Salespeople quit their jobs often and for many reasons.
More money or a better opportunity?
Don’t like what they’re doing or don’t like their boss?
Don’t like their corporate politics or don’t like how they’re being treated?
Just had their commissions cut or the company’s going back on its word about paying or deal structure?
Just lost their best customer to the competition?
Salespeople seem to hopscotch jobs as moths flutter from one light bulb to the next, trying to find the brightest one. I don’t think the question is just a reason for leaving. I think it goes deeper. I think it’s a cause-and-effect matter and even deeper, a motive. That’s short for motivation.
This issue is further complicated by the fact most people, when they do leave a job, won’t tell the boss their real reason for leaving. Oh, they give a stated reason – “better opportunity” or “more money.” But there’s always an underlying motive, an unspoken reason, like, “I hate you.”
And then there’s the boss, who has to tell his other people why the salesperson quit; more standard reasons.
It’s interesting to note three out of four people quit their jobs because of bad bosses or bad company policies. Yet, no boss I’ve talked to ever told me, “My best salesperson quit, and it’s all my fault.”
No, the departing salesperson will soon become the scapegoat for everything bad that’s ever happened in the history of the company within one week of their departure.
If you’re the boss, and you throw the quitter under the bus and back up, it sends a message to every other person on the team that you’re going to do the same thing to them if they leave; not a real boost to moral.
If you don’t have the guts to tell the boss the real reason why you’re leaving, you’re going to have to accept your fate with the trashing you’re going to take.
There’s no easy answers here. Some industries are more incestuous than others. Banking, accounting and marketing seem to have an excessive amount of job hop-scotching.
I get a minimum of 10 requests a week from salespeople wanting to quit their jobs and seeking advice. Here’s what I tell them:
1. List the real reasons you dislike what you’re currently doing.
2. Now, list the reasons that you like what you’re doing.
3. Add a one-sentence description to both the dislike and the like column to give yourself further insight as to “why.”
4. Ask yourself which one of the bad things will be eliminated at the new job and which one of the good things will continue at the new job. This way you give yourself an evaluation before you enter your new position.
5. Call people at the place you want to work or where you’ve just been hired and find out what they like and dislike.
6. Write down what you feel you gain (other than money) at your new position and ask if you could have gained the same thing at your old position.
6.5 Become the No. 1 salesperson at your existing company, then quit. If you’re thinking about leaving your job and you’re not the top producer, it is likely that you will not be the No. 1 salesperson at your next job, and it is even more likely that you will bring half your disgruntlement to your next job. If you stay at your present job until you become the No. 1 salesperson, no boss will be able to throw you under the bus; you leave a hero of the company, with pride and self-respect, and you leave with the attitude of a winner, not a whiner.
So here’s your opportunity: Quit complaining about your job or your circumstance, quit trashing other people to make yourself look good, and just dig in. If you really consider yourself great at sales, then attaining the top position shouldn’t be much of a problem.
Bosses Beware: If you’re salespeople are leaving you at a rate of greater than 20 percent per year, look in the mirror. If you “can’t find any good people out there” let me give you a big clue: There’s plenty of good people out there, they’re just not working for you.
Salespeople be Aware: Your next bosses may be no better than your previous bosses. They just may be sweeter in the interview process than in the day-to-day battle. Your best tactical and strategic advantage is to arrive on the scene as the No. 1 salesperson from your previous job rather than the No. 1 whiner about your previous job.
Jeffrey Gitomer, author of “The Little Red Book of Selling” and 11 other titles, is president of Charlotte, N.C.-based Buy Gitomer. He gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings and conducts Internet training programs on sales and customer service at Gitomer.com. He can be reached at salesman@gitomer.com.
