LSA Global Insights Newsletter: August 2015

August 19, 2015

How to Beat the Odds 4 Tips (that Your Competition Does NOT Know) for Hiring Your Next High Performance Sales Rep


All sales teams have clear winners (high performers) and clear losers (low performers). 

Finding and hiring those winners can make an immense difference in team performance. According to the McKinsey Quarterly, a top quartile performing salesperson is 14 times more productive than an average performer. Conversely, hiring losers directly hinders sales team success. 
  • Financially, underperformers miss revenue targets and increase turnover and recruiting costs. (A recent article in the Wall Street Journal said that turnover costs on average are $150,000 per sales person.)
  • Culturally, underperformers can take up to 80% of a sales manager's time while demotivating the rest of the team.
  • And from a customer perspective, low performers decrease customer loyalty and negatively impact your brand promise.
To be sure, the odds of finding a top notch sales rep are not very encouraging. MHI Global's recent sales best practices study found that less than 10% of the sales professionals surveyed could be considered "world class." Additionally, a sales benchmark study by Xactly, one of our clients, found that 79% of SAAS sales representatives miss quota and 14% never achieve even 10% of quota. 

But here's the good news. With up to 9-out-of-10 sales professionals not performing at their peak, sales leaders have a wonderful opportunity to significantly increase performance. While assembling, engaging and retaining a world-class sales team is not easy, it is a critical factor for companies that seek to create and maintain high growth.

So how can you beat the odds and assemble a high performing sales team? While different situations require different approaches, the best way to attract, engage and retain a high performing sales team is to start with four underutilized areas to outsmart your competition.

Read About the 4 Underutilized Areas and How To Better Hire Top Talent

About LSA Global
Founded in 1995, LSA Global is a leading performance consulting and training firm that helps high growth technology, services, and life-science companies create a competitive advantage by powerfully aligning their culture and talent with their strategy. Learn more about getting aligned

Free Sales Online Health Check How Does Your Salesforce Stack Up?

Sales teams are not created equally.  Are your sales practices where they need to be to consistently hit your targets for your unique sales strategy and culture? 

This ten-minute complimentary online diagnostic is for sales leaders who are concerned about the current or future performance of their team.  It quickly benchmarks sales best practices based upon twenty years of high performance research to let you know where you stand in the areas of:
  • Defining, Planning and Executing Sales Strategies
  • Generating Qualified and Targeted Sales Opportunities
  • Communicating and Presenting When the Stakes Are High
  • Selling to Executives at their Level
  • Consultatively Selling Solutions that Add Value
  • Negotiating Successfully with Target Buyers
This proven assessment is for sales teams who are struggling to meet increasingly aggressive sales targets, who face increased competition or pricing pressure, and who need to better align with a new go-to-market sales strategy.  While there are many avenues to improve sales performance, only a few matter most for your unique situation.

Assess Your Sales Practices Now

About LSA Global
Founded in 1995, LSA Global is a leading performance consulting and training firm that helps high growth technology, services, and life-science companies create a competitive advantage by powerfully aligning their culture and talent with their strategy. Learn more about getting aligned