Compensation is always a top consideration in the sales industry. Candidates want to ensure they get what they are worth. Employers need to pay talent fairly to ensure they are happy and engaged. But for some reason, incoming talent seems to have more leverage than current employees when negotiating salary. 

Everyone seems willing to give a max contract to an all-star who is willing to switch teams. But is it more effective to give a pay raise to your current role-players?

Let’s look at the case for both:

Why you should pay more for sales top talent

If you have a hiring need, it’s important from an organizational standpoint to fill it with the best candidate possible. But being in a candidate-driven market means competition is high for top talent. So, sales companies, and all companies in general, are in a position where they have to pay more for talent if they want to recruit them into the organization. If you make a low-ball or even industry-average offer, candidates know they can get more money elsewhere. 

You have to overpay to get what you want. But then, you also risk alienating your current people. It can make them feel as though they are being penalized for being loyal to your company. They’ve put in years of service, have expert knowledge of company operations, but now make less than a new person to the company. So, you also have to think about the case for giving your current employees a raise. 

Why you should give your current employees a raise

Keeping your best people in-house can be a challenge today. They know they have options. So, if you don’t treat them well, they could walk, requiring you to find a replacement.

You can save a lot of money over time by rewarding the people you already have. You’d save on the cost of hiring a replacement, you wouldn’t see a drop in productivity, and you can minimize disruption. 

There are a number of ways you can reward your loyal employees. It can be in the form of an annual raise, retention bonus, or even giving them higher commission rates as they put in more years of service. It’s important for you to reward the people you do have or you could find yourself in the vicious cycle of losing a good employee, only to have to overpay for someone new to come in and fill the job. 

If you compensate your people well to start, you can improve retention and reduce the need to overpay for new employees. 

Are you looking to hire salespeople? Our sales headhunters at SalesForce Search specialize in the recruitment and placement of sales professionals, start your search now.

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