Member Article

Mancunian sales workers motivated by money alone

• Sales specialists in Manchester are single-minded about the importance of salaries and benefits when moving jobs, with 69% placing it a top priority
• Despite lower wages, sales professionals value monetary rewards more highly than those working in the lucrative financial services sector
• Career progression is also a pressing concern for sales professionals, more so than for any other sector
• Mancunians in sales judge CSR and job convenience to be less valuable than the average Manchester worker

Mancunian sales specialists mean business and prioritise their pay and benefits above all else in their career decisions, according to research from specialist recruiter Randstad Sales, Marketing and Retail.

The annual Randstad Award[i], conducted by Randstad, surveyed 10,728 British workers –including 630 sales professionals – in order to determine their top five factors when deciding on job roles. Almost seven in ten sales professionals (69%) said it is important that the company they work for provides competitive salaries and employee benefits, compared to just 61% of respondents in Manchester overall. Even lawyers (61%) and finance workers (68%) fail to compete with the monetary value sales workers place on jobs.

The average salary in Manchester across all industry sectors currently stands at £25,626[1] and workers in sales are achieving even higher wages of £28,833 annually. With a salary 11% higher than the typical Mancunian employee, the sales industry in Manchester has produced a single-minded workforce of sales professionals, who value pay more highly than even better-paid finance workers.

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: “Mancunian sales workers mean business and know the importance of chasing that higher salary or bonus schemes. This places them in prime position within the Manchester employment arena and able to distinguish themselves by their dedication to financial benefits, at the expense of softer social factors. If employers want to motivate their sales staff they certainly need to know how to do so.

“Manchester is establishing itself as the major sales hub of the North and for motivated and energetic employees it is the promise of financial returns which is driving this progress. Business is sure to continue multiplying, with more than 7,000[2] current vacancies available in the sector in Manchester. In an industry dependent upon the effort of workers in securing deals and reaching targets, pay has emerged as a key priority. To such an extent that sales people value their salary more than both lawyers and finance workers, challenging the typical money driven stereotypes within the city.“

PROMOTION AND TRAVEL VALUED

However Mancunians working in sales aren’t solely focused on instant rewards, with the prospect of climbing the career ladder still holding importance, as well as the opportunity to develop within an international environment.

Over two-fifths (42%) of sales specialists across Manchester chose career progression as a top five factor when moving jobs. In comparison, only 36% of workers in the city placed the same importance on this aspect on average. Clearly sales workers are keenly aware of the benefits of career advancement, managing to even surpass financial employees (41%).

Additionally, sales workers are more concerned with opportunities to work abroad than other employees in the region. Nearly 14% ranked it as a valuable feature of a company, but across Manchester as a whole only 10% of employees agreed.

Ruth Jacobs, commented: “Sales professionals, like most Mancunians, hope to escape the weather for warmer climates, but specialists in this sector value working abroad more than the typical employee. For them, progressing in their career is hugely important and they rightly realise that gaining experience globally is a valuable asset to have on their CV. This serves to increase their prospective future earnings and therefore is sure to be popular with Manchester’s budding sales workforce. The resolve and single-mindedness of salespeople can be a fantastic advantage to have within the competitive Mancunian jobs market.“

LITTLE CONCERN FOR LOCATION AND FLEXIBILITY

In focusing singularly on factors which impact upon financial benefits, sales people in Manchester are less swayed by conventional concerns such as work location and the flexibility of working arrangements. Of those polled working in sales, only 33% believed it was important that the company they worked for was conveniently located. But Mancunian workers as a whole responded differently, an average of 38% identifying location as a crucial factor.

In addition, 26% of workers in Manchester value the flexibility working arrangements such as flexitime and teleworking bring to the office. Contrastingly, just over a fifth (22%) of sales professionals stated this as a critical factor showing they are willing to go the distance and stick to the traditional 9-5 working day for the right salary.

SOFTER FACTORS RELEGATED

By focusing exclusively on competitive salaries, sales employees are prepared to overlook different aspects of the job, including the company’s social and environmental obligations.

Just 7% of sales specialists view a company’s dedication to CSR as one of five important factors when deciding on a job. But the rest of Manchester appear slightly more environmentally friendly – 9% say this is a crucial factor – and so too are the IT sector, with an average of 15% valuing a company for this approach.

Diversity within the workplace also fails to make much mark on Mancunian sales professionals, with less than one in ten (8%) believing it is important for their company. This contrasts with 10% of Manchester employees overall, and 16% of Human Resources workers. Similarly, all other business sectors across the region place more value on employee diversity than sales.

Ultimately, sales people remain unconvinced that good training will benefit their bottom line with only a quarter (26%) stating it as a critical factor and even job security (52%) was devalued in comparison to more immediate financial rewards. Both these figures failed to match up to the opinions of the average Mancunian employee.

Ruth Jacobs concluded: “Mancunian sales specialists have proved they value their salary and career advancements above all else, purely prioritising financial benefit when moving jobs. This single-mindedness can make sales people shrewd and valuable additions to the workforce, but also suggests that they overlook certain vital elements of a company’s culture, such as CSR. A company’s social and environmental obligations may not be the most glamorous aspect of the business but it is a crucial element of success, which in turn impacts upon employee’s monetary rewards. Manchester’s sales force should look beyond the bottom line, in order to reap the riches of social business values.“

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Olivia Redmond .