Mayflies have the shortest lifespan of any animal on earth, earning them the title of ‘one-day insects.’ Their life lasts only for 24 hours and their only purpose is to reproduce.
Mayflies have a lifespan of 24 hours.
Here Are Some Facts About Employee Job Retention
My interest in the short-lived Mayflies is the morbid similarity that I find between the fly’s life expectancy and the Head of Sales’ longevity in a job. On average, the tenure of a VP of Sales is between 24-32 months. In fact, the latest studies have shown that a Vice President of Sales’ average tenure has gradually declined in the last seven years from 26 months to 19 months. I am here to tell you that sales science is here and very relevant.
Just to highlight this epidemic, let’s compare the above numbers with the following statistics:
- On average, the job tenure across different industries, countries, and ages is around seven years.
- Workers in management, professional, and related occupations had the highest median tenure of 5.5 years.
- The median number of years that wage and salaried employees stayed with their current employer in January 2014 was 4.6 years. The same was true in 2012, and it was an increase from 4.4 years in 2010. In 2004, the average was 4 years.
It can be argued that unlike previous decades, today’s workers are moving between jobs, companies and even careers. However, the variance between the average of 84 months and 19 months is concerning.
There are several assumptions out there on the above epidemic as well as fingers politely pointing in every direction.
Operating On A Wing And A Prayer
My two cents on the matter, and from my experience, is that the main culprit is a peculiar theory which I have come about as of late – deemed “On a wing and a prayer,” not to be confused with “winging it” (although both might share a historical linkage).
So what is “On a wing and a prayer?”
If you do something on a wing and a prayer, you do it hoping that you will succeed even if you are not prepared enough for it.
The phrase was taken up by songwriters Harold Adamson and Jimmie McHugh and their WWII patriotic Coming in on a Wing and a Prayer, 1943 tells of a damaged warplane, barely able to limp back to base:
Photo Credit: The Phrase Finder
One of our planes was missing
Two hours overdue
One of our planes was missing
With all its gallant crew
The radio sets were humming
We waited for a word
Then a noise broke
Through the humming and this is what we heard
Comin’ in on a wing and a prayer
Comin’ in on a wing and a prayer
Though there’s one motor gone
We can still carry on
Comin’ in on a wing and a prayer
The Story Of Scapegoat Joe
So how does this relate to sales and how would this relate to the VP of Sales predicament?
There is no better way of explaining it than sharing with you the story of Scapegoat Joe.
Scapegoat Joe was the Head of Sales. He had passion, experience, and skills. He loved his job, and unlike the other 61 percent of sales professionals, he had chosen a career in sales. He was a good leader and never threw his team under the bus. He believed in salesmanship and was passionate.
However, life was far from perfect for Scapegoat Joe. You see, our hero was surrounded by a type of senior management that was fossilized in the past.
Even though the sales world around them was evolving at a dizzying speed, clients purchasing behavior was morphing and competition intensifying, they were still forcing down KPI targets with no rationale. Considered a complement to the newbies, they believed that Scapegoat Joe possessed the magic wand and supported him with two great strategies to achieve his targets: Baptism by Fire and the Revolving Door policy. They were essentially putting more boots on the ground, praying that some of those new rookies would save the day.
This was the world of Scapegoat Joe and no matter where he went, no matter what promises he was made, the end game was the same. In Joe’s augmented reality, sales were neither art or a science. Conversion ratios were unheard of. Sales methodology and sales process were a sacrilege. Coaching was banished.
However, this is not the future for Scapegoat Joe because there is an increasing number of sales leaders that are revolutionizing their company’s sales methodology to correspond with new customer journeys. They are expanding their target market beyond the usual suspects. Additionally, they are accelerating the sales force productivity not by hiring new sales teams but by coaching and helping the existing teams to sell more.
What these leaders possess, is not a magic wand, but an eye for sales science. It’s where the art of selling is enshrined by systems and processes; not relying on sales talent alone or the 20% of their sales force to save the day. These are the organizations that any warm-blooded sales professional should aspire to be part of. Before you sign on the dotted line and accept your new job and your targets, you need to stop and question your prospective employer’s organization approach to sales. Is it scientific or ON A WING AND A PRAYER?
