MULTI-MEDIA SALES TEAM STRUCTURES AND COMPENSATION OPTIONS FOR LONG TERM SALES SUCCESS! LAUREL LANE DIGITAL MEDIA CONSULTANT
SESSION AGENDA WHO I AM AND WHY I M HERE DISCUSSION AMONG US ABOUT CURRENT STRUCTURES, COMPENSATION, CHALLENGES, SUCCESSES REVIEW NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY DISRUPTION SALES MODELS AND HOW/WHY THEY HAVE BEEN CHANGING PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION ON VARIOUS SALES STAFF STRUCTURES, COMPENSATION MODELS AND PROS/CONS OF EACH; INCLUDES REVIEWING UNION ISSUES PRESENTATION DISCUSSION ON CREATING STRUCTURE AND COMPENSATION PLAN THAT IS RIGHT FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION (HINT - SALE PLANNING DRIVES THE DEPARTMENT STRUCTURE) NOW THAT YOU HAVE THE STRUCTURE IN PLACE, HOW TO HIRE, TRAIN AND RETAIN
LAUREL LANE 15 YEAR DIGITAL MEDIA VETERAN 15+ YEARS OF INTERNET BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN MEDIA INDUSTRY 9 YEARS IN STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP INCEPTING AND DEVELOPING PRODUCTS, LAUNCHING MULTIPLE MARKETS SALES TRAINING, STAFFING CONSULTING WERE PART OF JOB DUTIES FOR ALL ROLES MEDIANEWS GROUP, LEE ENTERPRISES, JOURNAL REGISTER CO., THE ERIE TIMES-NEWS AND PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE 5 YEARS TEACHING AND WRITING MARKETING COURSES FOR THE ART INSTITUTE OF COLORADO AND ART INSTITUTE ONLINE LAST 3 YEARS FOCUSING ON DIGITAL SERVICES, SOCIAL AND MOBILE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT FOR NEWSPAPER AS WELL AS CLIENTS CURRENTLY PROVIDING DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY, PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND SALES TRAINING ACROSS THE DIGITAL SPAN
LET S TALK A LITTLE ABOUT YOU! DISCUSSION CORPORATE HR LEADERS OR INDIVIDUAL PAPERS OR BOTH? PLEASE SHARE YOUR CURRENT SALES STAFF STRUCTURE AND COMPENSATION STRUCTURES DO YOU FEEL THIS STRUCTURE WORKS? WHY OR WHY NOT? HOW ARE YOU MEASURING SUCCESS RELATED TO YOUR SALES STAFF STRUCTURE? WHAT ARE SOME OF THE OTHER CHALLENGES YOU UNDERSTAND OR PERCEIVE THE SALES DEPARTMENT TO HAVE? WHY ARE YOU HERE TODAY AND WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO LEARN?
REVIEW OF INDUSTRY DISRUPTION SALES MODELS AND HOW/WHY THEY HAVE BEEN CHANGING
NEWSFLASH!! THE INDUSTRY IS CHANGING
OF COURSE, IT HAS BEEN CHANGING SINCE AL GORE INVENTED THE INTERNET TECHNOLOGY AND PROLIFERATION OF INFORMATION FROM UNLIMITED SOURCES DISRUPTED ALL FACETS OF OUR BUSINESS MODEL CONTENT IS NOT IMMUNE TO CHANGES AND AFFECTS AD SPENDING ADVERTISING SALES DEPARTMENTS HAVE GONE THROUGH INNUMERABLE ATTEMPTS AT SALES EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY CONTENT IS CONTENT - CONSUMERS/READERS DO NOT CARE ABOUT OUR SEPARATION OF ADVERTISING CHURCH AND STATE IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT AFFECTS AD SPENDING AUDIENCES SEEK QUICK HITS FOR NEWS AND GET IT FROM A WIDE RANGE OF SOURCES AKA EYEBALLS GOING ELSEWHERE FOR NEWS AND THOSE ENTITIES ARE GETTING AD DOLLARS ADVERTISERS WANT US TO BE MORE FLEXIBLE IN EXPERIMENTING WITH NEW AD FORMATS AKA NATIVE ADVERTISING AND OTHER IN CONTENT OR SPONSORED CONTENT IDEAS COMPETITION FOR LIMITED MARKETING DOLLARS COMES AT US AND ADVERTISERS FROM ALL SIDES
