Sales Talent Shortage
My observations over the last eighteen months suggested that we were developing a huge gap between the supply and demand for sales people. A few months ago I saw a report that put some data behind my empirical observations. The authors of the report, CityEconomist, found that in the last two years IT sales and marketing job vacancies have grown 132%.
Add to this the fact that many firms are unhappy with the sales people they already have (one of my consulting partners states that from his research as many as 50% of the people working in sales should not be and another 25% should be selling a different product!)
So my advice for owners and senior managers: if you have good sales people, treat them really really well. Don't skimp on the support you give them and realize that paying them a little more is likely to be a lot cheaper than going out to the marketplace. Do not fall into the trap of thinking of sales people as "second class citizens".
There is a talent war going on for sales people. Mind the (talent) gap!
