Q2 bms medical sales index

About Index
The report is compiled from a variety of sources including vacancy data, candidate
salaries, client survey information and specific sector reports.

As a business we interview over 500 sales candidates per week, speak to 2000
decision makers and have a national presence with 7 offices throughout the UK. This
gives us access to a wealth of regional and national data, information on candidate
salaries and job expectations and insight into the challenges facing decision makers.

The index is produced quarterly and provides organisations with a good barometer of
trends in the UK sales recruitment market.
About Us
We specialise in recruiting high calibre people across the UK, Ireland and Australia.
Our network of offices gives us strong local presence and allows us to support a long
list of blue-chip clients who view us as partners they can trust.
We have grown to become a leading force in our field placing more people than ever
before. But we haven’t let our standards slip. We take the time to get to know you,
your business and the type of people you need. We tailor our services to ensure the
right recruitment solution for your business. In short, we make things run smoothly
and produce results.
2| BMS Quarterly Medical Sales Index - Published July 2013
BMS Quarterly Medical Sales Index

With output up across the UK, and the British Chamber of
Commerce suggesting business confidence is at its highest point
since 2007, at long last businesses have some small reason to be
cheerful.
Aside from the fact that we have seen economic false
dawns before, an upturn in business confidence and
the tentative shoots of recovery actually pose serious
questions for personnel departments, and the sales
teams they support.
According to the BMS Quarterly Sales Index,
employee retention is becoming a very real issue.
It was uncertainty and a lack of confidence, rather than the effectiveness of retention strategies,
that kept staff turnover low during the downturn. With candidate confidence now returning to the job
market, many sales leaders fear the loss of their star performers - forcing them to work harder to keep
their teams together.
“Seventy percent of companies
believe they are going to have to
work harder to retain their best
people in the coming months.”
Chart One: Will you have to work harder to retain staff if the economy improves?
Firms are responding. Across the board, they’re
continuing to invest in a range of retention strategies.
Today’s developing communications technologies
are enabling new forms of flexible working, which
according to Chart Two, has led to a third of firms
now offering these opportunities to their teams – a
growth of nearly 70% on last quarter’s figures.
Retention concerns as economy gears for growth
Yes, 70%
No, 30%
“It was uncertainty and a lack
of confidence, rather than
the effectiveness of retention
strategies that kept staff turnover
low during the downturn.”

Similarly, and perhaps more significantly, firms are
willing to increase base salaries to counter offers for
their best people – a jump of over 40% on last quarter’s
findings. The BMS Index has consistently raised the
issue of salary as a reason for losing (and failing to
secure) good salespeople. The fact that the industry has
taken action shows a positive development across the
vast majority of sectors.
“We’ve seen a rise this quarter
in the number of companies
offering higher salaries,
improved benefits and flexible
working. A real sign that
companies are starting to act.”
Chart Two: What are you doing to retain your best people?
The medical sector is particularly bullish, with
over a third of organisations responding to the
survey confirming they’ll increase salary to
hold on to the best people – compared with an
industry average of 23%.
Such increased efforts to keep their teams
together is hardly surprising given that eight out
of ten respondents felt their salespeople were
instrumental in protecting their businesses during
the recession. It’s safe to assume that this will
only increase should the economy continue its
upward path.
16%
19%
29%
6%
47%
29%
56%
14%
23%
32%
36%
9%
47%
34%
49%
8%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Increased
Salaries
Flexible
Working
Improved
Benefits
Extra Holidays More Lucrative
Bonus
Schemes
Team Building
Events
Sales Training None of the
above
Q1
Q2
“Sales training and more
lucrative bonus schemes
remain the top ways
companies are looking to
attract and retain sales
talent.”

As Chart Two revealed, while salary and a range of other bonuses are being offered to keep their best
people, firms continue to focus their retention efforts on training.
This is a trend the BMS Index has been following for some time and offers benefit to both employer
and employee. Apart from the likelihood of improved performance (which will ultimately hit the firm’s
top line), expanding training programmes is a clear sign of a company who is willing to invest in its
people.
Chart Three: Will sales training be a big factor in motivating and retaining sales teams?
It would certainly appear to work, with the vast majority of survey respondents agreeing that sales
training is a major factor in motivating and retaining staff, as shown in Chart Three.
According to BMS’ Head of Training and Development, Dave Bill, investment in employee training
goes right to the heart of retention efforts:
“We’ve seen a big move towards training as a retention strategy over the past few quarters. While
salary may attract candidates, investing in your existing people increases motivation, performance
and a greater sense of value in the employee. Indeed, as we move forward, presentation and lead
generation training will not only add to team competencies, but will sit alongside growing salaries,
flexible working and increased bonus pots as a sound retention tool.”
Therefore, we will inevitably see the importance
of training increase over the next six months as
over a third of firms take on raw talent in their
attempts to remain competitive. Offering training
and development, and immersing graduates and
new starters in the company culture from the very
beginning, should not only accelerate ‘time to
value’, but support retention strategies too.
Training and Loyalty
“Sales training leads the way in
retention tactics being used by
companies with 86% believing
it will help them to motivate and
retain their staff.”
Yes, 86%
No, 14%

