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SOI 2007 RECRUITING/RETAINING SALESPEOPLE
Attracting the best in the business
How To Hire And Retain
Top Salespeople
While many industry
companies – both
suppliers and distributors
– say they’ll
be adding to their
head counts this year, most will fi nd the
effort challenging. Indeed, ad specialty
executives go through a lot of trial and
error before attracting the right people
to work for their companies.
Count Jody Ferrer, owner of The
Perfect Promotion ( (asi/293518 8),
in West
Hartford, CT, among the ranks of
frustrated distributor principals when
it comes to hiring the right salespeople
immediately. She has had her share of
struggles with her sales force, particularly
in an area that is a common problem for
ad specialty distributors: industry knowledge.
“Training and getting them started
Sales Hiring Trends – Distributors
While distributors overall reported having an average of 8.8 salespeople
(including part-timers and independent contractors), here is the breakdown
of sales force size in 2006 by company size (small distributors had less than
$250,000 in 2006 revenues and large had more than $1 million).
1.2
Full-time sales Part-time sales and independent contractors
Counselor State of the Industry survey. ©2007
50 STATE OF THE INDUSTRY 2007 www.counselormag.com
5.7
18
10.6
can be extensive, and they will not see
the fi nancial benefi ts for a while,” she
says. “That can be disconcerting to them.
The challenge is to keep them motivated
in the beginning.”
How does she overcome this issue?
Hire salespeople at the beginning of
their careers. Ferrer has found success
by roping in new and promising salespeople
before they enter the real world.
“I’m fi nding that by hiring interns while
they are still in college, I’m able to teach
them the business and capture their
enthusiasm for the industry,” she says.
“When they go back to school, they act
as independent contractors selling on
their campus. Combine the money and
the enthusiasm with the right person,
and you have the best salesperson.”
Again, keeping sales reps content
is vital, according to Ferrer. “I treat
my salespeople as part of the team,”
she says. “They are not just numbers
people, and they are not a means to an
end. I work with them to support their
efforts.”
That kind of environment can have a
great effect on the motivation levels of a
sales force – and in turn, helps to retain
the best salespeople. Brian Gould, vice
president of LSC Marketing ( (asi/321000)
in Little Rock, AR, says he has never
lost a salesperson to another distributor.
One of the keys to keeping them isn’t a
big secret: Treat them well. “We strive to
treat everybody fairly – customers, vendors,
employees – everybody,” he says.
“Frequently, we’ll be contacted by people
working with other distributors, but in
exchange for being treated fairly, we’re
also expected to set the curve inasmuch
as work ethic is concerned. Many people
are unhappy because of their workload.
They wouldn’t fi t in here.”
Gould’s fi ve salespeople have worked
for LSC for fi ve, 10, 15, 22 and 24 years.
continued on page 52