Category Archives: Working Conditions

Are you feeding the Sales Beast?

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Are you feeding the beasts?If you want to keep a beast happy – feed him.

If you want to keep your salespeople happy – feed them too. But feed them with good leads and qualified prospects.

All too often, salespeople are told to find their own leads and prospects. There is nothing wrong with that. When times are slow, doing some research on the side is OK. But if your salespeople are spending too much prospecting, that means they are spending too little time selling.

Based on numerous studies, the average salesperson only spends about 30 percent of his time actually selling. The rest of the time is spent on training, administrative work, account management, and other tasks.

This is why it’s so important to have a marketing team on board to help your sales team. Using tools like Data.com (formerly Jigsaw), DiscoverOrg, Zoominfo, and others can help your sales team generate more business.

What’s worse than a bad salesperson? A bored one.  Why?  Because bored salespeople who are good in their profession start seeking other opportunities. And you don’t want that to happen.

So always feed the sales beast.

Should Salespeople use Glassdoor?

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Should you use Glassdoor for job hunting?You are a recent college graduate and you’re trying to find your first sales job.

You got laid off from your last sales job, and you’re now scrambling to find new work.

You hate your job, so you’re now seeking a better sales position.

Where do you go for help? You could go to the usual suspects, e.g., friends, former co-workers, relatives, job recruiters, contacts, etc.

However, one source you may want to consider is Glassdoor.

What is Glassdoor?

For a job hunter, it could mean the difference between landing that dream job you always wanted and avoiding the job from hell.

According to its website, Glassdoor “holds a growing database of more than 8 million company reviews, CEO approval ratings, salary reports, interview reviews and questions, benefits reviews, office photos and more.”

What makes Glassdoor unique is that you get an insider’s view to find out more about a company’s culture and office politics. By looking through the glass door (get it?) you can read anonymous reviews posted by current and former employees. Among other things, reviewers can make recommendations on whether you should apply to a company, and offer star ratings as you see on Amazon or Netflix. Glassdoor also goes a step further and allows you to approve or disapprove of a CEO.

But you are not just reading reviews. You are also getting information on salaries for various positions. In many cases, you also have access to interview questions and hiring procedures, e.g., how many times were you interviewed, did you do phone and on-site interviews, or both, what was your overall experience like, etc.

But can you trust the reviews?

When job hunting, you always have to read between the lines and trust your gut.

Here is how you can interpret reviews posted on Glassdoor –

1). The number of reviews posted –  If there are only a handful of reviews, it’s going to be very difficult to understand the company’s culture or if you are a good fit or not. On the other hand, if you have let’s say  7 or more recent reviews, that could give you some idea of what type of company you are applying to.

2). The timelines of the reviews – if you see an influx of very positive reviews posted within a short period of time mixed in with a lot of negative reviews, that’s usually a sign that the employer is asking his employees to post good reviews to counter the bad ones. In that case, you really have to read between the lines. I’ve actually worked at companies where employers asked people to post encouraging reviews in an effort to attract more and better job applicants. In other cases, outgoing employees were asked to post good reviews before they left. Is that fair? Well, it depends. If current employees are truly happy with their jobs and the company, they shouldn’t have any misgivings about posting upbeat reviews. But if they are unhappy and feel coercive, that could be a problem.

3). Employer Engagement – Believe it or not, employers can actually participate for free on Glassdoor. For example, they can respond to reviews, offer updates about the company, and obtain a demographic snapshot of visitors to narrow down recruiting efforts. (Glassdoor also offers fee-based packages for employers, including advertising and enhanced profiles).

I believe the more engaged an employer is with Glassdoor, the more likely they are taking the reviews seriously and they want to improve their company. Most companies do want to hire the best people they can. If they suddenly see an onslaught of damaging comments, they know that could discourage good job candidates from applying to their company.

writing reviews on Glassdoor4). Age of reviews – I believe that the older the reviews, the less helpful they are going to be for job hunters. Why? With the passage of time, company cultures, policies and politics change. Sure, maybe 4 years ago there was high turnover in the sales department, but now under new management, the exits have now gone down to a trickle. While the occasional negative review may pop up, if you are reading mostly optimistic comments, that’s a good sign the sales department or company is in good shape.

5). Motive of the reviewers – maybe it’s me, but I believe the more people write negative reviews than positive ones. Sometimes destructive reviews are written by disgruntled former employees who have an ax to grind. Maybe they were fired or laid off, and writing negative posts is their way of “getting back at the man.”

