TeneoTalent

The Times They Are A Changin’ Part II

February 1, 2011

By Edwin Dean

Every free market represents a constant tension between buyer and seller which produces a balance of power between the two with sometimes the one and sometimes the other in the ascendancy, like a seesaw.  This holds true whether the market is for stocks, bonds, art, real estate, commodities, you name it, and most certainly for jobs.  The Great Recession has created a buyers’ market in employment, with the employers holding (and using) the upper hand for so long and to such an extent that they have become spoiled.  They have cut back on their recruitment resources while at the same time taking their pick from among talented candidates and demanding higher performance from current sales staff.

All of this seems about to change, if it hasn’t already started.

According to the Sales Gravy (www.salesgravy.com) 2011 Sales Hiring Trends, which reports the results of a survey of “26,000 sales leaders, business owners, senior executives and human resource professionals” 75% of the companies (92.5% of large companies) were found to be planning to increase the size of their sales forces in 2011.  Another 23% were planning to maintain their sales force size (meaning they must hire to replace their attrition), leaving only 2% planning to actually reduce their sales force size.  “The brutal reality is 98% of companies (75% who will add headcount and 23% who will maintain headcount) will need to hire salespeople in 2011 to either overcome attrition or meet strategic growth needs.  This will put enormous pressure on HR managers, sales recruiting teams and sales leadership to find, recruit, hire and onboard new salespeople.”

Combine these findings with the fact any number of surveys of American workers have found that the majority of these are unsatisfied in their present positions, and the implications for near-term turnover are hard to escape:

“We believe there is a rude awakening, lurking just ahead for Sales and Human Resources leaders.  Market forces and employee dissatisfaction will soon collide increasing defection rates and placing enormous pressure on sales organizations to retain top talent. . . . Expect the competition in the market place for sales talent to become fierce.”

Maybe it’s time for the seesaw to return the salesman to the ground.

http://TeneoTalent.com offers a new process of sales recruiting that uses sales assessments for both employers and job seekers to create long term fits.  We also offer career development tools through our sales career coaching program, including resume writing. We offer career advice, career matching and although our organization has a national focus, and have many Boulder sales jobs available at the moment.

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