HIGHERing: A Look at the New Wage Laws and What It Means for Sales Teams
Whoa, don’t get caught! New York State’s minimum annual salary increased three days ago from $42,900 to $50,700. If you’re paying your team less than the new minimum, it’s time to review.
With this new increase, it’s time to raise the bar. We’ve seen sales teams pay their sales development representatives (SDRs) anything from $40K – $50K on their base salary, unfortunately that isn’t going to fly no mo’.
This raise means you can raise your expectations. With a $40-$45K rep, it is time to review quotas and goals. New York State demands you pay more; it’s time you demand more out of your team.
Good workers want to move up the ranks and be more than they are now. This change is an opportunity to sit down with your team and discuss why they are worth a $50K salary. It is a great time to motivate and take your SDRs to a higher level.
This principle applies to your sales hiring as you look to expand and hit your revenue goals. SDRs and junior account executives are a crucial part of your sales function.
This increase also means something that may be a little frightening with regard to your hiring: the threshold is higher. If all SDRs and junior account executives are required by state law to be paid the same, you have to make sure that your sales organization stands out to stellar candidates.
Are you telling the right story to these candidates? Are you selling the most moving message? Once hired, are you enabling, equipping, and growing them?
Remember, as a 22-24 year-old in New York City, SDRs are now making bank. How are you best setting yourself apart from the other hundreds of companies in New York who wants them? Spoiler alert, it’s not just the message, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The underside (that underwater part of an iceberg) is training, onboarding, rewarding, challenging, training, rewarding, developing, training, rewarding, training, training, training…….TRAINING. Remember, the average tenure for an SDR is between 10-12 months. That means you have 10-12 months on average to teach the craft of prospecting, have an SDR master it just in time for them to move on to a bigger job at your firm.
If you need any assistance in framing your company’s message in the best way possible, or if you’re looking to speak to some amazing candidates, don’t hesitate to reach out to nora.swidler@russelltobin.com.
