A rep chooses between two attractive job offers

Published: Wed, 06/14/23

June 14, 2023

TOGETHER WITH

Good morning. We went looking for the best song that sums up working in sales. After a lot of brainstorming, we decided that it’s Aalihay’s hit, Try Again, which you can listen to here. What’s your top pick for best sales song of all time? In this week’s issue, we’ll take a look at breaks and why they’re important, share a Sales Fail about apartment hunting, and give some advice to a recent grad trying to decide between two offers. Enjoy!

NUMBER OF THE WEEK

209

The average salesperson generates roughly one appointment or referral from every 209 cold calls.

Source: Baylor University

SALES ROUNDUP

Here’s what’s happening in the sales world this week:

Does cold-calling still work? Before you angrily email us with your personal take, read this article about a high school senior who landed her dream job by cold-calling a bunch of brokerage companies and telling them she wanted to learn more about real estate. After she reached out, one of the CEOs responded and offered her an internship. But there’s a catch… it's unpaid! In any case, you can read the article and watch the video clip here.
One Michigan insurance salesman has been a very bad boy, being accused of embezzlement after failing to cancel policies. Charles Walker, of Southfield, has been charged with four counts by the Michigan Attorney General’s office. Walker owned and operated two agencies, and allegedly failed to revoke insurance premiums and failed to refund any unearned premiums after his clients canceled their policies. You can read more about it here.

FEATURE

Lucky Business/shutterstock.com

Here’s how sales reps can take better breaks at work, according to the Harvard Business Review

Much of the content we read, whether it's articles, social media, or overpriced self-help books, is centered around maximizing productivity and minimizing time spent doing nothing "productive" at all. (Have you tried waking up at 4 am or breaking large tasks down into smaller, manageable chunks?)

These messages are not surprising, given that American work culture rewards overwork and blurring the lines between work hours and leisure hours (how dare you) leading employees to skip lunch, stay after hours, and remain available on Slack until they go to bed. Of all professions, sales reps will definitely understand what we're talking about.

But all of this overwork for productivity’s sake is costing us. According to a recent survey from Aflac, 59% of employees feel burnt out from work. Conversely, engagement at work is declining, and both of these trends are pushing productivity downward. So how do we remain productive without burning out?

Turns out you shouldn't ALWAYS be closing – and that regular breaks of varied kinds throughout the day will make you more productive, not less. The Harvard Business Review conducted a systematic review of existing research on workplace breaks, analyzing more than 80 studies. The team, including Zahra Premji, Timothy Wingate, Connie Deng, Lisa Bélanger, and Nick Turner, confirmed that consistent breaks throughout the day are good for productivity and wellbeing.

Why take a break?

It turns out that human beings have a limited amount of time during which they can focus deeply. We've all been so tired at work that we find ourselves reading the same sentence twice. We've all been so tired at work that we find ourselves reading the same sentence twice.

The question then becomes: how long a break should I take, and what should I do during it?

Breaks can take many forms, such as scrolling TikTok, finding your yogurt in the office fridge missing and publicly accusing Greg (it was definitely him), or, our favorite, reading The Quota! But not all breaks are created equal. Here are some variables to consider:

Break length and timing

You actually only need a short break to get positive effects. Just a few micro-breaks at regular intervals can be sufficient. (That's all the time it took for Greg to steal your yogurt, after all). Timing matters too. Shorter breaks are better in the morning, and longer breaks are better in the late afternoon as fatigue increases throughout the day.

Location, location, location

Sitting at your desk and staring into space technically counts as a break, but you'll feel better if you move to a different part of the office or even go outside.

Break activity

Exercising during a break - even just a quick walk - can certainly be beneficial, but the research team found that consistency is key if you want the benefits from this type of break. Unsurprisingly, researchers find that doom-scrolling social media is the most common type of break, but it leaves people depleted, not replenished.

Furry companions

The link between increased performance and breaks spent with furry friends is unclear, but researchers do know that spending time with animals decreases stress hormones in the body.

How can management encourage breaks?

Like PTO, the mere availability of break times does not mean people will use them. (Refer back to societal rewards for overwork). Therefore, management has a duty to lead by example, taking breaks themselves and fostering an environment where breaks are encouraged. This can be achieved in several different ways:

Taking a positive attitude toward breaks

When HR managers incorporate the benefits of breaks into a company’s wellness training programs, it cements break-taking as company policy. Similarly, managers can share their strategies for taking useful breaks and help others brainstorm ways to do the same.

Scheduling dedicated break times

Since employees are often reluctant to take breaks unprompted, scheduling a certain amount of break time during the day and allowing employees to choose where and when the break occurs provides a good balance of structure and flexibility.

Creating physical spaces for breaks

Creating dedicated break locations, whether it's a small courtyard, a comfortable lounge with lots of greenery, or a small dog park for employees to take their pets for a break of their own, demonstrates a company's commitment to regular break-taking. Remote or hybrid companies can arrange times online where people can take a break together but engage in their own activities. And, similar to providing office equipment for working from home, companies can allocate “break budgets” for employees to spend on whatever makes their break the happiest for them.

Clearly, break taking is effective for morale and productivity in the workplace, and companies that want to foster positive work environments should take the benefits of breaks seriously. Now get back to work. Break's over!

