Report: finding — and keeping — top salespeople is getting harder

A new report on how to find and retain top sales performers presents a true conundrum: Some 20% of a company’s salespeople account for more than half a company’s revenues, according to the report, a survey from CSO Insights. Yet a mere 16.4% of global sales leaders, respondents to the survey, believe they have the talent they need to succeed in the future.

Taken another way, if 20% of salespeople inside an organization make 60% of the revenue, that’s a three-times multiplier, the report states. The remaining 80% of the sales staff brings in 40% of the revenue, a five-times multiplier. That means a company’s top sellers could be six times more productive than their lagging peers.