to loosen, companies become more confident in their ability to bring back jobs.  The first and most sought after jobs in 2010 will be sales.  According to a report by Forbes.com*, two of the Top 10 most recession proof jobs are Financial Advisors (4^th on the list) and Sales Representatives (6^th on the list).

So why are sales roles considered more secure?  Companies cut to the bone in 2009 due to the loss of revenue.  Companies can often reduce workforce while increasing workload in every department across the enterprise, however the same is not true in the sales department.  When companies reduce a sales force, they’ve reduced company revenue.  Sales representatives can’t cover 3 territories and produce the same combined revenue that their past counterparts produced.  When sales representatives are overloaded they lose deals to the competition.  As a result, companies are looking to hire and replenish their once prosperous sales force in order to regain market share and increase revenue.  They have lost revenue over the past year and are at risk of losing top talent.  The top sales professionals that have weathered the storm are starting to explore new opportunities.  They are the reason that companies have survived and as the sales job market begins to open, more options are presented to them.  They are no longer fearful of losing their job and are, in fact, more comfortable taking the chance to see what other options they have in the market. 

Organizations must be on the offensive in 2010 to build and hire top producing sales forces while recognizing that they will see increased attrition as the market gains momentum.  Therefore, many companies will be aggressively searching for talented sales professionals that can add value immediately.  If a company is not recruiting top talent, you can bet that their competition is.  Those companies that capitalize on this market and recruit the greatest sales talent in 2010 will see exponential growth in 2011. 

Here at Treeline, we are seeing this exact trend.  Our clients had more urgency in December of 2009 than the entire year.  They are eager to get back to pre-recession revenues and growth and are betting on a talented sales force to get them there.  That being said, companies are building more efficient and effective sales forces.  Therefore, there is currently a movement transitioning from large field sales presences to larger inside sales presence.  Consumers are more comfortable buying online and with a SAAS based software model, web demos and video conferences, companies can close large deals without setting foot in a prospect’s office.  Today, companies are preserving costs and doing business from one highly motivated, scalable and sustainable central location.  The most aggressive of these companies are using many effective Sales 2.0 selling tools and are adapting quickly.

With the significant decline of many industries in 2009, many sales professionals are finding that it is time to re-invent themselves and build a skill set that is marketable for years to come.  They find themselves burnt out and exploring new options.  Many are looking back to the hottest industry in sales right now: the technology sector.   We find that technology companies are adapting quickly to the Sales 2.0 methodology.  They are focused on consistent revenue growth and are building sales forces with urgency.  They are cutting costs by bringing their sales force inside and by using new technology solutions that help build pipelines and close business.  They are consolidating their outside sales force by recognizing the needs of today’s consumer and the new sales process.  Therefore, they have identified how to increase the efficiency of their sales team by reducing costs and increasing revenue. 

In short, we see the hottest job in 2010 to be sales jobs and the hottest industry to be technology.  Companies can no longer afford to work with a skeleton crew and definitely cannot afford the risk of loosing a top performer to their competition.  It is too great a risk for companies to sit idle when most of their competition is on the hunt.  Companies are selective and will only hire those that have a proven track record of success.  However, for sales professionals there will be many more options to choose from in 2010 than 2009.  So for talented sales professionals, consider yourself lucky to be in a great career. 

For both company and candidate, keep pushing aggressively in 2010 and get ready to enjoy the fruits of your labor.   
*http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/23/recession-proof-jobs-leadership-careers-employment.html

The new market has created several new market trends for 2010, however one of the most significant trends we see here at Treeline is found in the technology industry.  Our technology clients are currently the most aggressive when it comes to hiring sales professionals and the majority of our open roles are for software companies.  They certainly have the most urgency and are the most progressive to adapt in the new market.  They have adopted many new sales strategies that have proven to be not only effective but efficient. The majority of the changes have been in the structure of the sales team.  The traditional technology sales force is comprised of a lead generation team, inside sales team and a field sales team.  In the late 90’s and for the decade that followed many technology companies built a very large field sales presence.  Over the years, we have helped many companies build large field sales teams however over the past year and a half the sales model has changed.   With cloud computing and the conversion from applications to Software as a Service (SaaS), we have seen a rise in consumer confidence and an adoption to purchasing products via web demos and conference calls.  Therefore the need for a large field sales presence is not as cost effective or efficient as it once was.  Technology companies are progressively moving away from a large field sales force and more aggressively trending toward an inside sales presence.    

The market has shifted and consumers on the business to business front find more comfort building relationships through conference calls and web demos.   The pay-as-you-go SaaS model is very effective for both buyers and sellers.  As a result, many technology companies are finding little need for a face to face meeting and a hand shake.  The average sale size has been reduced due to a monthly reoccurring subscription cost and the ability to close deals over the phone is continuing to increase.  In some cases we are seeing our clients close business up to $500k in products and services without ever meeting their client. 

What does this all mean?  It means that business to business sales as we know it are going through a very dramatic shift.  Consumers purchase products differently due to new online technology and technology companies in many cases are leading the way to changing their genetic sales make up.  They are trending toward a large centrally based sales force and a small field sales presence.  What this means is that field sales professionals will find their new roles will require a greater percentage of time inside as opposed to being on the road.  A new wave of sales professionals are being developed and they are learning how to buy and close business via the web.  Companies are trending toward a central location where resources, energy, camaraderie, and culture can be shared and built.  Not only is this model strong and scalable, but companies can build depth quickly and build organizations rapidly.  More importantly, companies can reduce the cost of sale and become more profitable by bringing their sales force to the inside.  After the market crash, every company has the common goal to increase revenue while reducing overhead.  

 Like it or not, agree or disagree, one thing is for certain: times are changing.  Sales organizations are adapting and changing and as a sales leader it is imperative that you change with them.