However, what may seem bad to one employee may be good to another one. For example, I’ve read reviews where some employees complained about a company’s new open space office policy. (Please see my post on “Open Space Offices – Good or Bad Idea?”) They hate the arrangement because of the noise and lack of privacy. However, some employees may not care because for them an open space office provides a more collaborative and transparent environment. I read reviews where some employees have complained about using security cards to enter each floor of a building. But other employees like the arrangement because, in a post 9/11 world, they want extra protection from terrorists or gunslinging mentally ill people.

6). Length of the reviews – short reviews are really hard to interpret. Simply reading a review that says in effect “the place sucks, don’t work here” with few examples isn’t very helpful. The longer reviews that offer deeper insight and try to balance the pros and cons of a workplace can provide a more accurate picture of you. Also, long reviews are written by people who really care about their jobs and want to see real change. They are hoping their employers notice their comments and will adapt.

I actually know firsthand of employers who have changed their policies and hiring practices because of reviews posted on Glassdoor. For example, one employer was shocked to find that job applicants were upset by the amateurish ways interviews were being conducted. During an interview, the hiring manager would be openly reading the job candidate’s Facebook profile and asking ridiculous questions. The company quickly posted that the practices had changed. They even published the phone number of the HR department and encouraged anyone to call if they had any questions.

However, not all companies get the message. For example, one Washington, D.C. based company is consistently criticized in Glassdoor for canceling and then rescheduling job interviews at the last minute. I guess the HR director isn’t reading Glassdoor that often to change the bad practice or doesn’t care.

7). Consistency – with some reviews, you may see a pattern of good or bad comments. For example, if you keep reading about high turnover in the sales department, or a lack of direction from upper management throughout several reviews, then that’s a sign the company isn’t making progress. For example, several people at one company complained that the owners were socially awkward and inept, and thus were hard to work with.  On the other hand, several people at another company commented on the owner’s open-door policy, and his willingness to listen to advice.

On a personal note, I’ve used Glassdoor when applying for new jobs. I have found some of the reviews to be completely accurate, while others fell off the mark.

Glassdoor, like any job hunting tool, is a guide. While Glassdoor can give you a peek of what is going on behind a company’s closed doors, in the end, you still have to do some things the old fashion way – going on interviews, attending networking events, finding contacts within a company, working with recruiters, and doing basic research on Google.

For more information about Glassdoor and job hunting, please read the following articles –

“14 Little-Known Tricks to help you Land your Dream Job using Glassdoor,” by Julie Bort

“How Glassdoor’s Reviews Help you Find your Dream Job,” by Sarah K. White

Note: If you like my post, please check out my book – Advice for New Salespeople: Tips to Help your Sales Career.

Should you sign a Non-Compete Agreement? Part 2

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In my previous post, I discussed what a non-compete agreement is. In this post, I will discuss my experiences with those agreements.

I’ve had several experiences in signing non-compete agreements. The first time I was asked to sign one was when I worked at a durable medical equipment company. What makes my case so unusual is that I was asked to sign the agreement after I had been employed with the company for about three years. This was done because a few weeks earlier, a senior salesperson had left our company to work for a competitor. He allegedly stole a hard copy of our customer list. There was no proof he took the document. However, based on that experience, our employer required each salesperson to sign the non-compete agreement even though most of us had been with the company for several years.

non-compete agreement for salespeopleThere was no formal announcement in advance that the entire sales staff would be required to sign this document. Instead, each of us met privately in an office with the owner, his wife and the sales manager. The non-compete agreement was presented to each salesperson. We read it, asked questions and if we agreed to the terms, we signed it. In exchange, we received financial compensation based on the number of years each of us had worked at the company. (Employees who are belatedly asked to sign a non-compete agreement are normally offered something of financial value, like a bonus or a raise).

Being naïve about such agreements, I immediately read and signed it because I wanted the money. However, some of my colleagues did not sign it so quickly. Some took copies to review but were given a specific deadline to make a decision. One of my friends had the foresight to have his attorney review the document. His attorney told him to sign it because the agreement was so vague and “full of holes” that it could not stand up in court. While that news gave me some relief, I now realize I should have been more cautious before signing the agreement. Like my friend, I should have sought legal advice.