CHALLENGES IN STAFFING SUCCESSFUL SALES DEPARTMENTS STRUCTURE TOO MANY PRODUCT OFFERINGS; TOO PRODUCT FOCUSED CONFLICTING GOALS AMONG SALES TEAMS COMPETITION FOR SALES AMONG VARIOUS MEDIA IN MARKET CONSULTATIVE SELLING IS THE NOW AND WE NEED TO PROVIDE MORE TRAINING AND SUPPORT IN THIS AREA UNION RESTRICTIONS CAN LIMIT HOW/WHAT WE SELL WHAT WE SELL DRIVES HOW WE SELL WHAT ADVERTISERS WANT SHOULD DRIVE HOW WE SELL; PRICING OF PRODUCTS IMPACTS STRUCTURE AS WELL COMPENSATION EXPENSE BUDGETS LIMIT COMPENSATION OFFERINGS COMMISSION GENERALLY SHARED AMONG MULTIPLE SALES STAFF, INCREASES COST OF SALE, REDUCES MARGIN DIGITAL MEDIA DOLLARS STILL NOT EARNING AS MUCH COMMISSION AS TRADITIONAL SALES; AFFECTS SALES STAFF BUY-IN AND COMMITMENT TO SELL CERTAIN PRODUCTS TALENT SALES POSITIONS GET A BAD RAP COMPETITION FOR TALENT IS ALL TIME HIGH DUE TO PROLIFERATION OF DIGITAL MARKETING COMPANIES UNION SALES FORCE CAN BE DETERRENT TO NEW PROFESSIONALS NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY GETS A BAD RAP EXPENSE BUDGETS CAN AFFECT COMP OFFERINGS
NEWSPAPERS THEN AND NOW: CONTENT MODEL THEN NEWSPAPERS GO TO LOCAL NEWS SOURCE DAILY SHORT AND LONG FORM LOCAL NEWS CONTENT PRODUCED IN LONG FORM BY LOCAL NEWSPAPERS TV AND RADIO PROVIDED LIMITED COMPETITION IN CONTENT DUE TO FORMAT AND TIME LIMITS PAGE CONSUMPTION HIGH DAILY ADVERTISERS WANTED TO BE PART OF THESE PAGES DUE TO AUDIENCE ADVERTISERS SAW NEWSPAPERS AS A MUST NOW GOOGLE, TWITTER, FACEBOOK GO TO SOURCES FOR NEWS LOCAL READERS STILL END UP AT NEWSPAPER CONTENT BUT NOT DIRECT AD DOLLARS BEING SPENT ACROSS THE FORMATS THAT DRIVE PEOPLE BACK TO NEWSPAPERS LOCAL NEWS CONTENT STILL PRODUCED BY NEWSPAPERS BUT STAFF CUTS ARE LIMITING CONTENT ACROSS THE COUNTRY MORE NEWS AND INFORMATION OUTLETS THAN EVER BEFORE TRADITIONAL COMPETITION HAVE DIGITAL ASSETS NOW AS WELL PAGE CONSUMPTION DECREASED DRAMATICALLY ADVERTISERS LARGE AND SMALL WANT TO BE WHERE THE AUDIENCE IS; NEW TECHNOLOGIES CAN
NEWSPAPERS THEN AND NOW: ADVERTISING SALES MODEL THEN PRINT PRINT/ONLINE SIMPLE PRODUCTS WITH EASY PITCH GETS YOU IN FRONT OF LOCAL AUDIENCE PRINT REPS, SOMETIMES TEAM SELLING, DIGITAL SALES REPS NOW PRINT/ONLINE DIGITAL SERVICES YAHOO!, MONSTER, ZILLOW, TRULIA PRODUCTS DAILY DEALS, SOME PARTNERS WITH GROUPON, LIVING SOCIAL VIDEO EVENTS
NEWSPAPERS THEN AND NOW: COMPETITION THEN NEWSPAPERS MAYBE 2 TV RADIO CABLE OUTDOOR NOW NEWSPAPER, WEBSITE RADIO, WEBSITE, EVENTS TV, WEBSITE CABLE SPECIFIC CHANNELS AND THEIR WEBSITES GOOGLE FACEBOOK, TWITTER, FOURSQUARE, PINTEREST WEBSITES OF FRANCHISES EXAMPLE NFL TEAMS OFFERS ADVERTISING ON THEIR WEBSITES NOW
