Companies vainly searching for salespeople are finding leads are few in an industry where leads are key to success.

“There are not enough qualified candidates across the board, but sales has been particularly hit hard,” said Mark Zambrzycki, president of Mark/Ryan Associates Ltd. in Schaumburg. “It feels like we have a labor shortage.”

In a strong economy, the experienced, qualified candidate is king. In the sales world this notion is amplified as companies, attempting to increase profits in a hot market, actively try to recruit top sales candidates from competitors.

Although the economy seems to be on an upswing, companies are finding it increasingly difficult to attract quality salespeople. When they do, they find that retaining them for any lengthy period of time is next to impossible.

These latest developments have recruiters and sales managers scratching their heads as to the reasons behind the labor market difficulty. Sales positions are ripe for those who are energetic, enterprising and looking for a potentially lucrative career. It seems like a perfect fit for those who are highly motivated and competitive.

Yet, somehow, it seems that perceptions of selling have changed.

“Sales doesn’t have the glamour that it once did,” said Michael Hensley, vice president of sales for NetSource in Lisle. “People don’t go to school to be a sales person.”

Sales has come to be regarded by many as a back-up career. If there are no marketing or administration positions available when a candidate graduates from college, then sales is the next step.

“So many go into sales as a default career,” said Bill Bartlett, president and owner of Corporate Strategies and Solutions in Naperville. “Everyone thinks that they can go into sales. The fact is a lot of people shouldn’t be there.”

Bartlett goes by the general rule of thumb that a sales force can be broken down into three sections. This can work as a mirror for the overall sales market.

The top 20 percent are gifted sales people and always in high demand, the middle 60 percent are decent performers and can reach certain quotas, while the bottom 20 percent simply don’t belong and have floated into the career because of lack of other options.

Many industry experts would like to see sales become more professionalized and have more colleges gear courses to a sales career, which could help dispel the notion that a salesperson is a glorified schmoozer.

Aurora University is one of only 17 colleges in the country to offer some kind of degree in sales, said Shawn Green, director of the Dunham School of Business at Aurora University.

Green spearheaded the movement at Aurora to establish a master’s degree in strategic selling and an undergraduate minor in professional selling. He did it because the market has a large gap right now and few universities are directing their attention to it.

“There area eight times as many decent sales positions available when compared to marketing positions available,” said Green. “That is where the jobs are. I’ve seen the gap and we are trying to establish good programs that will hopefully help to fill that gap.”

Green highlights the disparity by referring to an annual education conference he attends each year for business schools. He said that each year the conference will offer more than 100 presentations on marketing, but usually fewer than 10 on sales.

“Sales is a very challenging position and can be a great opportunity for a lot of people, but we are not usually taught that sales is a true profession,” said Green.

And while colleges are busy grooming future marketing candidates, sales forces nationwide are beginning to slip as the number of representatives making quota has decreased from 2006 to 2007, according to Chief Sales Officer Insights, a Boulder, Colo.-based research firm.

Each year CSO Insights conducts its “Sales Performance and Optimization Survey” that polls more than 1,300 companies in the U.S. The 2007 report shows that 57 percent of participating companies claimed they were making their quota, down from 59.1 percent in 2006 and 58.2 percent in 2005.

The perceived lack of quality candidates in the marketplace may be contributing to this, but companies also are responsible for their share of the blame as well, said Corporate Strategies’ Bartlett in assessing the situation.

One of the main reasons that companies strike out with sales candidates is because they do not clearly define what kind of person is required for the position, he said.

“Too many times companies judge sales talent by looks and presentation,” said Bartlett. “You have to define a success profile and really determine what kind of qualities you want your candidate to have.”

Scott Metcalfe, president and CEO of Empire Consulting, Inc. in St. Charles, agrees.

Metcalfe recommends that the first interview with a potential client be done over the phone, followed by behavior evaluation tests and then, finally, a face-to-face meeting. This way a hiring manager will know more about a candidate and be able to ask questions that pertain to behavioral patterns, rather than just relying on a candidate’s ability to make a good in-person impression.

Companies need to follow up on a hire with training and mentoring, even for proven candidates, said Bartlett.

“All high performers want to feel involved and how they are on-boarded gives them a proper perception of how they are valued within a company’s culture,” said Bartlett. “Good sales people want to go through training.”

Because retention is so difficult in today’s market, companies should always be looking for quality candidates, even if their current staffs are full. The best way to do this is through networking and existing contacts, said Bartlett.

“Companies should always have three or four candidates in the pipeline,” said Empire’s Metcalfe. “When the time comes to replace a member of the sales team it will make it much easier than going out into the market blindly.”

Mark/Ryan Associates’ Zambrzycki said that many companies are opting for retained searches and paying recruiters up front to find quality sales candidates.

“If you are not always looking in this market you are failing,” said Zambrzycki.

The average sales person stays one to three years with a company and often leaves because he feel undervalued or unappreciated. Sometimes it is his own success that prompts a departure.

“I’ve seen salespeople leave because of jealousy from co-workers,” said Metcalfe. “Sometimes people in middle management don’t like seeing a 28-year-old kid make $300,000. They try and change the incentive package and the employee is out the door.”

NetSource’s Hensley has a five-year retention rate. He says the key to retention is to challenge the sales force and to present the company as a place that is forward-thinking and has long-term goals.

“There has to be reward and recognition, but you also have to challenge them,” said Hensley. “Ultimately, the common thrust for good salespeople is success. People like to see a company that is thinking-ahead and has a pattern of success.”

And while the public perception of the sales profession may not be what it once was, Hensley is quick to point out that any position of prominence requires the skill set of a salesperson.

“Any company executive is a salesperson,” said Hensley. “They have to sell vision to their company.”