Chart Four: Jobs growth January 2011 - July 2013
Of course, enhancing team performance isn’t simply about retaining the best people, it’s also critical
to find and recruit new talent. And over the second quarter of 2013, the BMS Quarterly Sales Index
has brought to light that jobs growth recovered from a slump in March to end the quarter in positive
territory (Chart Four).
Q2 recruitment analysis
Business services, IT and manufacturing have
all fared well - in what remains a tough climate.
However, sales recruitment within construction and
medical remained well below the all-sector average.
Set against the quarter’s positive Purchasing
Managers Index (PMI) figures and growing business
confidence, the sales recruitment figures appear to
be lacklustre. In reality, firms rarely increase sales
teams or add additional account management on the
back of a single good quarter.
It’s a more strategic game; we’d expect a time lag between output/order growth and an upturn in
recruitment.
On the question of the challenge of recruitment over the past six months, firms were more evenly
divided; just over half of firms surveyed felt they had struggled to recruit good people (Chart Five).
A struggling six months?
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
4
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
“Whilst vacancy levels are low,
this new sense of optimism will
see recruitment activity rise in the
coming months.”

Chart Five: Have you struggled to recruit good sales people over the past six months?
Recruiters in the business services, FMCG and medical sectors were more likely to agree that they
had ‘struggled’. The biggest barrier to securing the right people within the medical sector was strong
counter offers from existing employers – small wonder as medical leads the sectors in using salary
rises to encourage retention.
Despite this, there’s no getting away from the fact that salary and counter offers remain significant
recruitment issues across all sectors, as Chart Six demonstrates. There is still work to be done here.
Chart Six: If you have missed out on a good candidate in the past, what was the main reason?
Yes, 56%
No, 44%
17%
11%
19%
21%
6%
26%26%
12%
20%
8%
8%
25%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Counter offer Long recruitment
process
Offer from
another employer
Other Unable to meet
candidates career
aspirations
Unable to meet
candidates salary
expectations
Q1
Q2

Two stage battle for talent back on
This quarter’s Index highlights a period of short
term entrenchment for employers. There’s no
doubt that as confidence returns to the economy
and the job market, good sales people who have
sat tight will be looking for what other opportunities
may exist.
In an attempt to offset this potential skills drain,
employers are ramping up strategies to engender
greater loyalty (principally through investment
in their people). But where attempts fail, as
highlighted in Chart Six, employers are now
prepared to aggressively move to counter offers.
For companies that are recruiting, this means increased competition. As Chart Seven indicates,
they’re taking action to make themselves more competitive by looking outside their markets for good
people. They are doing this by taking on raw talent and offering training and development, which are
trends we have seen over the past two years.
“As confidence returns to
the economy, those that sat
tight during the recession
will consider their options,
leading to increased
competition for candidates.”
But where this quarter’s Index offers a particularly
interesting insight is in the significant increase in
the number of recruiters (one in four) now willing
to increase salaries, and almost a third aiming to
shorten recruitment processes.
We haven’t seen these high levels for some time.
This reflects a growing realisation that to get the
best people you have to pay the money and be
fleet of foot; both to beat competing recruiters and
to outmanoeuvre the current employer who may be
looking to counter offer.
Chart Seven: What steps will you be taking to remain competitive in the search for good sales people
over the next 6 months?
35%
14%
24%
34%
29%
13%
16%
19%
10%
46%
25%
30%
47%
36%
15%
19%
20%
0%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
Look for talent
outside market
Improve salary
& benefits
Shorten
recruitment
processes
Provide on-
going Sales
Training &
Developement
Take on raw
talent and
provide sales
training
Engage other
attraction
methods
Strengthen
recruitment
partnerships
Improve
employer
branding
None of the
above
Q1
Q2
“The rise in counter offers
and a willingness to increase
salaries compared to last
quarter are clear signs that
competition is increasing and
confidence is improving.”

Chart Eight: Will your recruitment activity for the second half of 2013 increase or decrease compared
to the first half of 2013?
Increase in activity forecast for the rest of 2013
As shown in Chart Eight, recruiters expect to be doing more business across all sectors (except
construction) as we move into the second half of the year. While the vast majority of firms believe
their activities will stay the same, around a quarter of IT and business services firms, and over a third
of manufacturers, expect their numbers to rise.
It would seem that once businesses have their retention strategies in place (and have dealt with the
inevitable churn that a growing economy delivers), they will look to go out to market to build up their
sales forces.
Of course this is largely dependent on the continued growth of the economy. While there have been
many false dawns before, there is certainly a place for cautious optimism – and there’s little doubt
that both business and candidate confidence is higher than it has been in some time.
But as we’ve discussed, increasing confidence can also be a major concern for the unprepared
employer.
24%
19% 20%
28%
37%
21%
15%
24%
15%
24%
26%
14%
62%
57%
65%
48%
37%
64%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Business
Services
Construction FMCG IT Manufacturing Medical
Increase
Decrease
Stay the
same

