Research studies of top sales people in both the United States and Europe confirm that top sales performance can be predicted. The most successful organizations in the world already know that hiring the right people has the potential of becoming the most powerful “secret weapon” in their arsenal of competitive strategies. What they don’t know is that hiring the right sales people can be as simple as following a recipe based on recent findings from an international study conducted by Frank Scheelen of Institut for Managementhberatung and Bildungsmarketing and myself, Bill Bonnstetter of Target Training International, Ltd. in Scottsdale, Arizona.

As a result of our twenty years of research, development and distribution of assessment tools to measure performance, we have been telling organizations that it is what’s on the inside, not the outside, that counts, especially in sales performance. What we are fighting is the myth that hiring people who look and sound good leads to good performance. As global competition forces organizations to greater heights in key performance arenas such as customer service, quality and customization, aggressive organizations must be ever vigilant in the identification, acquisition, development and integration of innovative technology. This type of innovative technology is now available to select top performers.

Much of the research conducted in the past on top salespeople has been focused on behavior. Behavioral research has been popular because, like looking good and sounding good, behavior can be observed. Little, if any significant study has been focused on what goes on inside a top salesperson. Our groundbreaking research in the United States and Europe now confirms that attitudes far outweigh looking good, sounding good or behavior in distinguishing top salespeople.

Two of our most significant assumptions were confirmed by the two studies. (1) Top performing salespeople around the world are similar and, (2) Attitudes or values are more important than behavior in sales performance. (See Study 1 and Study 2 attachment)

In both studies, only top performing salespeople responded. In the United States study and a separate German study, top performing salespeople responded to two assessments. One was based on the internationally validated DISC behavioral model and the other was based on the Personal Interests, Attitudes and Values model, currently being validated internationally.

Note that in the United States study of 178 firms, top sales performers tended to be spread across three behavioral dimensions. In the German study, top sales performers tended to be spread across the same three behavioral dimensions. In view of these results, it is reasonable to conclude that salespeople can sell in most, if not all, behavioral dimensions.

However, when it comes to what is on the inside of top performing salespeople, both United States studies as well as the German study confirm it is hands-down, a Utilitarian Attitude.

In September, for the first time since Deloitte began its longitudinal study of global talent trends and strategies, surveyed executives are more inclined to believe the worst of the economic crisis has passed, rather than the worst lies ahead. Many of these corporate leaders are preemptively leaning into the recovery, adopting talent strategies aimed at heading off a looming “resume tsunami” in the hope of preventing key employees from departing for better opportunities. Nevertheless, many companies risk being left behind because they have not implemented either the talent or innovation strategies needed to seize the opportunities presented by a recovering economy.

Since January 2009, Deloitte has been conducting a longitudinal survey to evaluate how executives are managing their workforces during the economic downturn—and whether they have effective strategies in place for the recovery to come. The September 2009 survey, like its predecessors,
provides insights into the talent plans and priorities of major companies across every sector of the global economy. The results of the September survey revealed the following key findings:

The hints of economic optimism that first appeared in the May survey have grown considerably. Surveyed executives and talent managers who believe the worst is behind us outnumber those who believe the worst is yet to come—and by a considerable margin.

Many companies in the survey are implementing strategies to avoid a resume tsunami by going on the offensive to retain today’s key employees and train the next generation of leaders. Corporate layoffs, which have been prevalent throughout this survey series, declined significantly at these companies, suggesting that many companies have completed the task of rightsizing their workforces.

While nearly all surveyed companies recognize the importance of innovation, few of them appear to have talent plans in place to drive innovation in their businesses.

There are clear and compelling differences between talent and innovation leaders and talent and innovation laggards. We identify talent and innovation leaders as those companies with a deep understanding of the link between talent and innovation, making them far more likely to have identified the critical employees who drive innovation in their companies; far more likely to have specific training programs in place to develop critical innovation employees; and far more likely to be making the investments—both financial and non-financial— needed to retain the employees who drive innovation in their companies.

