Posted on: 03 December, 2001
Author: Leni Chauvin
A couple of years ago, a mailing list to which I ... had a ... a ... who owned a real estate ... She wanted ... about how to both attract and retain a top notch sa A couple of years ago, a mailing list to which I subscribe had a questionfrom a participant who owned a real estate franchise. She wanted someadvice about how to both attract and retain a top notch sales force.Well, for me, the answer was very simple. Just apply the golden rule ofnetworking: treat other people the way you would want to be treated andwatch them beat a path to your door, AND stay there, too! Treat them as ifthey're invisible, take them for granted, ignore the PERSON behindthe salesPERSON and watch them run like an Olympic Gold Medalist. Since alot of the subscribers to Networking Gazette are business owners or salesmanagers (or coaches to business owners and sales managers), I thought I'dshare some of the suggestions I gave the franchise owner. I've edited thecontent a bit to try to make the information apply to any field of work. Istarted off by asking her:How involved are you in your industry? Are you active in your localchapters of your professional associations? Are there opportunities for youto speak in front of these groups, serve on committees, write articles,teach a professional development course? Do a first rate job volunteeringfor these organizations, and you will get you a lot of attention and respectfrom the people you're seeking:top producers. Quality begets quality.Regarding retaining employees, you can not only keep employees, but you canturn them into your greatest recruiters if you treat them like your mostimportant customers! In a way that's exactly what they are because theyare generating an income for you, the same as a customer does. Whencustomers are happy, they tell their friends. When employees are happy,they tell their colleagues.Some simple suggestions for keeping your sales people happy and creatingyour own in-house cheering section: --Remember their birthdays. Send them birthday cards. Wish them a happybirthday--doesn't cost a cent, yet it's so easy to overlook! Put a cupcakeon their desk. Have a birthday present delivered to their homes! Soundoutlandish? At one time I worked for a large company (2,600 employees inour office). Every single person in that company had a gift delivered totheir home on their birthday! One year it was an umbrella (everyone got thesame gift so you can purchase in bulk). The next it was a beautiful brassruler. Nothing had the company logo on it. It was NOT a promotionalproduct. It was a show of appreciation. This one does costa bit, but that's why you have a marketing budget, right? :-)--Make your office a pleasant place to be--Give everyone on your staff a pumpkin at Halloween and put candy oneveryone's desk--Take your staff and their families on a hay ride--Have an ice skating party--Had a good year? Share it with your employees in the form of a bonus--Put a miniature flag on their desk on national holidays--Praise them when praise is due--Sponsor family barbecues--Start a softball team--Send anniversary cards marking the anniversary of when they joined your company--Give them a sweat shirt with your company name on it when they start work.It's a marketing tool for you and forthem, and a nice gesture which says, "Welcome to our team."--Have a wine and cheese party in the office once a month--Let them know your door is always open--Ask about their familiy members and use their names when you do.--Treat them with respect--Stock your kitchen area with munchies--Celebrate Christmas in July! Take the team out to lunch in the summer as well as at the end of the year--Hold an employee appreciation day--Place a gift certificate to Starbucks on everyone's desk--Send a a postcard to everyone in the office when you're on vacation--Out of the blue, hire a bunch of kids to wash everyone's car--Ask your employees for referrals!!!Other companies may do some of these things, but how many do LOTS of them?Try it. You'll wind up with happy employees who beget happy employees whobeget happy employees, and on and on and on! Now you have not only retainedyour employees, but you've attracted more of the same caliber. Thesesuggestions are inexpensive and, I guarantee you, will pay you far more thanthey cost! Article Tags: Happy Employees Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com