Over 12 months ago, as we first saw the signs of a declining market there was optimism for companies looking to recruit sales professionals.  Seemingly, we all thought this would mean an abundance of great performing sales professionals on the market with more realistic expectations…but was this really the case?

 

In the early months, organizations carried a level of excitement about now being able to attract successful sales people in what was a tricky market previously.  During the last few years, it had become increasingly expensive to attract and retain high performing sales professionals in Australia – and even when they were on-board, there were no guarantees of sales performance.

 

In November 2008, as we started to see a high increase in job seekers (particularly in the sales field) we saw an increase in companies wanting to explore the “new” candidate pool, hoping to attract an experienced sales person for a more competitive salary.

 

12 months later, and what we’re seeing (and hearing) is a frustration about the lack of good quality sales people on the market (again).  How is this possible?  Well, it would appear that organizations simply didn’t lose their top performing sales professionals during the economic downturn.  In fact, if there was one resource to hold onto over the last 12 months – it was the top performing business sales people.

 

And so, nothing has really changed.  The frustration of attracting, developing and retaining top performing sales people is still an aspect that challenges most businesses.  More and more businesses are starting to explore the concept of recruiting at a junior level, and growing organically through the organization. 

 

As a result, ProGrad have seen an increase in the need for graduate sales trainees, particularly within industries such as IT, FMCG, Finance, and Media.  For most businesses, this concept provides a cost effective resource to contribute in the areas of lead generation, prospecting and appointment setting.  Over time, these graduate sales trainees can assume greater responsibility and grow into more senior business development roles.  Often at a fraction of the cost of “experienced” professionals currently on the market.

 

For more information about our graduate sales model, please contact ProGrad on 02 8235 8300.  Alternatively, please email on sales@prograd.com.au