This shows that, without question, the men and women who make up each company’s sales force produce the revenue that will continue to fuel this country’s economy. The 2016 SP 500 includes the top 200 companies in the manufacturing industry, the top 200 companies in the service industry, the top 50 insurance companies, the 30 largest direct-selling companies, and the top 20 automo- tive-dealer organizations (megadealers). Every year, new companies make the list while others drop off. The total number of salespeople employed by all 500 companies listed is 25,994,677, which represents a sizable increase of about 5 percent – or more than 1.1 million additional sales- people – as compared to last year. This overall change is due almost entirely to an increase in the number of sales- people working for direct-selling companies. The direct-selling category, which posted a small 1
percent increase in 2015, posted a significant 5 percent increase this year – a possible indication that people are leaving the more traditional full-time sales force in greater numbers. The number of salespeople in the manufacturing industry increased by more than 6 percent, while the number of salespeople in both the service and insurance industries declined in 2016, by al- most 3 percent and 1 percent, respectively. The decline in the service industry reversed the 3 percent increase in the number of salespeople posted last year. The auto- motive industry posted a small increase in the number of salespeople: up just over 2 percent. Overall, without the direct-selling numbers, the number of salespeople increased by a small 11,580 people, but continued a second straight year of increases. The states with the most SP 500 companies are Califor- nia (52), New York (50), and Illinois (36). The states in which the SP 500 companies employ the largest number of sales- people are New York (6,726,456), California (5,576,162), and Texas (3,768,240). These states account for about 27 percent of the total companies and a whopping 61 percent of the total salespeople.
PRODUCTIVITY MIXED Our research team continued to find that salespeople employed by manufacturing firms contribute a far higher amount of sales revenue than other industry segments. The top 200 manufacturing firms employ 521,041 sales- people and produce more than $3.8 trillion in sales. That’s an average of more than $7.4 million in sales per sales- person. This represents a significant (6 percent) decline in productivity compared to the previous year, which means productivity, which had been stagnant for three consecu- tive years, is now in decline. The number of manufactur- ing salespeople increased, gaining more than 32,000 salespeople compared to last year. The total number of manufacturing industry employees decreased slightly this year, decreasing by less than 1 percent from last year. The top 200 companies in the service sector reported a small decrease of just more than 16,000 salespeople, bringing the total to 600,088 salespeople. The number of
22 | OCTOBER 2016 SELLING POWER © 2016 SELLING POWER. CALL 1-800-752-7355 FOR REPRINT PERMISSION.
salespeople decreased by almost 3 percent, and the total revenue came in at more than $3.1 trillion, a 12+ percent increase over last year. This represents more than $5.2 million in sales per salesperson and a healthy 15 percent increase in productivity – now showing two straight years of productivity gains. The number of service-sector em- ployees increased by just over 2 percent this year, mak- ing four consecutive years of increases in the number of service-sector employees.
The top 20 automotive megadealers reported posi- tive numbers across the board this year. The top 20 firms own 1,724 dealerships (up by about 2 percent), employ an estimated 25,860 salespeople (an increase of about 2 percent), and produce more than $121 billion in sales (up by almost 4 percent). This brings the average annual sales per salesperson to almost $4.7 million (up by more than 1.7 percent). The productivity registered is a hopeful sign for an automotive industry that is continuing its recovery. The top 50 insurance companies employ sales forces totaling 638,645 across the industry, with an average sales volume per salesperson of $1,136,379. This repre- sents an insignificant increase in productivity of less than 1 percent. In fact, the number of salespeople declined slightly from last year (a less than 1 percent drop), while their productivity remained relatively unchanged. The total number of employees posted a decrease of more than 6 percent from 2015. The top 30 direct-selling companies reported more than 24 million salespeople, continuing a trend of increases in the number of salespeople in this industry within the past 15 years. This year’s large increase in the number of sales- people is one of the industry’s largest annual increases in the past six years.
Overall, the numbers illustrate an overall stagnant workforce, declining employment and productivity in the manufacturing sector, and a service sector that, while gaining in productivity, is declining in the number of salespeople. Outside of the direct selling industry, the total number of salespeople remained relatively flat – as did the number of employees. The revenue gener- ated per salesperson increased across every industry apart from the manufacturing industry.
SP 500 SALESPEOPLE DRIVE THE ECONOMY Each salesperson in the service or manufacturing industry supports, on average, 13.71 other jobs within the com- pany; that figure marks a small decrease from last year’s number of 13.82 and is the first such decrease we have reported. These companies employ a total sales force of more than 1.1 million salespeople, who produce more than $6.9 trillion in sales and ensure the employment of more than 16 million people. This underscores the fact that the sales forces of America are responsible for helping sustain and ensure our economy’s future growth.
HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THE SP 500 TOP EXECUTIVES – Use the SP 500 to benchmark your
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50