HERE IS HOW IT LOOKS: THEN
HERE IS HOW IT LOOKS: NOW
WHAT IS THE EFFECT ON THE CONSUMER? ALL OF THIS COMPETITION HAS SOMETHING TO SELL BECAUSE THE CONSUMER BASE RESPONDS POSITIVELY IN SOME WAY SOCIAL MEDIA HAS PROVIDED TRACKABLE WORD OF MOUTH AT SCALE THAT S THE FREE PART PAID SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISING IS VERY INEXPENSIVE AND WORKS CONSUMERS RESPOND TO PEER PROVIDED INFORMATION IN THE FORM OF LIKES, SHARES, REVIEWS, ETC
From an infographic provided by BigCommerce
SO NOW THAT WE HAVE A LAY OF THE LAND, WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT IT? LET S DISCUSS SOME CURRENT SALES STRUCTURE AND COMPENSATION EXAMPLES
SALES STRUCTURE MODELS PRINT REP DIGITAL COUNTERPART PRINT ONLY, DIGITAL ONLY MULTIMEDIA REP DIGITAL SPECIALIST ALL CATEGORIES CATEGORY/CHANNEL/PRODUCT SPECIALIST ALL FORMATS CATEGORY/CHANNEL/PRODUCT SPECIALIST DIGITAL ONLY INSIDE/OUTSIDE TEAMS HUNTER/CULTIVATOR MODEL
COMPENSATION MODELS EVERYONE GETS PAID! USUALLY PRINT AND ONLINE REP RECEIVE THEIR APPROVED PERCENTAGE OF CLOSED SALES SHARING OF SALES COMMISSION BETWEEN PRINT AND DIGITAL REP REFERRAL FEE TO PRINT REP ONCE ACCOUNT HANDED OVER TO DIGITAL (AND VICE VERSA WHEN DIGITAL REP MAKES PRINT REFERRAL) STRAIGHT COMMISSION PERCENTAGE ALL TOTAL SALES PER REP COMMISSIONED PAID ON WHAT YOU SELL NO TEAM APPROACH
OTHER IMPEDIMENTS TO SUCCESSFUL SELLING TOO MANY PRODUCTS AND CHANGING SALES GOALS SPECIAL SECTIONS, PRINT, ONLINE AND EVENTS PARTNERSHIP PRODUCTS TOO TACTICAL WITH NEW PRODUCTS BASED ON NEEDING REVENUE NOT ENOUGH TIME GIVEN FOR NEW PRODUCT OFFERING TO GAIN TRACTION REPS DO NOT CONDUCT ADEQUATE NEEDS ANALYSIS TO OBTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION SUCH AS SPENDING BUDGET AND HOW IT MAY BE BEING ALLOCATED IN THE MARKET TOO MUCH TIME ON DEMANDING CLIENTS NOT ENOUGH TIME SPENT ON PROSPECTING NEW CLIENTS CLIENT SPENDING HAS NOT JUSTIFIED SALES REP TIME IN THE PAST (OUR OWN ISSUE)
FIXING THOSE IMPEDIMENTS EVALUATE ALL PRODUCTS EXAMINE AND UNDERSTAND ADVERTISER INTEREST P&L S ON PRODUCTS FOR MARGIN REVIEW ALLOW PRODUCTS TO RETIRE WRITE STRATEGIC PRODUCT PLAN EACH YEAR CONNECTED WITH REVENUE GOALS IMPROVE QUALITY AND VISIBILITY/ENGAGEMENT OPTIONS OFFER DIGITAL SERVICES TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF BEST OF BREED NICHE PRODUCTS CONSULTATIVE RELATIONSHIPS BUILD TRUST WITH CUSTOMERS BE VIGILANT IN YOUR MARKET IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS BEING SOLD KNOW THE AD SPENDING BUDGET OF YOUR CLIENTS AND BECOME AN INDISPENSABLE PART OF THAT BUDGET INVEST IN QUALITY SALES TRAINING
BRINGING IT TOGETHER IMPLEMENTING MODELS THAT CAN WORK