A couple of years later, our company was sold to a large competitor. It was soon announced that the entire sales team would probably be laid off within a year or so after the acquisition. However, we were not required to sign a non-compete agreement before joining our new employer. About a year later, shortly before we were to be laid off, the HR department asked each salesperson to sign a non-compete agreement. This time, the entire sales team refused. Since we knew we were going to be laid off, it didn’t make sense for us to sign. Some of us (including me) were seriously considering working for a small competitor after we left, so we didn’t want to ruin our chances for future employment.

As we expected, the HR department backed down and did not force us to sign, since by that point it really had no leverage over us.

I did, in fact, go to work for a small competitor after being laid off. A few weeks after taking that job, I received a nasty letter from a lawyer representing the company that had bought out my previous employer. The letter stated that I was in violation of a non-compete agreement and that legal action would take place unless I immediately quit my new job. I called the attorney and argued that since the agreement was between my old employer and not the new owner (his client,) the agreement was not binding on me. Naturally, he argued differently. I stood my ground and refused to quit my new job. As I suspected, my old employer did not take legal action against me. I believe they didn’t sue me because they thought I would have little impact on their sales. In addition, nothing in the agreement stated that I must comply with the terms if my old employer was bought out or merged with another company.

I found out later that some employers will use threatening legal letters to try to intimidate and scare their old employees who work for competitors, but never follow through with any action. Why? Partly because of the legal expense involved are too high, or because the employer believes you will not have a major negative impact on his business. These employers are playing a game of chicken. They hope a threatening letter is enough to scare you away from a competitor. If you call their bluff, you may win. However, my advice is that if you receive a threatening letter from a previous employer, always see a lawyer.

The third time I was asked to sign a non-compete agreement was when my division at a mid-size publishing company was sold to a large competitor. Unlike the prior buy-out, I experienced, this time my new employer requested that I and everyone on the staff sign the non-compete agreement before being hired. The agreement listed several competitors we were not allowed to work for until a year after we had left the company. I signed the agreement because I had no plans to work for a competitor.

non-compete agreement for salespeopleWhile that agreement was better than the one I signed with the durable medical company, it still did not completely protect my employer. For example, two editors quit and went to work for a competitor that was not listed in the agreement. Three more editors quit and took jobs with a competitor had not been created before the buy-out.

Since then, I have signed two more non-compete agreements before formally being hired by a new employer. (In one rare case, I was actually asked to sign a non-compete agreement before being interviewed. But that agreement only applied to anything that my potential employer discussed with me during our interview. In return, my potential employer signed an agreement promising that he would not disclose that he interviewed me. This agreement was to protect me in case my current employer was snooping around to find out if I was interviewing for a new job).

From a sales point of view, are non-compete agreements fair? In my opinion, it depends on several factors. If you specialize in selling certain products and services, then you should be allowed to continue selling those products and services to other companies. This is especially true if you get laid off, fired or move away. While I understand the employer’s point of view about protecting his business, we all have to make a living. However, I’m strongly opposed to stealing your old employer’s trade secrets, customer lists or anything else that is considered proprietary. It’s just plain unethical and wrong. And if you have done your due diligence in advance, your employer’s competitor will have good products for you to sell, and enough resources to help you.

From my personal experience, I have heard of employers threatening legal action against a former employer, but I was not privy to the outcome or if they followed through on their threats.

If you do decide to work for a competitor even after signing a non-compete agreement, I strongly urge you to seek legal advice first. This could save you a lot of time, money and headache down the road. If your old employer suspects you have stolen trade secrets or client lists, he may sue not only you but your new employer as well.

So if you are confronted with the prospect of signing a non-compete agreement, always seek legal advice. If you feel uncomfortable signing the agreement, and you think you can find a job somewhere else without signing one, then go for it.

 

Should you sign a Non-Compete Agreement? Part 1

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More companies than ever are requiring salespeople and other employees to sign non-compete agreements. Given the high turnover in many sales departments, and determination of competitors to steal good employees, this really shouldn’t come as a surprise. In addition, with so many mergers and acquisitions going on these days, employers are worried that salespeople are going to jump ship and steal their customer/prospect lists, confidential marketing plans, and other proprietary information.

signing a non-compete agreementBut first, what is a non-compete agreement? It is a contract between you and your employer. The agreement states that you will not work for a competitor within a certain length of time after you leave your employment. The time period can range anywhere from a few months to two years or longer, depending on your position and the type of company or industry you work in.

