To calculate the cost of a sales vacancy for your organization, you will need to consider several factors that impact your business specifically. Here is a general formula that can be used as a starting point:

Cost of Sales Vacancy = (Lost Sales Revenue + Recruiting Expenses + Training Costs + Opportunity Costs + Employee Morale Costs) / Number of Sales Vacancies

  1. Lost Sales Revenue: The longer a sales vacancy remains unfilled, the more potential sales revenue the company could be losing. To calculate this, you can estimate the average monthly sales revenue per salesperson and multiply it by the number of months the vacancy remains unfilled. For example, if the average monthly sales revenue per salesperson is $50,000 and the vacancy remains unfilled for 3 months, the lost sales revenue would be $150,000.

  2. Recruiting Expenses: This includes the cost of advertising the job, paying for job boards, and any fees associated with using recruitment agencies. To calculate this, add up all the expenses associated with recruiting for the position.

  3. Training Costs: Once a new salesperson is hired, they will likely require training to get up to speed on the company’s products and sales processes. To calculate this, estimate the cost of training per salesperson, including any materials, time, or resources required.

  4. Opportunity Cost: A sales vacancy can also impact the productivity of the existing sales team as they may have to pick up the slack. To calculate this, estimate the additional workload on the existing sales team, and the potential impact on their sales productivity.

  5. Employee Morale: A prolonged vacancy can also lead to decreased morale among the existing sales team, which can lead to decreased productivity and higher turnover. To calculate this, estimate the impact on employee morale and any associated costs, such as decreased productivity or increased turnover.

Once you have calculated these costs, divide the total by the number of sales vacancies to get the average cost of a sales vacancy per position. This will give you a better understanding of the specific cost of a sales vacancy for your organization.