Great Salespeople: Finding and Keeping Staff
By Gary Tufel -- Tradeshow Week, 8/16/2004
Sales and marketing staffs: No show producer can survive without them. Yet finding and managing effective sales and marketing staffs have always been challenges. Has this changed? Does it ever get easier? TSW Contributing Editor Gary Tufel posed the question to several show managers.
"We have to be creative to keep them from developing a wandering eye. Tradeshows lost salespeople to other fields after the recession and have had great difficulty recruiting them back.
"I go outside our industry to find people with fresh ideas and a different approach. I want people who are effective at sales and marketing as a whole, not necessarily with a tradeshow background. Secondarily, I want people within a particular industry that the sales need is for.
"Managing a sales staff is no different than managing other employees, but strong salespeople tend to have bigger egos. You have to find what makes each individual tick: money, recognition, a challenge? There are different personalities and styles among staffs, and you have to adapt to those."
Jim Forlenza, Former senior vice president, E.J. Krause & Associates
"It's a perennial challenge. There's a limited pool of experienced professionals to draw from, and we're all fishing in the same pond. So we often go outside our industry, and have a strong in-house development program for newcomers to the industry.
"The key to keeping your staff happy and motivated: Give them time, attention and a rewarding compensation package."
Diane O'Connor, Tradeshow director, Canon Communications
"Sales and marcomm are the hardest positions in which to find and keep top people. We just hired one of each. It took much time and effort to find quality personnel. We asked friends and acquaintances and used industry publications.
"We also consulted other independent show producers in our geographical hiring market for salary ranges. Things cost more in some cities, and that's a real important part of the salary package. We found many underqualified and/or overpriced candidates. The poor economy has only turned up poor-to fair-quality applicants."
Stephen Schuldenfrei, Tradeshow director, Access Intelligence
"With different economic conditions in the diverse industry sectors Reed Exhibitions serves, keeping sales and marketing staffs motivated and stimulated is certainly a challenge.
"We offer in-house educational programs taught and developed by salespeople. Topics include objection selling and prospecting, to staying motivated and increasing retention. Reed also has quarterly sales meetings with performance and recognition awards that get the entire sales organization together in a fun atmosphere, showcasing the best sales talent and boosting morale.
"We offer an internal newsletter with helpful tips and suggestions for enhancing productivity and managing businesses. And we use referrals, a generous benefits package, contests and rewards for employees who submit ideas for new launches."
Nancy Walsh, Senior vice president, Reed Exhibitions
"Retention will play an increasingly important role now that the economy is getting better. Salespeople have more choices now, but the potential for making more money is also here. So revamping incentive programs becomes key.
"The old days of measuring a salesperson by the number of calls he or she makes are almost over. Consultative sales are more the norm."
Cherif Moujabber, President, Creative Expos & Conferences
"It's harder for smaller companies to hire and retain good salespeople; it isn't easy for the larger companies either. This industry is changing, and the kind of people we need is too. We're often selling a market, not just a location.
"Smaller companies cannot support non-producing salespeople as long as larger companies, regardless of their potential. They also can't invest the money in training and are at a disadvantage when it comes to benefits.
"But they can offer different perks, from profit sharing to flexible time. We have attracted some experienced salespeople who want to work from home. A good salesperson is motivated by money, and if they have a good product and decent backup and reporting systems, there is no reason to have them in the office.
"Some smaller companies make a great salesperson into a sales manager. It doesn't necessarily work. We don't have HR departments to send us someone when we need a replacement or someone is out on leave. So we tend sometimes to promote from within much faster, and not necessarily wiser."
Denyse Selesnick, President, Intl. Trade Information
"We have not seen much change in retention. This is influenced a lot by an event's health. Shows that are strong with a growing marketplace have lower turnover rates than those that are flat or declining and where each sale is both time-consuming and difficult.
"There has never been a lot of movement in sales between show organizers. We've hired less than a handful of people from other organizers and in most cases, the results were not what we had hoped.
"I believe sales professionals today are far superior to those of the past. They are much more creative, excellent in relationship building and committed to learning the marketing goals and objectives of every customer."
Galen Poss, President, Hanley Wood Exhibitions
"We look for maturity and analytical skills, as well as background in branding and solution selling. Our people are expected to immerse themselves in their markets. If not, it is difficult to add value. And we want employees who understand the behavior of customers and how that customer comes to a decision.
"To manage these employees and the process, there are many aides available and we employ them, but we have a 'proof is in the pudding' opportunity at the end of every show when our post-event management analysis quickly reveals if anything is off track."
Jim Bracken, Chairman, VNU Expositions