More flexibility needed to secure top talent
According to one respondent to this quarter’s BMS
Quarterly Sales Index, “market and product knowledge
are absolutely fundamental to success in this industry.”
This is undoubtedly true; the sales environment within
the medical sector is unlike any other, and demands a
very specific range of skills. Or does it?
AccordingtothelatestBMSsurveyofsalesandrecruitment
leaders in the medical sector, the top three characteristics
of an effective sales person are communication, listening
skills and positivity, as demonstrated in Chart Nine.
“Our survey found that medical
firms favour sales people with
great communication and
listening skills and a positive
attitude over technical product
and market knowledge.”
Chart Nine: What characteristics do you believe are needed to be an effective sales person?
That is not to say that product and industry knowledge don’t
figure – they do, fourth and fifth places respectively – but
this could offer an interesting perspective on why medical
firms find it so hard to recruit.
Only 25% of firms responding to the BMS survey were
prepared to look outside their markets last quarter; despite
the increasing availability of both experienced and graduate
talent appearing on the market as the wider economy
improves, as shown in Chart Ten.
Considering the top three criteria are non-market based,
that seems to be a small number. Wouldn’t it make sense
for the industry to widen its sales recruitment net?
“In contrast, only a small
proportion of medical
firms are looking outside
their markets to find good
sales people, the majority
favouring sales training
as an attraction method
instead.”
21%
71%
75%
96% 96%
86%
61%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
Leadership skills Market knowledge Product knowledge Communication skills Good listening skills Positive behaviour Entrepreneurial spirit

Chart Ten: What steps will you be taking to remain competitive in the search for good people over the
next 6 months?
Picking from a restricted labour market
The challenge of fishing from a small pool is increased as the wider economy begins to find its feet.
The manufacturing, construction and business services sectors have all seen impressive growth,
according to PMI figures released at the end of June. These areas, specialist in their own way,
are very happy to look outside their markets for the best people, and are similarly pleased to take
experienced sales people from the medical sector.
This would be less of an issue if medical was a growth industry. However, all the economic
indicators, and successive spending reviews, suggest otherwise. It’s therefore a distinct possibility
that the very best sales people will start to follow the money into other, more financially attractive
sectors.
Salaries rise to keep salespeople loyal
While a small proportion are looking outside to remain competitive in the recruitment market, the
vast majority (57%) are looking to increase training and development in an effort to secure top
talent.
But, as a reflection of a constricted candidate pool, and the need to maximise existing investments
in training, the focus for medical firms over the past three months has been on retaining skilled
staff.
Forty two percent of inhouse sales and HR leaders fear an exodus of top talent (to competitors and
out of the sector altogether) as the economy improves, and are adopting strategies to combat this
growing threat.
25%
21%
39%
57%
29%
14%
25%
29%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Look for talent outside
our market place
Improve salary and
benefits package
Shorten the
recruitment and offer
process
Provide ongoing sales
training and
development
Take on raw talent
and provide sales
training
Engage other
attraction methods
Strengthen
recruitment
partnerships
Improve employer
branding

Chart Eleven: What are you doing to retain your best people?
It’s clear then that the battle for talent is still on, but this time medical firms are facing competition
not just from their own industry, but from ambitious firms across the spectrum.
As indicated, medical firms are responding by raising salaries, bonus levels and benefit packages.
The trouble is that these are expensive strategies, and with the sector in poor health, they are
unlikely to be sustainable.
One way forward, currently being taken by a quarter of respondents to this survey, is to recognise
the transferable nature of the key sales skills. They are partnering with recruitment firms to bring
new blood into the industry as well as extending training and development programmes to upskill
this new resource.
While there’s no one size fits all approach, the option
of selecting from a wider talent pool may offer some
cost saving benefits today, and with the right training
in place, deliver additional strategic advantage in the
longer term.
Recognising that market and product knowledge may
not be the be all and end all to creating an effective
medical sales person may help the industry address
the recruitment challenges it has faced for some
considerable time.
The most popular approaches focus on ‘softer’ strategies:
improved benefits, team building and sales training. This is
consistent with efforts of firms across the vast majority of
sectors.
Where medical differs is in its apparent enthusiasm to
increase the base salaries of salespeople to keep them
on the premises. As the BMS data shows in Chart Eleven
below, over a third of medical firms are prepared to do so,
against an all industry average of just 23%.
This makes sense; the BMS Index has consistently identified
salary as a major issue within the medical sector.
“Over a third of medical
companies are looking at
increasing base salaries,
higher than in most other
sectors. How sustainable this
is in a tough market, only time
will tell.”
“Recognising market and
product knowledge may
not be the be all and end
all to creating an effective
medical sales person may
help the industry address it’s
recruitment challenges.”
36%
29%
50%
14%
39%
46% 46%
4%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Increased
Salaries
Flexible Working Improved Benefits Extra Holidays More Lucrative
Bonus Schemes
Team Building
Events
Sales Training None of the above

Q2 bms medical sales index

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