We hear from Sales Leaders that sales rep retention and faster rep onboarding are two of their top issues for 2016. Turnover has been going up year-over-year, and sales organizations are now experiencing at least 20% annual turnover. According to Bridge Group research, turnover rises to 34% when you include both voluntary and involuntary actions.

Sales rep onboarding is experiencing similar challenges. Research by ClearSlide and CSO Insights shows nearly three-quarters of all sales organizations report that it can take six months or longer to onboard new sales reps – with one-third identifying that it takes nine months or more. It becomes a vicious cycle. By the time sales reps are fully ramped, they’re at risk of attrition. It’s no wonder retention of sales talent is a top concern for Sales Leaders. But improving retention requires understanding what drives sales reps to the exit door.

In a previous post , we examined two reasons for persistent turnover in sales: lack of coaches and mentors, and lack of a clear playbook for reps to reference. These insights from ClearSlide CEO Dustin Grosse and VP of Marketing Michael Schultz were featured in a recent Forbes article by Christine Comaford, “Salespeople Are Burning Out Faster Than Ever – Here’s Why.”

Here are two additional reasons for turnover that were explored in the article – and insights on how a Sales Engagement Platform, like ClearSlide, can help Sales Leaders to retain key talent:

Failure to Provide Needed Sales Tools
Sales Leaders need to ensure that their teams – especially tech-savvy millennial employees – have anywhere, anytime access to data, tools, and content to respond to customers efficiently and help close more deals.

An integrated Sales Engagement Platform provides sellers with fast access to relevant content for every phase of the sales cycle. With ClearSlide, sellers can track how and when content is consumed – giving them confidence, and even a competitive edge. And when sellers feel on top of their game, they are more engaged and more successful.

Lack of Actionable Insights
The bottom line: modern sales teams do not need tons of data. They need actionable insights that help shorten sales cycles in increasingly competitive environments, with more demanding buyers.

Today’s buyers are more sophisticated – and more people are involved in the decision – making it critical for sellers to map to the new buyer’s journey. Tracking who is engaged, with what content, and which channel helps reps better identify targets and yield the highest response rates.

ClearSlide can cut through noisy, self-reported CRM data and help sales teams identify and respond to critical customer engagement signals. Sales leaders can quickly deploy additional resources to support reps on key deals, and help reps walk away from ‘dead’ deals.

A faster path to sales success keeps sales reps focused on engagement insights – and motivates them to raise the bar on their own performance.

Check out the full Forbes article for more insights.

By: Michael Schultz, VP Marketing and Business Development