PRINT REP WITH ASSIGNED DIGITAL REP STRUCTURE 4 PRINT REPS ASSIGNED TO 1 DIGITAL REP (EX) DIGITAL REP RECEIVES ACCOUNT LIST OF PRINT REPS DIGITAL REP AND PRINT REP WORK TOGETHER ON NEW BUSINESS PRINT, DIGITAL MANAGER AND DIGITAL REP MEET WITH PRINT REP TO SET UP ANNUAL SALES PLAN MEET MONTHLY (SEPARATE FROM CLIENT PLANNING MEETINGS, TEAM SALES CALLS, ETC) TO DISCUSS THAT MONTHS ACCOUNT FOCUS, PROGRESS, UPDATE ON NEW DIGITAL PRODUCTS, ETC. DIGITAL MANAGER IN PLACE TO OVERSEE DIGITAL SALES REPS BUT ALSO PROVIDE PRICING GUIDANCE, PRODUCT INFORMATION TO ALL STAFF, HELP WITH CAMPAIGN PROPOSALS, SUPPORT SALES STAFF; DIGITAL MANAGER IMPLEMENTS GOALS, SALES REPORTING PROCESS (IN CONJUNCTION WITH PRINT MANAGER) COMPENSATION PRINT REP AND DIGITAL REP GET PAID ON DIGITAL SALE REVENUE IS COUNTED IN BOTH REPS TOTALS, DIGITAL REP USUALLY PAID AT HIGHER COMMISSION PERCENTAGE BECAUSE DIGITAL PRICING IS STILL USUALLY LOWER
STRUCTURE PRINT AND DIGITAL REPS SELL INDEPENDENTLY PRINT REPS SELL PRINT AND OTHER PRODUCTS DEFINED AS BELONGING IN PRINT DEPARTMENT DIGITAL REPS RECEIVE ACCOUNT LIST AND WORK TO SELL DIGITAL TO EXISTING CUSTOMERS DIGITAL REPS DEVELOP NEW BUSINESS PLAN DIGITAL REPS AND MANAGERS MEET REGULARLY WITH PRINT SALES TO KEEP INFORMED OF PROGRESS. DIGITAL MANAGER IN PLACE TO OVERSEE DIGITAL SALES REPS BUT ALSO PROVIDE PRICING GUIDANCE, PRODUCT INFORMATION TO ALL STAFF, HELP WITH CAMPAIGN PROPOSALS, SUPPORT SALES STAFF; ; DIGITAL MANAGER IMPLEMENTS GOALS, SALES REPORTING PROCESS (IN CONJUNCTION WITH PRINT MANAGER) COMPENSATION DIGITAL REP RECEIVES APPROPRIATE COMPENSATION AS WOULD ANY SALES REP SALES DEPARTMENT MAY WISH TO SET UP REFERRAL PROGRAM FOR ALL SELLERS
MULTI-MEDIA REPS STRUCTURE USUALLY MM REPS ARE PRINT STAFF REDEFINED AND SALE PRODUCTS EXPANDED TAKES EXTENSIVE RETRAINING OF EXISTING STAFF MUST INCLUDE DIGITAL PRODUCT SPECIALISTS WHO CAN MAINTAIN SPECIFIC PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE AND SUPPORT THE MM REPS IN SALES USUALLY MUST ALSO HIRE NEW REPS WHO ARE OPEN TO HOW THE JOB IS DEFINED ENTIRELY NEW SALES STRATEGY AND PLAN WOULD BE CRAFTED AND IMPLEMENTED WHEN MAKING THIS CHANGE IN ORDER TO DRIVE THE SALES NEEDED PER PRODUCT CATEGORY COMPENSATION ALL REPS PAID SALARY PLUS COMMISSION AND/OR BONUSES BASED ON ALL SALES AND ACHIEVING SALES GOALS, ETC. DIGITAL PRODUCT SPECIALISTS MAY BE PAID SALARY PLUS MONTHLY BONUS
STRUCTURE DIGITAL PRODUCT SPECIALIST ALL CATEGORIES THIS REP IS A PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE PERSON WHO MAY OR MAY NOT BE SALES REP; AND USUALLY THERE IS A SPECIALIST IN RETAIL AND ONE IN CLASSIFIEDS, OR EVEN BROKEN DOWN BY SPECIFIC CLASSIFIED CATEGORY DEPENDING ON THE SIZE OF THE NEWSPAPER THE NUMBER OF DIGITAL SPECIALISTS NEEDED IS DEPENDENT UPON THE SIZE OF THE NEWSPAPER, MARKET AND COMPANY REVENUE GOALS IN ORDER TO HAVE ENOUGH SPECIALISTS AVAILABLE TO SUPPORT THE ACTIVE SALES REPS ASSIGNED TO PRINT/MM REPS AND WORKS WITH THOSE REPS ON THEIR ACTIVE LIST AS WELL AS NEW BUSINESS PLANS; WOULD MANAGE TIME IN SIMILAR FASHION TO DIGITAL REPS ASSIGNED TO PRINT REPS MODEL DIGITAL SPECIALISTS REQUIRED TO KEEP UP WITH PRODUCT CHANGES, UPGRADES, NEW PRODUCTS AS WELL AS PROVIDE TRAINING FOR SALES STAFF ON REGULAR BASIS COMPENSATION THIS PERSON IS USUALLY PAID A LARGER SALARY AND BONUS STRUCTURE BASED ON MBO FORMAT; MAY ALSO RECEIVE A BONUS BASED ON SUCCESS OF REPS THIS PERSON IS ASSIGNED TO
