Author Archives for Shanan Marshall

PAST BEHAVIOR PREDICTS FUTURE BEHAVIOR By Chris Gee, PhD.

July 7, 2021 9:58 am Published by Shanan Marshall Leave your thoughts Welcome to week 4 of our blog series on the predictive demographic attributes of top competitive sales hires. For those just joining us, the three previous characteristics that were covered were: (1) Coming from a Warm Referral Source; (2) Being Employed at the Time of Applying; (3) Possessing at least 3 Years of Competitive Sales Experience. This week’s predictive demographic trait is JOB STABILITY. Our data clearly shows that sales rep hires with 2 or fewer full time jobs in the past five years, significantly outperform and are retained at a much higher rate than those with more career movement. As illustrated to the left, sales rep hires with previous job stability provide a “double whammy” ROI, whereby they perform above average and are retained at a substantially higher rate. Let us use a company of 100 sales reps as an example: Average 1st Year Production: $200,000 Average Cost of......

There Is No Substitute For Experience – By Chris Gee, PhD.

July 2, 2021 9:23 am Published by Shanan Marshall Leave your thoughts Welcome to week three of our seven week blog series on the predictive demographic traits of competitive sales reps.  For those just joining us, the two previous characteristics that were covered were: (1) Coming from a Warm Referral Source; (2) Being Employed at the Time of Applying.  This week’s predictive demographic trait is PREVIOUS COMPETITIVE SALES EXPERIENCE. This characteristic is relatively obvious, but nonetheless extremely predictive of future sales rep performance and retention. Our research shows that individuals with > 3 years of competitive sales experience are ideal, as they have demonstrated a commitment and proficiency in this career path and the ability to network and prospect outside of their natural market (e.g., 2nd and 3rd generation referrals). Individuals with previous sales experience understand and accept many of the features of a competitive sales career that typically deter or dissuade others. Take variable compensation for example. Many people without sales......