This shows that, without question, the women and men who make up each company’s sales force produce the revenue that will continue to fuel this country’s economy. The 2019 SP 500 includes the top 200 companies in the manufacturing industry, the top 200 companies in the ser- vice industry, the top 50 insurance companies, the 30 largest direct-selling companies, and the top 20 automotive-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 23,092,511, which represents a sizable decrease of over 8 percent – or a decrease of about 2 million salespeople – from last year. This overall change is due almost entirely to the substantial decline in the reported number of salespeo- ple working in the direct selling industry. The direct selling category, which remained flat in 2018, posted a significant decrease of about 9 percent this year – a possible indication that more people are moving toward sales jobs in traditional industries or simply moving out of the direct selling industry altogether. The number of salespeople in the manufacturing industry decreased by over 4 percent, while the number of salespeople in the ser- vice industry decreased by a more significant 12.5 percent. That decrease in the service industry reverses last year’s 10 percent increase. Only the insurance industry managed to post a small increase in the number of salespeople over 2018 – by 1 percent. The automotive industry remained relatively unchanged, posting a less than 1 percent decline in the number of salespeople. Overall, without the direct- selling numbers, the number of salespeople decreased by 97,800 in 2019 – more than reversing last year’s increase of 46,890 salespeople.
The states with the most SP 500 companies are Califor- nia (61), New York (52), and Illinois (42). The states in which the SP 500 companies employ the largest number of sales- people are New York (6,643,949), California (5,110,645), and Texas (3,646,573). These states account for about 31 percent of the total companies and a whopping 66 percent of the total salespeople.
Productivity on the Rise Our research team continued to find that salespeople employed by manufacturing firms contribute a higher amount of sales revenue than other industry segments, but the gap is closing between the manufacturing and service industries. The top 200 manufacturing firms employ 481,869 salespeople and produce over $4.9 trillion in sales. That’s an average of over $10 million in sales per salesper- son. This represents a significant (14 percent) increase in productivity compared to the previous year and is the third consecutive year of significant increases. The number of manufacturing salespeople decreased, declining by more than 21,000 salespeople since last year. The total number of manufacturing industry employees increased this year by more than 6 percent over last year. The top 200 companies in the service sector reported a significant decrease of more than 82,000 salespeople, bringing the total down to 574,707 salespeople. While
16 | OCTOBER 2019 SELLING POWER © 2019 SELLING POWER. CALL 1-800-752-7355 FOR REPRINT PERMISSION.
the number of salespeople declined by over 12 percent, the total revenue came in at over $5 trillion – an 11 percent increase since last year. This represents over $8.8 million in sales per salesperson and a very robust 27 percent increase in productivity – now showing five straight years of pro- ductivity gains. The number of service-sector employees remained relatively unchanged, posting an anemic increase of less than 1 percent this year, ending an impressive streak of six consecutive years with significant increases. The top 20 automotive megadealers reported gener- ally positive numbers this year. The top 20 firms own 1,793 dealerships, employ an estimated 26,895 salespeople, and produce over $128 billion in sales (up by almost 4 percent). This brings the average annual sales per salesperson to over $4.7 million (up by just over 4 percent). The produc- tivity registered indicates an automotive industry still in a recovery period.
The top 50 insurance companies employ sales forces totaling 612,397 across the industry, with an average sales volume per salesperson of $1,655,485. This represents a small increase in productivity of about 2 percent. In fact, the number of salespeople increased slightly from last year (a 1 percent increase), while their productivity continued to increase ahead of the sales-force pace of growth. The total number of employees also posted an increase of 7.5 percent over 2018. The top 30 direct-selling companies reported more than 21 million salespeople, but this year marked another significant swing in numbers, posting a sizable 8.5 percent decrease in the number of salespeople, which continued a trend in volatile changes over the past 18 years. It is interesting to note that, while overall employment numbers showed positive increases across the board, the sales-force sizes across all industries posted a second con- secutive year of generally declining numbers. Productivity per salesperson increased significantly this year across all industries – especially in the service industry, which saw the largest productivity increase at almost 27 percent. Produc- tivity per employee increased this year across all industries except the insurance industry, which posted a 4 percent decrease from 2018. Overall, 2019 showed a more positive employment environment, increases in productivity, but a declining sales force in terms of the number of salespeople.
SP 500 Salespeople Drive the Economy Each salesperson in the service or manufacturing industry supports, on average, 20.36 other jobs within the compa- ny; that figure marks a significant increase over last year’s number of 17.91 and continues a trend of increases over the past few years. These companies employ a total sales force of more than 1 million salespeople, who produce almost $10 trillion in sales and ensure the employment of more than 22 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