CATEGORY SPECIALIST ALL FORMATS STRUCTURE REP IS NO DEFINED BY PRINT OR ONLINE RATHER SELLS ALL PRODUCTS AVAILABLE RELATED TO CATEGORY REP MANAGES ALL PRODUCT SALES APPROPRIATE FOR CATEGORY AND MUST BE TRAINED THOROUGHLY IN THEM REP IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING THE NORMAL SALES PROCESS PER CLIENT RECENTLY THIS HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED IN THE CLASSIFIED CATEGORIES AS WELL AS SOME TRADITIONAL RETAIL CATEGORIES SUCH AS HEALTH, ENTERTAINMENT, ETC. IN LARGER NEWSPAPERS, THERE IS USUALLY A CATEGORY MANAGER OR EVEN DIRECTOR WHO OVERSEES A TEAM OF SELLERS COMPENSATION REP RECEIVES APPROPRIATE COMPENSATION AS WOULD ANY SALES REP SOMETIMES THIS ROLE ALSO EXISTS AT CORPORATE NEWSPAPER LEVEL AS A MANAGER OR DIRECTOR
STRUCTURE CATEGORY SPECIALIST DIGITAL ONLY MAY BE INDEPENDENT, MAY WORK WITH PRINT REP PROVIDED WITH CLIENT LIST APPROACHES SALES OPPORTUNITIES BASED ON BEST CLIENTS AND MAXIMUM REVENUE OPPORTUNITY CREATES NEW BUSINESS LIST INDEPENDENT OF PRINT REP AND VICE VERSA RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE RELATED TO CATEGORY PROVIDES PRODUCT UPDATES, CHANGES, PRICING, ETC. FOR PRINT REP AND DEPARTMENT MAY REPORT TO A CATEGORY MANAGER WHO OVERSEES ALL FORMATS OR DIGITAL SALES MANAGER RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL DIGITAL REVENUE COMPENSATION THIS REP IS USUALLY RECEIVES APPROPRIATE COMPENSATION AS WOULD ANY SALES REP HOWEVER IN SOME CASES THIS REP MAY BE MORE A PRODUCT TRAINER AND HELPS SUPPORT PRINT/MULTI- MEDIA REPS; IN THAT CASE, THIS REP MAY RECEIVE A LARGER SALARY AND MONTHLY OR QUARTERLY BONUS SOMETIMES THIS ROLE ALSO EXISTS AT CORPORATE NEWSPAPER LEVEL
HUNTER/CULTIVATOR MODEL STRUCTURE NOT ABOUT FORMATS, UNIQUE OUTSIDE SELLER, INSIDE NURTURER MODEL HUNTER GETS THE CLIENTS AND CLOSES CULTIVATOR PROSPECTS AS WELL AS ACCOUNT MANAGES CULTIVATOR CAPABLE OF UPSELLING MODEL HAS BEEN USED SUCCESSFULLY IN RECRUITMENT AND WITH AGENCY CLIENTS COMPENSATION SALARY PLUS TEAM-BASED COMMISSION SALARY PLUS COMMISSION, PERCENTAGE FOR HUNTER MAY BE HIGHER
TACKLING THE MARKET: SALES STRATEGY AND PLANNING REVENUE BUDGET ASSIGN REVENUE PER CATEGORY, PER REP AND PER CLIENT USE PERCENTAGE BASED ON REVENUE GOALS: EXAMPLE, IF GOAL OF NEWSPAPER IS FOR 15% OF REVENUE TO BE FROM VARIOUS DIGITAL PRODUCTS, DETERMINE WHAT EACH EXISTING CLIENT SHOULD SPEND IN THOSE PRODUCTS TO GET THERE SALES MANAGERS ACTIVELY SUPPORT THE SALES EFFORT NOT WRITE REPORTS SALES MANAGERS WORK WITH REPS ON CLIENT STRATEGY, PROPOSALS, CLIENT PRESENTATIONS REDUCE NUMBER OF REPS ON SALES CALLS DETERMINE A BENCHMARK FOR WHEN A MANAGER IS NEEDED MAP OUT THE TERRITORY WITH REPS TO HELP THEM MINIMIZE DRIVE TIME
