Member Article

Brummie salespeople hell bent on financial benefits

Sales workers in Birmingham are more single-minded when it comes to achieving their career goals than other city employees, according to research provided by specialist recruiter Randstad Sales, Marketing and Retail.

In a survey of 10,728 working Brits – including 630 sales professionals – conducted as part of the annual Randstad Award, almost seven in ten sales professionals (69%) say that it is important that their employer offers competitive salaries and employee benefits; placing this in their top five factors when deciding on job roles. This is a higher proportion than workers across Birmingham as a whole, with 61% of those polled putting pay as a top consideration. Similarly, a higher proportion of sales people value salaries and benefits more than any other UK profession, overtaking finance workers (68%), business consultants (64%) and engineers (63%).

Brummie sales employees currently earn an average salary of £30,470, 16% more than the typical Birmingham worker, with an average salary of £25,673 across all industries in the area. But remarkably, sales specialists are more financially motivated than Brummie finance workers, although they receive a higher salary of £31, 296.

Across all UK workers as a whole, salaries and employee benefits are in the top five job considerations for 63% of employees.

Ruth Jacobs, managing director of Randstad Sales, Marketing and Retail, commented: “Brummie sales professionals are the most financially focused workers in the West Midlands. Gaining a competitive salary and financial benefits, including bonuses, is the primary goal within this industry, resulting in a single-minded approach towards job decisions.

“Sales itself is a massively competitive industry, and within Birmingham itself this competition is only growing. The typical image of a high pressure environment fixed on reaching targets has encouraged ambitious individuals, enthusiastic about the results and rewards nature of the sector. There are over 4,700 sales vacancies currently on offer within the city at the moment and aspiring employees can afford to hold out or negotiate for the higher salaries. The common perception is that money-driven individuals usually rush for the larger salaries found in the financial and business industries. Yet sales has claimed this pool of talent and sales employers may need to be prepared to part with more cash in order to keep them there.“

PROGRESSION STILL A PRIORITY

Sales professionals in Birmingham primarily have money on their mind when making decisions about moving jobs, but this doesn’t mean that they are narrow-minded when it comes to employment choices. Immediate rewards may appeal to sales specialists but they are also keen to gain long-term progression and promotion opportunities within a job. On average, over two-fifths (42%) of sales workers say it is a top five factor, compared to 35% of Birmingham employees overall. Again, Birmingham’s sales employees demonstrated their ambition against other industries, ranking these opportunities as more valuable than both the finance and engineering sectors.

A company’s ability to offer international travel also rates highly in the opinion of Brummie salespeople –14% choosing it as a decisive factor in determining future employment – while for the overall workforce it was of lesser importance, just a tenth (11%) giving it the same consideration.

Ruth Jacobs, commented: “As part of their job, sales professionals are used to forecasting future results, and they appear to be applying this logic to their own career progression, considering the value they place on salaries. They may be single-minded in their prioritisation of payment but Brummie sales people are also shrewd enough to keep their eyes on future financial prizes. Opportunities to travel beyond the Bullring on secondment and a steady ascent up the career ladder can only result in a larger pay package.“

BRUMMIE SALES PEOPLE NEGLECT “SOFTER“ FACTORS

Additional working elements which do not directly influence financial rewards proved equally unappealing for sales specialists.

CSR, an integral yet “softer” feature of many businesses which incorporates a company’s legal actions, ethos, environmental position and determination to achieve some social good is disregarded by many of Birmingham’s sales professionals. Only 7% of sales respondents judge it to be a top five factor in job decisions, compared with a tenth (10%) of typical Brummie employees.

Less than one in ten (8%) sales workers believe that is important to work for a company which promotes diversity in the workplace, also less than the average 10% of employees in Birmingham.

Just 22% of sales respondents value flexible working arrangements as a top five factor of a job, while an average 29% of regional employees selected it as a key concern.

Sales professionals also show below-average consideration of long-term job security and convenient location – in comparison to regional responses.

Ruth Jacobs concluded: “Nothing can sway sales people from their single-minded approach to their career goals and their lack of consideration for “softer“ job attributes. For the typical Birmingham employee, a company’s convenient location and job security are key factors in deciding on a job, but continue to leave sales workers cold. The new mobile nature of the workforce are prepared to travel and trade companies in order to improve their career and achieve their financial aims. This focus makes them formidable employees and a great asset to the sales industry, but they should also be cautious. Working for a company which ignores diversity and CSR may not prove the most professionally fulfilling employer in the long term, and these secondary factors aren’t mutually exclusive with salary. We may be approaching a time when you can have it all – and candidates can afford to shop around for the best cultural and geographical fit too.“

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Property Editor .