How to Increase Employee Retention in Inside Sales
Employee retention seemed to be a taboo subject at my old sales jobs. If sales managers didn’t speak about it, the problem would simply not be a problem. Unfortunately, they seemed to be conditioned to accept that attrition was inevitable with a team of people making cold calls all day. It wasn't uncommon to see about 50% of new hires exit the organization after 6 months. Why? You've taken the time to interview, hire and train a rep, but once they're at altitude, they leave. No one should be OK with that.
Making cold calls is certainly not an easy job, but it doesn't mean we can't get the most out of our teleprospectors by continually challenging them and getting them involved.
We've been pretty fortunate at AG. Our company has seen a much higher retention rate than my previous employers. While I have my own thoughts as to why we've managed to retain our inside sales reps, I was curious to hear my team's thoughts as well.
Here's the question I asked: "If you strip away the fun outings, incentive programs and all other miscellaneous things we do here at AG, what really motivates you to want to be part of this organization?"
Besides the obvious response, "money," it came down to 3 basic things:
1. "My bosses actually care about me doing well and we receive personalized feedback from them."
Be as real as you can be. Show them you care about their daily duties. I want all of my team members to make as much money as they can and hit every goal in their sights.
Give personable and honest feedback. Nobody, whether they're in sales or not, can stand hearing an ambiguous managerial response. Even if you can't give someone the answer they are looking for, at least give them an honest reason behind why a decision has been made.
2. "AG actually listens to my suggestions."
There is nothing worse than feeling like you've come up with a good idea only to be ignored by the management team. Make your inside sales team feel as if they are part of the organization and put their suggestions to action if they make sense. This should keep the right people on your team engaged.
3. "AG sets challenging but realistic goals."
Pretty simple one here. Nothing de-motivates people more than a goal that seems unattainable. Your team should feel challenged each month to hit their number, but not to the point where they feel completely blown out after the month/quarter is through. Pay attention to the goals you're setting. Adding 20% more to a high performer's goal every month is probably not the answer. Eventually, you'll most likely lose your best people if you approach it that way.
While there is not an exact science to retaining people in inside sales, it's important to hear from your own team to get their insight on what makes a difference for them. Approach your position as a sales manager with your inside sales reps' best interests in mind, and you may see an incerase in employee retention.
