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March 11, 2021
3 Data-Driven Steps to Increase the Diversity of Your Salesforce
By: Sara Winkle
Just imagine – you made the decision to diversify your salesforce and have created a more inclusive environment that retains A-players from varying backgrounds and perspectives. And because your salesforce thinks differently and challenges the status quo, you’ve improved your market share, you’ve outpaced board expectations, and your customer retention is at record highs.
You’ve heard and read about the business case for diversifying your workforce and how the diversity of thought avoids groupthink and leads to innovation. A salesforce that reflects your customer base increases your win rate. And an equitable and inclusive environment retains what you worked so hard to build.
But how do you actually create a more diverse sales team? I’m glad you asked…
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to determine that the first step of diversifying your salesforce means hiring a diverse salesforce. But what does that actually mean, how do you do it, and what does success actually look like?
Setting specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound goals for your ideal salesforce is important. One very common way to decide the ideal is to look at the demographic of your community and set your goals accordingly.
For example, if your account management team is based in NYC and the population of women in NYC is 51%, you may want to set a goal of having 50% women as account managers in your NYC team. In essence, your teams should reflect the hiring pool around you. Similarly, if you are hiring inside sellers who work virtually, you may want to broaden your demographic benchmark to include the entire country.
Another way to consider your ideal salesforce is to benchmark yourself against your current, or even better, your desired customer base. It’s no secret that we unconsciously favor those who look, sound, act, and share experiences similar to our own. The caveat here is that you really have to know not only your current market but also who your ideal market is as well. The makeup of your current salesforce could be biasing you towards specific markets and making you miss the opportunity elsewhere.
Finally, when setting goals for your ideal salesforce, think beyond the surface. Diversity goes so much further than gender, race, and ethnicity. What other factors can help bring diverse perspectives to your team – i.e., age, education, marital status, veteran status, introversion vs. extroversion, or citizenship? Though some are harder to track, particularly when evaluating candidates, adding these to your goals will also take you in the direction of becoming a more inclusive work environment.
Now that you’ve set goals for a salesforce that better reflects your community and/or your customers use that data to compare where you are today. The data you collect can tell you which part or parts of your hiring process need the most attention. For example:
Defining, finding, and hiring your ideal salesforce is only one part of the equation. The true benefits of a diverse team can’t be brought to fruition if your practices are not equitable and inclusive. You have to retain your ideal workforce for it to be effective.
This is where you can use your data to test the equity of your practices and processes. Using the goals you laid out in step one, check your retention rates. Are there any red flags in how quickly groups are leaving? What about promotion rates – with all else held constant, are any groups being promoted faster than others?
If you see any immediate red flags, and even if you don’t, dig deeper. Underlying inequities could be causing you to lose or disenfranchise otherwise star employees. In addition to unconscious biases that may be at play, consider these possibilities:
There are two types of people in this world – those who cling to the status quo and those who fearlessly blaze new trails for equity, innovation, and growth. Being a trailblazer isn’t easy, but data can make it easier. Use data to set SMART goals for your ideal workforce, then examine your hiring and retention practices to understand how and where you need to improve. But don’t rely on the data alone. It doesn’t always tell the full story, so be sure to back it up with qualitative insights from your salesforce.
If you are seeking to revamp your talent strategy to retain your top sales talent, give us a call or reach out to our Revenue Growth Help Desk. We are invested in helping you build your culture and make your number. You can also join our Inspire Others group on LinkedIn to connect with peers and share your own best practices for DEI.
Prior to joining SBI, Sara spent her career in several customer-facing roles in technology, media, telecom, business services, and hospitality. She has an innate ability to connect the dots between strategy and execution, ensuring that the end goal is never derailed by overlooked details.
While her industry experiences have varied, Sara’s passion for understanding the customer has not. She has always been keen to know who they are, what they need, and how they buy. She uses this curiosity to drive a deeper customer understanding, enabling executives to unlock untapped revenue with market-driven decisions. Her client portfolio includes Software, Retail, CPG, and Banking.
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