UNLOCK YOUR SALES TEAM'S POTENTIAL

To achieve your company's revenue goals, sales leaders need AEs to increase pipeline conversion - while also sourcing more of their own pipeline. Your profitable growth hinges on unlocking seller productivity across the full sales cycle.

So how can you help your sellers both create more pipeline and win more deals? Make it easier for them to efficiently do both motions - and everything in between.

In this guide from Outreach, you'll learn how to:

Deliver more revenue per seller
Increase deal velocity and win rates
Forecast your number accurately and efficiently

Download this how-to guide to help your team increase rep productivity and deliver revenue in any market.

Get the free guide!

MEME OF THE WEEK

Source: Instagram -- Sales Humor

QUIZ

Approximately how many salespeople does Microsoft employ?

A. 25,000
B. 100,000
C. 50,000
D. 500

SALES FAILS

Each week, we bring you the most cringe-worthy sales moments from across the web. To submit your sales fail story for consideration, click here. (Don't worry, you'll remain completely anonymous).

I used to work as a rental agent in a big city. Our company owned a bunch of apartment buildings, and we were also contracted to show other properties. Collectively, we managed thousands of units. It was a pretty decent job, especially since I was only a few years out of college.

One day, I was showing a young professional couple one of our higher-end apartments. It was a top floor unit in a five-unit building. It was one of those old brick New England buildings that had been converted into separate apartments. Since traffic was bad, we met at my office and we all drove over together in my car.

The second we stepped foot in the lobby, I heard a woman screaming. Then I heard another woman screaming back at her. I thought it would stop after a few seconds, but it kept going and getting worse. The two tenants on the second floor were in a drag-out fight, screaming at the absolute top of their lungs, calling each other awful names. One of them started crying, but still kept on screaming.

At first I tried to ignore it and pretend like nothing was happening, but that didn’t work. We walked around the unit awkwardly as the two of them continued their reign of terror downstairs. Finally, I asked my clients to excuse me and went downstairs and knocked on their door. One of the two young women answered and apologized. I could see the second woman glaring at me from the kitchen behind her. They were quiet for a few minutes but then their voices started rising again and then they were back at it.

My clients were awkward about it at first, but when we got back in the car, they kind of lightened up. In any case, they did not take the unit, even though it was perfect. Obviously, they were worried that they would be disturbed by the lunatics living on the second floor. As far as those two, one of them moved out a month later. She subleased her portion of the lease to somebody else.

Anonymous Location withheld

GRAPH OF THE WEEK

Source: LinkedIn Poll -- June 2023

WORTH A PEEK

Have you ever had to hire a sales rep? Predicting who is and isn’t going to perform is much harder than one might think. Some who interview well won’t necessarily crush it on the job. Reachdesk put together a nice guide showing how to hire great salespeople, including a simple-to-use formula. You can check it out here.

ASK THE QUOTA

Want to submit a question and be featured in our advice column? Click here. (Don't worry, you'll remain completely anonymous).

Dear Quota Team,

I am about to graduate from college in the next several weeks. I’m excited to get into the world of sales. My older brother’s friends are in sales and some of them make a ton of money. After spending the last four years working part-time and over the summers, it’s going to be nice to make some real money.

I interviewed a lot over the last few months and have two job offers lined up after graduation. (I technically had more, but these are the two I'm considering). I need some help deciding which one is the best for me.

Offer 1: A Business Development Representative role at a tech company that’s likely to go public in the next five years. Both the base and the OTE is lower than Offer 2 by about 30%, but this role is in a good industry (tech), and I’m likely to gain a lot of knowledge and connections. The RepVue and Glassdoor ratings for the company are good (not amazing), and I’m confident it’s a solid employer.

Offer 2: An Account Executive role for a high-end electrical parts manufacturer. I got this introduction from a friend of my dad’s. The pay is better than Offer 1, but the industry has fewer employers and there’s definitely more of a ceiling at this company. That being said, it’s also more specialized than tech, and I would have less competition both in terms of competitors when selling, and competitors for future roles within the industry.

Both of these offers are good and they’re the two companies I was hoping I would receive offers from. Overall, my “plan” was to go into tech sales, but I got this other opportunity, which makes the decision much harder. What do you think I should do? Any advice?

Conflicted in New England

Dear Conflicted,

This is a tough one. Why couldn’t you have asked us something easier? Fine, we’ll try. But we’re not going to tell you what to do. Instead, we’ll give you a few things to consider that might help you make your decision.

Offer 1: Even though it pays less, as far as setting yourself up for a career in tech sales (great pay, great opportunities), this is a great option. You’ll be working for a company in an aggressive stage (nearing an IPO), and will get your foot in the door in software sales — an industry that’s only going to grow over the next few decades until AI kills us all. It’s a good option and you can’t really go wrong.

Offer 2: Aside from the higher pay, here’s something you should consider: having a niche is excellent, in any type of career. A niche gives you the opportunity to make money where others can’t or won’t. A niche gives you a competitive edge over your contemporaries. Besides the higher pay, accepting this role will give you specialized expertise, especially if the electrical parts are “high-end.” There are billions of dollars in these pockets of the economy, and you can certainly match or exceed your software earnings potential in some of these spaces.

It’s not an easy decision to make, but both options are solid. Option 1 lets you follow a reliable and well-paved road to success, while Option 2 is like a dirt road that leads to a nice, exclusive mountaintop. Your gut will tell you which way to go. Oh, and welcome to the wonderful world of sales!