Deloitte believes that companies that remain in a defensive posture risk losing the fight for talent that this survey suggests is already heating up. Hunkering down with cost cutting and headcount reductions alone may prove to be a losing strategy for weathering the resume tsunami, leaving
companies without the workforce strength they need to benefit from the economic recovery.

When looking forward to the next quarter, surveyed executives no longer rank “reducing employee headcount” as their top talent priority—the first time since the survey’s launch in January 2009.

As headcount reductions slide down the management agenda and layoffs abate, many of the surveyed companies are ramping up retention initiatives to keep key leaders and high-potential employees on board—and to prevent competitors from stealing them away. Surveyed companies seeking to survive the potential resume tsunami are focused on several key retention tactics, such as opening up more opportunities for career advancement and offering better financial incentives.

Nearly one-in-three executives surveyed (31%) reported they are increasing career path opportunities—a jump of eleven points from January (20%) After nearly a year of austerity, even compensation is back on the table, with 28% reporting they plan to increase compensation levels over
the next 12 months, up from 15% in January. Talent managers also see flexible work arrangements as an effective retention tactic; 35% of those surveyed plan to increase their focus on this area.

Retaining high-potential employees is just the first step in developing an effective talent strategy. Future corporate leaders must also be trained to handle greater levels of responsibility as their careers develop. In previous reports, Deloitte flagged the renewed attention to training and development
programs among executives and talent managers. That trend grew even stronger in September, particularly when it comes to nurturing the careers of key employees.

According to the September data, nearly half of surveyed executives plan to increase high-potential employee development programs (49%) and a similar number are ramping up initiatives to develop future leaders/managers (48%) over the next 12 months (Figure 7). Programs aimed at developing top talent and training corporate leaders easily outrank all other training initiatives, including regulatory/risk training and sales-specific training.

Signs of life in recruitment: With many companies on a talent offensive, recruitment efforts are showing signs of life. The number of executives who report they plan to increase experienced hires over the next year rose to 39%. There was also some relatively good news for recent college graduates seeking entry into the workforce: 26% of executives plan to increase campus hires—up from 15% in both March and January. As in previous surveys, “experienced hires” remain in high demand, ranking first among recruiting categories for every industry surveyed: Financial Services (48%), Energy/Utilities (40%), Consumer/Industrial Products (37%), Life Sciences/ Health Care (32%), Technology/Media/Telecommunications (32%).

60% of surveyed talent leaders are concerned they could lose key employees to their competitors.

Many surveyed companies appear convinced that high potential talent that is not properly developed can be easily poached by competitors. Despite a weak economy, concern over losing key employees to better opportunities has been growing steadily, increasing from 43% in January to 44% in March to 51% in May. In September, the number of executives who said they were either highly or very highly concerned about losing high-potential employees grew to 60%.

A red flag: Companies value innovation, but do not have the talent strategies to drive it. Deloitte sees a clear red flag in the survey data: While most participating executives recognize the importance of innovation, many are not implementing the talent strategies they need to drive innovation within their companies.

More than six out of ten survey participants (61%) acknowledged they either had no talent strategy currently in place to drive innovation or did not know if they had one.

Just four in ten surveyed executives (42%) believed their companies have identified the key employees and leaders most responsible for driving innovation within their organizations (Figure 10). Only 39% of survey participants have put specific programs in place over the last year to retain and develop this critical band of talent. Just four in ten surveyed executives (42%) believed their companies had identified the key employees and leaders most responsible for driving innovation within their organizations.
An overwhelming majority of surveyed executives (88%) fear they will not have the necessary talent to lead their innovation programs after the recession ends.

In the course of this longitudinal study, Deloitte has identified a clear divide between companies that are positioning themselves effectively for the economic recovery and companies that are in danger of being left behind. In the September survey, this divide was evident once again when it comes to implementing talent strategies dedicated to driving innovation. While hunkering down may help a company survive the recession, we believe it represents a losing strategy for companies that want to excel during changing times and the economic recovery.

