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 2018 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 25,195,311, which represents a small increase of just over 1 percent – or an increase of about 260,000 sales- people – over last year. This overall change is due almost entirely to the relatively small increase in the number of salespeople working for direct selling companies. The direct selling category, which posted a significant
4 percent decrease in 2017, posted a small increase of about 1 percent this year – a possible indication that fewer people are moving away from the less traditional direct selling industry. The number of salespeople in the manufacturing industry decreased by more than 4 percent, while the number of salespeople in both the service and insurance industries increased in 2018 – by 10 percent and 1 percent, respectively. The increase in the service industry reverses the trend in declining sales-force numbers posted for the past two years. The automotive industry posted a small increase in the number of salespeople: up just over 3 percent. Overall, without the direct-selling numbers, the number of salespeople increased by 46,890 in 2018, reversing last year’s decrease of 38,856 salespeople. The states with the most SP 500 companies are Califor- nia (57), New York (52), and Illinois (40). The states in which the SP 500 companies employ the largest number of sales- people are New York (6,675,612), California (5,120,730), and Texas (3,665,830). These states account for about 29 percent of the total companies and a whopping 61 percent of the total salespeople.
PRODUCTIVITY ON THE RISE 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 503,470 sales- people and produce almost $4.5 trillion in sales. That’s an average of more than $8.9 million in sales per salesperson. This represents a significant (14 percent) increase in pro- ductivity compared to the previous year, which means pro- ductivity – which had been stagnant or declining in recent years – has now posted two consecutive years of signifi- cant increases. The number of manufacturing salespeople decreased, declining by more than 24,000 salespeople since last year. The total number of manufacturing industry employees increased this year by almost 1.5 percent over last year.
The top 200 companies in the service sector reported a sizable increase of almost 65,000 salespeople, bringing the total to 656,918 salespeople. The number of salespeople increased by more than 10 percent, and the total revenue
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came in at more than $4.5 trillion – an almost 34 percent increase over last year. This represents more than $6.9 million in sales per salesperson and a robust 20 percent increase in productivity – now showing four straight years of productivity gains. The number of service-sector employees increased by a significant 42 percent this year, making it an impressive six consecutive years of increases in the number of service-sector employees. The top 20 automotive megadealers reported positive numbers across the board this year. The top 20 firms own 1,796 dealerships (up by about 3 percent), employ an esti- mated 26,940 salespeople (an increase of about 3 percent), and produce more than $123 billion in sales (up by more than 5 percent). This brings the average annual sales per salesperson to over $4.5 million (up by just over 2 percent). The productivity registered shows a growing automotive industry in the early stages of a recovery period. The top 50 insurance companies employ sales forces totaling 606,340 across the industry, with an average sales volume per salesperson of $1,626,310. This represents a small increase in productivity of about 5 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 a small increase of about 5 percent over 2017. The top 30 direct-selling companies continued to report
more than 23 million salespeople, which remained rela- tively unchanged when compared with previous periods of significant swings in both directions over the past 17 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 only small increases or were in decline. Productivity per salesperson increased significantly this year across all industries, includ- ing the automotive industry, which had been declining in previous years. Productivity per employee increased this year across all industries except in the service industry, which posted a 6 percent decrease from 2017. Overall, 2018 showed a more positive employment environment, increases in productivity, and a relatively stable 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, 17.91 other jobs within the com- pany; that figure marks a significant increase over last year’s number of 15.08 and continues a trend of increases over the past few years. These companies employ a total sales force of almost 1.2 million salespeople, who produce more than $9 trillion in sales and ensure the employment of more than 21 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 company’s productivity per salesperson. Find out how you
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