'Poached’ — Welcome to the Land of the Bigger Better Deal!

 

 

If you're experiencing heavier turnover in major metro markets, you're not alone. It's become the 'Land of the Bigger Better Deal'. The problem -- Too much opportunity and not enough talent to fill this void.  The battle for talent takes on a much higher profile.  Your reps are being bombarded with countless opportunities offering seemingly greater rewards… But beware, all that glitters is not gold!

 

Let’s put some perspective on what change actually entails:

 

From my experience, it takes a new rep a minimum of two years to really wrap their brains around a new company, product offering and to penetrate their territory. They reap the rewards of their hard work, years 2-5+.

 

So, if a rep changes jobs every one to two years, two things happen: First, they never truly reach the income potential they were expecting in their current position.  Second, over time their short tenure can impact their desirability in future searches.  The company they 'really deserve to work for' may be reluctant to hire them as they represent a 'flight risk'.

 

I interview countless numbers of reps that left a good job for 'Fools Gold'.  Though they quickly realized they’d made a mistake once they got a clearer picture of the BBD, they shouldn't have left their previous position.  Changing names on a business card doesn't necessarily solve the problem.  Every company has challenges and reps face many of the same frustrations wherever they land.

 

As a Sales Manager, proactively recognizing that the market is rich with opportunity while concurrently understanding the inherent risks in changing jobs and lost $$ opportunity can be used to your advantage when facing turnover.

 

If you think that one or more of your top sales representatives is disillusioned with their current position, be proactive and try to understand why.  You might have an excellent rep in a below average territory.  Can you do anything to improve the situation before it reaches the breaking point?

 

Pro sports provides an excellent example: The LA Clippers had one goal in free agency in the 2015 off-season: Retaining their All Star Center, D'Andrea Jordan. Every good player explores free agency, giving other teams the opportunity to poach them away. In this case, 'Shark Tank' genius and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban got a verbal commitment from Jordan to leave the Clippers to sign with Dallas. However, NBA regulations require an eight-day moratorium on actually signing a new contract.

 

What happened: That potential defection had a domino affect across the league! The Clippers mounted a furious effort to get back to the bargaining table, reminding Jordan of the 'investment' they had made in getting him to this point; that they could sign him for an extra year and reward his continued loyalty with a greater payout.

 

Net / net: D'Andrea remains a Clipper, a major victory for a proactive approach to protecting an asset in danger of being poached by a competitor.

 

If you're experiencing higher than normal turnover, try to understand why.  Do you have specific territories within your region that just don’t seem to produce?  Is there an inherent inequity in various territories from an account base potential?  How do you define the demographics of your territories? By # of hospitals / surgery centers?  By # of beds? Does the trouble territory fall into a GPO contract gap? Can these imbalances be corrected through analytics?

 

If so, you need to be proactive, responsive and you need to listen. Invest time with your people to really understand their short / long term career goals and their current challenges.  Developing this rapport early on in the relationship is even better.  When possible, try to remove all obstacles that stand in the way of their success. And, most importantly -- be honest and transparent. Strong character carries a lot more weight than you may think.

 

Why do good reps become disenchanted with their jobs?  In many cases, it's the petty things (the easiest to rectify) that can get under their skin and fester.  Anticipation and proactive resolution of issues (retention) is less costly than replacing a great sales person.

 

"You have the power to Overturn Turnover." - Steven Beck