OK IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH - CAN YOU AFFORD TO MAKE DO?

In discussions with many clients, it is becoming clear that Finance departments are understandably trying to push down costs to help companies protect their financial position.  However, when it comes to recruiting sales people, pushing quality down can be a very shortsighted and, in the long term, expensive option.

Looking solely at costs can see the cheapest recruiters used and the cheapest candidates appointed, but are they the best for the company and the role?  In the current market, the cost of employing poorer quality sales staff will see sales drop in both the short and long term, as companies prepared to invest in their staff reap the rewards of increased market share, both now and as the market grows in the future.

It makes sense for line management to focus even more on quality as the difference in sales results from an average sales person and a good sales person are magnified in difficult markets. 

SALARY ALTERNATIVES – for many employers the ability to offer other benefits could be used to lower the cost of attracting and retaining people, an obvious attraction for the Finance department but not as attractive as they once were.  The most obvious salary alternative for many years has been share options, tying people into their company and rewarding them for their success.  However, as many people have now seen, the old warning about ‘the value of investments can go down as well as up” is as true of shares in a life insurance company or distributor as with any other stock investment. With many stock options currently underwater, these ‘cheap’ salary alternatives are now struggling to recruit or retain people.

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