Many want to move away from this function of sales hunting and key account management but especially sales hunting. Many candidates tell RJM because they are good at what they do and commercial talent is at a premium it is hard for them to experience career development. Many candidates would love to try another supply chain mode and another function to allow them to learn and experience growth. Candidates have shared with RJM how they feel undervalued and treated as a door knocker. In some companies, the customer contact is passed on to an operations department and this is the last of the sales professionals involvement. Effective model maybe, but it does little to invigorate and retain sales talent.
Commercial candidates with sales hunting skills are constantly approached to explore career opportunities but often these types of roles present lateral career moves only. The role they are looking for is a team management role only - directing ,managing, guiding and coaching a team is highly sought after by these candidates. But the market demands they should continue to be hands on and tasked with personal sales targets and not an "ivory tower" only performer. Therefore , there is a conflict of interest regarding what this group of candidates want and where they want to take their careers and what hiring companies in the freight forwarding space are recruiting for. Complete misalignment. Candidates keen for a sales hunting role are mostly those that lack experience and do not have a seasoned track record to date in their career. They are looking to accumulate experience. This creates a risk for middle and smaller sized businesses as they head into unknown territory regarding when or more likely, if new sales will be secured.
The best freight forwarding and 3 Pl businesses recognise this and therefore create roles where they can have the best of both worlds. Hunting skills can therefore be secured while offering candidates involvement in projects where they will feel more valued and fulfilled from a career development point of view. In addition, should a sales hunter with a strong track record be available the best freight forwarding business create suitable role for them and practice pragmatism
Interested to discuss commercial talent pools in the freight forwarding arena? Reach out to Robert
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