The talent and innovation leader’s checklist:
Does your company really have a talent strategy to drive innovation? The September survey revealed clear fault lines between how “talent and innovation leaders” and “talent and innovation laggards” are positioned for the coming economic recovery. The talent and innovation leaders represent the 39% of surveyed companies with an innovation plan, while the talent and innovation laggards represent the 61% of companies with no innovation plan currently in place.

The following checklist outlines the primary behaviors uncovered by our survey that underscore the intersection between talent and innovation and separate leaders from laggards.

• Identify who drives innovation. Talent and innovation leaders are more likely to haveidentified the critical employees in their companies who drive innovation—by a 47-point margin over talent and innovation laggards.

• Deploy strategies to retain and train innovative talent. By more than 3:1 (68% to 20%), talent and innovation leaders are more likely to have specific programs in place to retain and develop the critical talent that drives innovation in their companies.

• Develop the next generation of corporate leaders. Talent and innovation leaders are significantly more likely to be ramping up training and development programs for the next generation of talent. By a 19-point margin, talent and innovation leaders expect to increase their focus on leadership/management development (59% to 40%) and highpotential
employee development (61% to 42%) compared to talent and innovation
laggards.

• Invest in critical talent. Talent and innovation leaders make the investments—both financial and non-financial—to reward innovative employees. By double-digit margins, they are more likely than talent and innovation laggards to be increasing compensation levels and benefits (36% to 23%) and opening more career opportunities (41% to 25%) for their top talent. By a 12-point margin (56% to 44%), talent and innovation leaders are
more likely to tie bonuses or there financial incentives to innovation and, by a 10-point margin (34% to 24%), are more likely to make innovation a key factor in employee performance reviews and promotions.

• Be proactive in the talent marketplace. When it comes to recruiting, talent and innovation leaders are more actively recruiting critical talent (50% to 39%) and attracting critical leaders (46% to 35%) who can drive innovation in their organizations. Innovation leaders are not just focused on acquiring proven talent; they are also boosting efforts to bring in future leaders by increasing on-campus recruiting at a higher rate (37% to 18%).

• Go on offense, not just defense. By a nine- point margin (29% to 20%), talent and innovation leaders are more likely to be focused on developing new products and services. Talent and innovation laggards, on the other hand, remain firmly on the defensive, cutting costs at a greater rate than talent and innovation leaders (61% to 53%) and reducing headcount at a higher rate (39% to 23%). This may be one reason why, by a 13-point margin (39% to 26%), talent and innovation leaders are more likely to believe the
worst of the economic crisis has passed.

• Stay paranoid or lose key talent. One reason innovators are so keen on recruiting, retaining, and training key employees is because they understand talent will become a scarce commodity once the economy recovers. By nearly a 2:1 margin (22% to 12%), talent and innovation leaders have “very high” concerns about losing high potential employees to their competitors.

The bottom line: Talent and innovation leaders have a deep understanding of the link between talent and innovation and are actively deploying talent strategies that will drive innovation within their businesses. Talent and innovation laggards risk losing ground, not only to a weak economy, but also to competitors who will be better positioned to benefit from the recovery because they are taking the right steps now to integrate talent and innovation priorities.

Busy professionals with a strong desire to achieve sometimes fall into slumps which can destroy creative drive. Do your best to avoid these slumps by accepting that you cannot do everything. Delegate responsibilities to others qualified to perform the task. They should share your goals for success.

♦ Be a lifetime learner – Don’t assume you’ve learned all you need to know. Have a plan for personal growth and work on challenging goals in all areas of your life.

♦ Be Proactive – Solve problems before they occur. Carefully plan procedures to prevent problems and proper handling in the event they do happen.

♦ Communicate your goals and let others know how they can help you achieve them. Listen carefully to information they prived you.