The agreement will probably include a clause that you cannot share client lists, trade secrets or other information that your employer considers to be confidential or proprietary. In some cases, the agreement may state that even if you are allowed to work for a competitor, you cannot solicit sales from your former customers or even from any customers of your old employer.

The agreement can be anywhere from a few paragraphs to several pages long.

The agreement’s purpose is to protect your employer from losing business to a competitor. From an employer’s point of view, he is investing time and money in you to sell his products and services. If you jump ship to join a competitor, not only is he losing you as an employee, but you could potentially bring his customers and trade secrets to his rival, and thus hurt his business.

Non-compete agreements are based on state law and vary from state to state. Some states don’t enforce non-compete agreements. Some courts may not enforce them, either.

blue pencil lawOther states may have “blue pencil” laws that give judges the authority to modify a non-compete agreement. For example, if an agreement states you cannot work for a competitor for three years, a judge may consider that time period unreasonable and reduce it to six months. Another example is that if the agreement states you cannot work in a specific industry, let’s say pharmaceuticals, a judge may find that is too broad and restrictive on your ability to find work. If an employer had specifically named competitors in the agreement before you signed it, you might have a more difficult time working with a specific competitor.

There is a lot of controversy about how legally binding non-compete agreements really are. I’m not an attorney. My suggestion is that if you are asked to sign an agreement, you should seek legal advice. However, if you delay in signing the agreement, your potential employer may become suspicious of your true intentions to work for him, and may withdraw your job offer. Still, you should be prepared to be asked to sign such an agreement if you decide to accept a job offer.

If you are lucky, you will receive the non-compete agreement along with other paperwork to complete before officially coming on board. If you don’t receive any paperwork in advance, I suggest that you contact your new employer’s HR department and request it. If they ask why you want the paperwork in advance, tell them that you want to save time by completing as much of it as possible before you start your new job. In most cases, the HR department will comply with your request and email the material to you. If you get a non-compete agreement in advance of starting your new job, which should give you enough time to have an attorney review the document and offer his advice.

To learn more about non-compete agreements in your state, please check out Beck Reed Riden (BRR)’s 50 State Non-compete Chart. It was posted on August 9, 2015

Heather Bussing also wrote an interesting article on “Is Your Non-Compete Agreement Enforceable?”

In my next post, I will discuss some of my personal experiences with non-compete agreements.

Note: Like my post? Please check out my book – Advice for New Salespeople: Tips to Help your Sales Career.

How to onboard a new salesperson

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You finally did it.

After weeks or months of interviewing scores of candidates, you finally have a new salesperson coming onboard to join your team.

Congratulations.

Now what?

The next few weeks can make or break your diligent efforts of hiring a new salesperson.

Below are 5 tips on how to successfully onboard your new employee –

1). Have a clear agenda – Provide him with a written agenda of everything you hope to accomplish during the next two weeks. In fact, I would recommend emailing him your agenda before he starts to work for you. You can even provide him with a schedule. For example, during the first day introduce him to all the employees, take him out to lunch, ensure that his computer and phone are properly working, etc. Then on the second day train him on how to use your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and other software on your computer, etc. Then on the third day start your sales and product training.

The goal is to give him enough structure so that he can ease into his new job without too much anxiety or stress.

training new salespeople2). Training – Train him well not only how to use the computer and phone system, and other office equipment, but also on your products and services. Provide him with written material or an online site he can read. You don’t want to overwhelm him. Take it in baby steps. Encourage him to ask questions. Maybe have him sit in on sales calls and webinars or online demos. Give him some homework (or better yet, give him material to read before he officially starts his new job). However, no matter how much training you do, it may take weeks or months before he completely understands your product line and sales practices. That’s OK. Take it one step at a time.

3). Find a mentor – as I mentioned in one of my previous blog (In Sales, should you use a Mentor?), a new salesperson should have a mentor. Since sales managers are usually busy with other tasks, having a mentor to lean on is a win-win situation for everyone.

