Sales Rep Turnover – Insights to stop the Bleeding

Sales organizations are experiencing at least 20% annual turnover, and according to Bridge Group research it raises to 34% if you include both voluntary and involuntary turnover. Factoring in the 6-9 month average it takes to onboard new reps, sales team retention is fast becoming a top issue for Sales Leaders.

ClearSlide CEO Dustin Grosse and VP of Marketing Michael Schultz discussed this topic in a recent Forbes article by regular contributor, Christine Comaford. Here are a couple of key insights from the article and how a Sales Engagement Platform, like ClearSlide, can help to address the challenge of managing sales burnout.

Lack of coaches and mentors.

Salespeople are bound to hit a bumps in the road – if they don’t have the support and mentoring they need to succeed over the long term they will vote with their feet and head for the exit door. Sales Leaders must make support and development of millennial sellers a top priority, and recognize that continuous feedback is especially important for retention.

An integrated Sales Engagement Platform allows managers to identify activities of top performers and scale best practices. The detailed insight into a sales rep’s activity and results enables them to provide more timely and meaningful feedback on performance and tips for success.

No playbook to reference.

Salespeople need to ramp up rapidly, and they need clear playbooks to navigate prospects and an increasingly more complex and consultative selling process. Younger salespeople also need training and playbooks for selling into specific roles, departments, and industries – this type of fluency can make an immediate impact and prepare sellers for future growth.

With solutions like ClearSlide, sales reps can quickly access up-to-date and proven content and tools. Knowing what messages are likely to resonate can go a long way toward better understanding targets and their industries.

Check out the full Forbes article for more insights.

By: Michael Schultz, VP Marketing