I often speak to employers who tell me their teams are full and they have no plans to recruit. Then I speak to their staff, and they're actively looking to move.
That disconnect is more common than most managers realise. By the time someone hands in their resignation, the decision was usually made weeks or months ago. The resignation is the end of the process, not the beginning.
If you're a sales manager or GM in building products, the question isn't whether you'll lose someone. It's whether you'll see it coming in time to do something about it.
The signs to watch for
You can sometimes tell when a good salesperson is thinking about leaving. Not always. Most people hide it well. But there are patterns.
A change in performance. Not necessarily a dramatic drop. Sometimes it's subtle. The extra effort disappears. The discretionary work stops. They're doing the job, but the energy behind it has shifted. Someone who used to chase every opportunity is now coasting through the pipeline.
A change in attitude. Less engaged in team meetings. Less interested in new initiatives. More cynical about company decisions. Pulling back from the culture they used to contribute to. These shifts don't always mean someone is looking. But combined with other signals, they're worth paying attention to.
They've flagged something recently. This is the one managers miss most often. The rep asked for a pay review three months ago and you parked it. They raised a concern about the commission structure and you said you'd look into it. They asked about career progression and the conversation went nowhere.
When someone raises an issue and nothing happens, they don't always raise it again. They just start looking.
LinkedIn activity changes. A profile that gets updated after years of dormancy. New connections with recruiters. Sudden engagement with job-related content. These aren't conclusive, but they're indicators. If you know your team's normal LinkedIn behaviour, changes stand out.
By the time they resign, it's usually too late
Even if you manage to make a counter-offer and they accept, the dynamic has changed. They've mentally checked out, gone through the emotional process of deciding to leave, and then been pulled back. That's not the same as someone who chose to stay because they're genuinely happy.
The decision to resign isn't impulsive for most people. It follows weeks or months of frustration, conversations with friends or partners, quiet research, and eventually action. By the time you hear about it, they've already worked through all of that.
The window to keep someone is before they start looking, not after they've decided to leave.
What exit interviews actually tell you
Not much, honestly.
Most people aren't that honest during exit interviews. I've had a couple in the past and I bit my tongue. At the door, even though you've got nothing to lose, most people are generally nice and avoid difficult conversations.
There are practical reasons for this. You might need a reference from someone at the company in the future. Your paths might cross again in the industry. You might even want to come back one day. Building products in Australia is a small world. Throwing a grenade on your way out just isn't worth it.
The other factor is that you're giving your exit interview to an HR manager or a sales manager who is still employed by the business and still has the interests of the business at heart. However well-intentioned, they're not a neutral party. Most departing employees understand that, even if they don't say so.
If you want honest feedback about why people leave, the better source is the conversations they have with recruiters, former colleagues, and trusted contacts outside the business. That's where the real reasons come out.
The real cost of losing a good rep
It's not just the recruitment fee. That's the visible cost. The invisible costs are where the real damage sits.
Knowledge walking out the door. A salesperson who's been in a territory for three to five years has accumulated knowledge that takes years to rebuild. Customer preferences. Project histories. Specification requirements. Competitor positioning. Relationship dynamics. Unless you've got systems in place to capture and record this properly, it leaves with them.
Relationships at risk. The accounts don't automatically transfer to the next person. Customers had a relationship with the individual, not the company. A new rep will need to earn that trust from scratch. Some accounts will be receptive. Others will use the transition as an opportunity to look at competitors.
The burden on the team. Someone missing from the team puts pressure on everyone else. Territory coverage. Account management. Customer service. The workload gets spread across people who are already busy. Things get missed. Standards slip. Morale dips.
What goes wrong during the transition. Orders that fall through the cracks. Customers who don't get called for weeks. A pipeline that goes cold because nobody is nurturing it. Projects that were in specification stage and needed follow-up that doesn't happen.
The best companies are the ones that plan for transitions. Documented account histories. CRM records that actually contain useful information. Handover processes. Coverage plans. These don't eliminate the cost, but they reduce the damage significantly.
What to do if you suspect someone is looking
Stay close to them. Communicate.
Not with surveillance or suspicion. With genuine interest. A conversation that says "how are things going, really?" rather than "I've noticed you've been quiet lately."
If there's an issue you know about, address it. If they asked for something months ago and you let it slip, come back to it. "I know we talked about your salary review a while back. I want to revisit that. What are you looking for?"
That conversation is uncomfortable. But it's far less uncomfortable than receiving a resignation letter and scrambling to find a replacement.
If the issue is something you can fix, fix it. If it's something structural that can't change, at least be honest about that. "I understand the progression concern. The reality is that the structure above you isn't going to change in the short term. But here's what I can do." Honesty won't always save someone, but it demonstrates respect.
Retention is recruitment
The cheapest and most effective hire you'll ever make is the one you don't have to make because you kept the person you already had.
The key benefits of retention in building products are straightforward. Cost savings from avoided recruitment. Maintained productivity. Preserved customer relationships. Retained product and territory knowledge. Continuity for the team.
I genuinely prefer working with businesses that focus on retention alongside recruitment. The candidates I place with those companies tend to be happier. Happier employees stay longer. The relationship compounds for everyone.
The businesses that struggle most with retention are the ones that assume loyalty is a given. It's not. Loyalty is earned through fair pay, good management, career development, and genuine recognition. When those things are in place, people stay. When they're not, people leave.
Don't wait for the resignation to find out which one you are.
A note on the compounding effect
The best salespeople in building products compound their success over time. Relationships deepen. Product knowledge becomes instinct. Territory understanding can't be taught. Trust builds with customers and with management.
A rep who's been in a territory for three to five years is worth significantly more than a rep in their first 12 months. They know the customers. They know the competitors. They know which projects are coming up and which accounts need attention. That knowledge isn't replaceable overnight.
When you lose a rep like that, you're not just losing a salesperson. You're losing years of accumulated value. And you're resetting the clock with whoever replaces them.
The cost of that reset should inform every retention conversation you have. A $15K pay rise to keep a top performer is a fraction of the cost of replacing them and rebuilding what they've built.
Quick checklist for hiring managers
- Watch for changes in performance, attitude, and engagement. These are early signals, not proof, but worth paying attention to.
- If someone raised an issue recently and you didn't address it, go back and address it now.
- Don't rely on exit interviews for honest feedback. The real reasons come out elsewhere.
- Plan for transitions. CRM records, account documentation, handover processes. Reduce the damage before it happens.
- If you suspect someone is looking, have a genuine conversation. Not surveillance. Communication.
- Review salaries and commission structures proactively. Don't let top performers become underpaid.
- Remember the compounding effect. A $15K retention investment costs far less than a $100K+ replacement.