India Inc seeks more rural salesmen

It’s the ‘Great Hinterland Rush’. As companies push ahead with their expansion into tier-2 and -3 cities, demand for experienced sales and consumer-facing personnel is going through the roof. Such professionals — at all experience levels — are suddenly the most sought after by non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), retail and e-commerce entities, which are in expansion mode beyond urban India.Companies and recruitment professionals add that as purchasing power improves among tier-2 customers, sale of consumer durables — and, hence, their financing — is seeing an uptick in these markets. Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform Faircent’s CEO Rajat Gandhi said, “There is an immediate demand for sales roles and we face challenges in finding people who are at ease in transitioning into a new sector.”Specialist staffing firm Xpheno sees a demand of 2,000-4,000 sales professionals in each sector every month. Xpheno CEO Kamal Karanth said, “Besides expansion, companies must also take into account the high attrition levels among consumer-facing sales personnel. As a result, even sectors like pharma see an increased demand for sales staff. And requirement is expected to go up, especially during the upcoming festive season.”Recruiters add that the attrition rate among sales professionals is as high as 40%, owing to employees riding the expansion mode of finance and retail companies to hop jobs in search of growth and better salaries. Those with experience of two years or more are in demand. Management consultant services firm Kelly Services’ MD B N Thammaiah said, “There is a 15% increase in the money sales professionals can make in the new pockets. While fixed costs remain pretty much the same, incentives are higher. Those with an acumen for sales and knowledge of the topography of different cities are in demand.”65603689 “But not all urban professionals can work in a tier-2 set-up,” added Thammaiah.

from The Economic Times https://ift.tt/2BZn0eJ