As surprising as it may seem, I didn't hop from one company to another in search of the Holy Grail of Sales.
So why, as a sales rep, am I so "loyal" to Letsignit?
Well, it’s largely because of the company culture, employee engagement and well-being, and internal mobility.
Through my career – which I consider atypical – I would like to demonstrate to: all business owners, directors, HR (and even internal communications) that it is possible to retain salespeople and that one should not fear investing humanely to enable the success of their teams.
The adventure began just before the separation of activities at Mailinblack (where I worked for a few months) from those of Letsignit.
Freshly graduated from business school, my beginnings in sales were marked by managing a portfolio of SME clients.
From mid-market sales to Channel Manager, to major account sales and then manager, I humbly share with you 5 tips – which I believe are essential – to retain your salespeople and, more broadly, your employees.
It’s well known that salespeople are motivated by the lure of money. That’s normal. It’s an inseparable part of our jobs, but it’s not the only driving force.
While in the past, salespeople were often driven solely by financial gain, today it goes much further.
Involvement in decision-making and being considered a full-fledged member of a team have become key factors in engaging and retaining employees.
These elements must be considered from the recruitment process.
It’s crucial to make new hires – just like the more experienced ones – understand that you believe in their work and their ability to generate business and help their colleagues do the same.
Don’t be afraid to challenge your employees and assign them responsibilities. This is even crucial if you want them to stay motivated and fully invested in their work.
And, I say this from experience.
If I have stayed at Letsignit all these years – as a salesperson – it’s because they trusted me and challenged me in my various roles from the start.
Of course, it must be done with kindness and by considering the needs of your employees.
If I refer to my own career, the company has always been in a growth context. In the early days of the solution, many CEOs would have bet on more experienced profiles to sell Letsignit to businesses. No one would have bet on a young graduate with such stakes.
You might think that entrusting such responsibilities to a junior profile could be intimidating.
But, if everything is done with kindness and trust, there’s no reason to fear.
For me, the trust given was a real driving force. I truly knew why I was there.
From the beginning, the company shared its vision, challenges, objectives, etc. I was clearly made to understand that it wasn’t just about paying a salary in exchange for work. I was considered a full-fledged member of the team and the Letsignit family. I immediately felt included in the team and the tasks I was entrusted with.
When a company hires a new person, it invests in their potential.
This is a key message to convey.
If we are implementing changes, it’s so that employees can generate business and retain clients.
But, it’s not just about that!
The company must follow the new market trends to gradually guide its employees in adapting their methods and expanding their skill sets.
Today, I am loyal to Letsignit because they knew how to help me evolve and challenge me in my roles. It wasn’t just about chasing goals, but about giving me the opportunity to thrive in my sales role by opening up new horizons.
Of course, it’s not about changing everything constantly.
It’s about being able to meet market expectations whether in growth marketing, sales, or customer support. One must know how to make the right changes and ensure they align with the company’s needs. To do so, listening to employees and considering their feedback is essential.
We spend 80% of our time working alongside our colleagues. If there’s no sense of being heard by peers, one can quickly question their place in the company.
And this is not only true for salespeople. It applies to all departments. Based on feedback from my sales colleagues: most companies tend to put pressure on salespeople when objectives are not met.
But, do we truly try to understand why?
In my opinion, without active listening, it’s impossible to truly identify the issues and needs of employees.
Active listening is, in fact, the key to good management. If you listen to your employees, as a CEO or a member of the management team, you can provide them with the means to reach their goals. This might involve:
The company’s ability to adapt to meet the needs of its employees is a strong sign of consideration. It shows a lot of kindness towards them.
In fact, this is one of the reasons that also encouraged me to stay at Letsignit over the years.
This active listening happens both on a professional and personal level. It helps maximize the highly sought-after work-life balance.
Employees are the first to be impacted by a lack of structure or tools in their work. One must know how to listen actively to them to identify needs and structure/reinforce teams. And this inevitably involves structuring "from the top," i.e., structuring the management team.
Recruiting a person who can manage, listen, and strengthen the teams in a department is essential.
Building a team without a leader at the helm is like sailing without a rudder.
If I take the case of Letsignit, it took us some time to solidify the sales team. Initially, the need for someone to lead this department wasn’t apparent.
To give you some background, the sales department grew gradually with the company’s growth. As mentioned earlier, I held several roles at Letsignit, including that of sales team manager.
But at some point, the need for someone more experienced became clear. That’s when Anthony POYAC joined Letsignit as Sales Director to support the entire Sales team.
Although every company is in search of growth or profitability, it should not neglect human relationships, as employee well-being is, in my opinion, the driver of performance.
The desire that Damien Neyret had to create this company culture and give such care to his employees is reflected in everything: in the work, in the offices, in team cohesion, in his accessibility, and in the company culture.
None of this happened overnight; I’m talking about nearly 10 years of work. And today, we can say, all departments are united and moving in the same direction.
Damien has made sure to pay particular attention to our well-being – to us, his employees – in a level of detail that is impressive, but most importantly, inspiring.
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If we take a step back from what has been said:
Salespeople are not volatile. They ask for more than just goals and targets. Give them the opportunity to unlock their potential and fully thrive in their work. Ignite the sales spark within them.
This is also true for other departments.
Always be kind to your employees and offer them a healthy working environment. There is no magic formula for retaining your salespeople. However, I remain convinced that these 5 tips can help you.
Finally, I’ll ask you: what do you think makes a salesperson/employee want to get involved and stay in a company?
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