quote:

Originally posted by drs:
Good idea. But was wondering, what is their comp plan like? Do they get paid on profit or rev? If only rev, then changing that to profit could work wonders.

They get paid on a % of the profit. That % varies according to the gross profit margin of the sale. The higher the GPM the higher commission they earn. We have found this to work very well for us.

Sure,that often happens. Have you followed up with people who buy with a focus group sessions?
Also with the people who don't buy. Also use the feedback of suppliers as in The Five Force Model. Have you done a competitive analysis ?

Nero

Hello Deegs:

>Sorry for the tardy response.<

Not a problem.

>We have approximately 1500 salespeople spread across 4 states.<

Are the states contiguous? Our larger clients tell us that their top salespeople vary from region to region. In other words a mediocre salesperson in one region might be a good or better salesperson in another region.

We also find that who supervisors the salespeople has an impact on who will be successful.

>We do have a comprehensive salesperson ranking system that we call "Power Rank." When we have conducted focus groups with our top salespeople it has been very difficult to pin down what exactly it is that makes them succesfull.<

That is not surprising since top sales people (top performers) can seldom articulate the reasons why they are so much more successful than other employees who are equally qualified.

>Every one has their own spin that works for them but may not work for another salesperson with a different personality type.<

All successful sales people in a sales office have some things in common, what they are needs to be uncovered.

>We teach a methodology but the most succesful people mold that methodology to their personality to make it work for them.<

Our clients tell us that what separates their top sales people from the rest is the top sales people have a talent for sales.

>We have found that the top salespeople are extremely knowledgable of their product but they all use that product knowledge in different way's.<

Our clients assess all their sales people for their job related talent and then use the top salepeoples' talent as the basis for future hiring. Hiring for talent is very effective for identifying future successful employees.

Bob Gately
bobgately@verizon.net

quote:

Have you followed up with people who buy with a focus group sessions?

We have not done any focus groups with customers in person. We have only conducted survey over the phone or through mail (snail and E). Are you familiar with any case studies of retail furniture companies succesfully doing something like this?
We have brought in external branding and merchandising consultants which were a big help in regards to branding and the layout of the stores but they did not specialize in sales presentations.
I am not familiar with the Five Force Model but will look into it.

quote:

Are the states contiguous? Our larger clients tell us that their top salespeople vary from region to region. In other words a mediocre salesperson in one region might be a good or better salesperson in another region.

The states are contiguous (CA,NV,OR,WA)and you are absolutely right that salespeople perform differently in different regions. I started with this company on the sales floor and found that I was most succesful in stores that were located in areas with similar demographics to the area I grew up in. This is very obvious if you spend a day working in one of our San Diego stores compared to a day spent in one of our San Francisco or Seattle stores. The same language is spoken but there is definitely a different culture in each area.

quote:

That is not surprising since top sales people (top performers) can seldom articulate the reasons why they are so much more successful than other employees who are equally qualified.

I am currently reading Blink by Malcolm Gladwell and this quote really backs up a case study in the book about a top car salesman who couldn't teach others how he did it. He owed his sales ability to not pre judging the customer off of looks but how they carry themselves. The book also describes a Tennis Coach who could always predict when a player was going to double fault but he couldn't figure out what it was that tipped him off. After spending a lifetime of watching Tennis something clicked in his head when a player was going to double fault but he couldn't coach the player on it because he had no idea what it was that tipped him off. Very interesting read.