4). Leads and Prospects – there should be as much transparency as possible when it comes to distributing leads and prospects. (Please see my blog post on Three ways to distribute leads to your Sales Teams ). You don’t want to spook a new salesperson if you come across as being secretive or underhanded. If you pursue that unhealthy path, the salesperson may not trust you and seek new employment.

backstabbers on sales teams5). Eliminate backstabbers – frankly, you shouldn’t have any backstabbers on your sales team, but anytime a new salesperson comes on board, the anxiety level among salespeople – especially senior ones – begins to rise. This is actually a normal reaction.  For most salespeople, the first question is this – “Will the new salesperson acquire any of my accounts or territories?” How you respond to that question and lead/account distribution, in general, will go a long way of determining whether your new salesperson has a long long future with you or not.  The key is to try to be as fair and transparent as possible. While no account or lead distribution process is ever perfect, hopefully once the new salesperson is settled in and everyone is still hitting or exceeding their quotas, fear among the sales team will begin to dissipate.

For more tips on onboarding new salespeople, please read –

“Top Ten Tips to Successful Onboard New Salespeople” by Merit Gest
“How to Onboard New Sales Hires” by Steli Efti

Hiring a new salesperson is just the beginning. Onboarding one takes time and patience. Hopefully, your investment will pay off.

Should you write a Cover Letter?

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A young woman who was working as an intern recently asked me if she should send a cover letter with her resume. Her internship was ending soon, and she was seeking a full-time job with benefits.

sending in a cover letterThe woman explained to me that she has been receiving mixed advice from her friends. Some told her not to waste her time sending in a cover letter because most hiring managers don’t read them anymore. Others told her that sending a cover letter would make her appear more professional.

Here is my answer – yes, you should definitely write a cover letter.

Here’s why – with HR and sales managers receiving hundreds of resumes a year, you need to do everything you can to distinguish yourself from the crowd. While it may be true that most hiring managers may not read (or at best just glance at) your letter, at least it will make you stand out.

Almost every employer and sales manager I have spoken to have told me that if a salesperson doesn’t send his cover letter along with his resume, that person’s job application is immediately deleted or ignored.

Even companies that give you the “option” of submitting a cover letter, I should still send one. Why?

Because the employer is testing you to see how professional and driven you are to succeed in sales. You see, if you are going to be lazy when it comes to job hunting by not sending a cover letter, you may be lazy when it comes to generating sales. Are you going to make only two sales calls or 8 to reach the decision-maker? Are you going to write short but interesting emails to your prospects, or copy and paste the same stale email that you are sending to everyone? Are you going to occasionally come in early and stay late to hit your quota, or are you just going to be a 9-to-5 employee?

Sometimes you have to take your own initiative. I once applied for a sales position for a start-up company that did not give you the option online to submit a cover letter. Yes, you had to complete an application and send in your resume, but it appeared that no cover letter was required.

Puzzled and confused, I found the email address of both the CEO and the HR Manager. I sent them both my resume and cover letter. I explained I was taking this action because I didn’t see a place to submit my cover letter. I further told them that I felt it would be unprofessional for me to just send them my resume without an attached letter.

A day later, the CEO apologized to me for not putting a cover letter option on the company’s website. A couple of days later, I received an email from the HR manager inviting me to take a phone interview.

In the eyes of both the CEO and HR manager, I showed them the initiative and willingness to go beyond the call of duty to apply for the job.

I passed the test.

writing a cover letter for a sales jobI once worked with an employer who gave all sales applicants an interesting test – before you sent in your cover letter and resume, you had to call a special phone number and leave a voicemail about a product or service that you were selling. It didn’t matter what product or service you were calling about, but you obviously had to sound enthusiastic and give a clear reason why the prospect would want to return your phone call. Once you left the message, you would then send you your cover letter and resume on the company’s website.

Would you believe that more than 80% of all job applicants did not follow instructions! They either didn’t bother to call and leave a message, or they only sent in their resume without their cover letter.

As a result, 80 % were put in the “delete pile” and were not called back.

While a cover letter (and resume) alone may not determine if you have the drive and determination to succeed in sales, first impressions do matter. Your cover letter and resume only give your potential employer a quick peek at who you are. But in most cases, sending in both a cover letter and resume is your only way of getting your foot in the door to get that first (and maybe several) interviews before getting the job offer.

In the age of Twitter and email, cover letters may be considered old fashion. And while most potential employers could probably read your LinkedIn profile to learn about you, sometimes it’s the little things that stand out.

Be old fashion. Be professional. Write a cover letter.

Here are two sites that I recommend on how to write a good cover letter –

“6 Secrets to Writing a Great Cover Letter,” by Seth Porges
“How to Write a Cover Letter” by Amy Gallo