INSPECT WHAT YOU EXPECT AND HOLD ACCOUNTABLE REPS CREATE WEEKLY SALES PLAN USE EFFECTIVE CRM TOOL NEWSPAPER NEEDS TO INVEST I TOOL THAT WILL WORK, CONNECTS WITH INTERNAL SYSTEMS, REQUIRE USE REPS HAVE SAY IN CHOOSING CRM ALL USE THE TOOLS TO MANAGE CLIENT PIPELINE AND CLOSE SALES MANAGERS HELP REPS MANAGE THEIR PLAN; NOT MICROMANAGE THE REPS HOLD ACCOUNTABLE FOR EXPECTATIONS; REWARD WITH CASH WHENEVER YOU CAN
UNION ISSUES UNION CONTRACT PREVENTS ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THINGS LIKE: CALL SHEETS REQUIRED NUMBER OF CALLS PER WEEK SALES GOALS UNION CONTRACT MAY IMPEDE SOME OF THESE EXPECTATIONS RATHER THAN PREVENT THEM WORK AROUND THROUGH INCENTIVES CONTRACT ADDENDUMS EVERYONE GETS PAID APPROACH
RECRUITING, HIRING AND RETAINING
RECRUITING NOW AND FOR THE NEAR FUTURE WE NEED TO EXAMINE INDUSTRIES WITH SUCCESSFUL SALE FORCES AND RECRUIT FROM THOSE INDUSTRIES LOOK FOR HIGH COMMISSION COMPENSATION, CONSULTATIVE SALES, LOW EMPLOYEE TURNOVER, LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT WE NEED TO LEARN AND EMBRACE SALES STRATEGIES FROM THOSE INDUSTRIES
HIRING FOR THE FUTURE SALES HIRING IS A CHALLENGE DUE TO BAD RAP SALES CAREERS RECEIVE WE MUST CONVINCE NEXT GENERATION THAT SALES IS ABOUT USING YOUR BRAIN TO CONSULT UNION RESTRICTIONS ARE NOT WELL RECEIVED BY NEXT GENERATION WE MUST FIND CREATIVE AND UNION LEGAL WAYS TO NAVIGATE UNION CONTRACTS KEEP NEXT GENERATION SALES CONSULTING POSITIONS NON-UNION IF POSSIBLE WE MUST EMPLOY THE SAME TOOLS THAT THEY SELL TO FIND TALENT LINKEDIN, FB, TWITTER
MODERN SALES REP EXPECTATIONS FLEXIBLE WORK ENVIRONMENT (AS LONG AS GOALS, SALES CALL EXPECTATIONS, ACCOUNT BUILDING, ETC BEING MET) CLEAR GOALS AND EXPECTATIONS BUT NO MICROMANAGING TRAINING SUPPORT NOT PUNISHMENT MODERN SALES MANAGEMENT TOOLS KINDER, GENTLER SALES MANAGEMENT
TRAINING IS REQUIRED AND DESIRED NEXT GENERATION (AND CURRENT) WANT TO LEARN CURRENT SALES FORCE WANTS TO BE ARMED FOR SUCCESS NUMBER 1 COMPLAINT I HAVE HEARD FROM SEASONED SALES FORCE IS NOT ENOUGH FORMAL TRAINING AND SUPPORT INVEST IN TRAINING PROGRAMS UTILIZE DIGITAL MANAGERS TO PROVIDE PRODUCT TRAINING ONGOING TRAINING MUST INCLUDE KNOWLEDGE ON EVER INCREASING COMPETITIVE MARKETING LANDSCAPE PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE SPECIALISTS ARE
RETAINING TALENT REPS WANT TO CONTRIBUTE NEW IDEAS AND SEE THEM THROUGH; ALLOW INNOVATION AS PART OF THE JOB MANAGEMENT ROLE IS TO SUPPORT NOT SCOLD OR MICROMANAGE CLEAR AWAY THE CLUTTER OF ADMINISTRATIVE WORK INVEST IN SYSTEM UPGRADES THAT ALLOW FOR SALES FORCE TO BE OUT SELLING, NOT ACCOUNT MANAGING CONSIDER ACCOUNT MANAGERS WHO DEAL WITH INTERNAL DETAIL SIMILAR TO AGENCIES COMPENSATION MUST BE COMPETITIVE WITH COMPETITORS ALSO BENEFITS SUCH AS PTO, MATERNITY/PATERNITY LEAVE, ETC.
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