Credit: Sebastian Herrmann Via Unsplash

A lot has been written about the problems of burnout and turnover in the world of sales. And while most sales executives understand that turnover is a significant problem in the sales and marketing world, too often leadership simply turns to band-aid solutions that don’t tackle the underlying problems that lead to burnout.

This is, in many ways, understandable: sales is a highly competitive world, and when you’re constantly trying to meet this month’s quotas, it can be hard to step back and take a big-picture view.

Unfortunately, temporary solutions are rarely sufficient, and the only way to check turnover is through strategic planning: if you want to keep your personnel and build a team that is committed for the long-term, you need to get proactive. Here’s why.

When Turnover is a Systemic Problem, It Requires a Systemic Solution

When an employee leaves, they usually give a reason: they’ve decided to take a better position elsewhere, or they need to move for family reasons, or they no longer want to work in the industry. Even under the best of circumstances, there will always be some turnover in any organization.

But when you’re looking at massive turnover rates in your department, you have to see the problem as a systemic one: large numbers of employees don’t leave an organization in which they feel valued, respected, and well-compensated.

This may involve a review of your incentive structure and could require making changes to:

  • Compensation packages
  • Commission rates
  • Residency requirements
  • Holiday time

Interrogating the aspects of your current work culture that could be improved, and making changes that will give employees a reason to stay, is the first step toward cutting turnover rates.

Fighting Turnover Starts with Smart Hiring Policies

Changing your organization to make it more hospitable to your sales team is important, but sometimes salespeople leave simply because they don’t feel they are a good fit.

If this is the case, you need to consider changing the way you hire to ensure that the new staff you bring on are going to be in it for the long haul. The best way to do this is by working with a sales recruitment agency that can help you weed out candidates who are likely to cut bait after a couple of years.

The top-rated sales recruiting agencies have a wide range of tools at their disposal to help you target candidates based on their aptitude, drive, and sales experience based on the needs and corporate culture of your organization.

Some executives might be inclined to raise an objection: won’t these changes involve greater expenditures on the part of the organization? Isn’t there a way to reduce turnover without spending money?

The reality is that turnover is already costing your organization a significant amount: according to some studies, replacing a skilled worker costs on average at least half of their annual salary. You’re already spending money on replacing personnel, and the long-term savings of overhauling compensation and hiring practices could end up saving you a considerable amount in the long term.

Turnover is almost always a result of short-term thinking. The only way to overcome that is by getting proactive about the problem and dedicating the resources needed to solve it.