50 Best Companies to Sell for in 2015

For the fifteenth consecutive year, the corporate research team at Selling Powermagazine has ranked the 50 best companies to sell for in the United States. The list includes companies of all sizes – with sales forces ranging from fewer than 100 salespeople to companies with sales-force numbers in the thousands. An extensive, expanded questionnaire was used to uncover key data that would be important to prospective sales representatives as they look for a new sales role. This year, we focused on three broad areas while examining the data: customer growth and retention; hiring, compensation, sales training, and enablement; and company recognition and reputation. (See the ratings chart below.)

Our detailed rating system placed the top companies extremely close, with only 10 points separating the top 10 companies. In cases of a tie in the overall point rankings, the companies were placed in alphabetical order. Anyone entering the sales field or making a career move to a new company should begin his or her search by reviewing Selling Power‘s 2015 list of the 50 Best Companies to Sell For.

• #1 Heartland Payment Systems

  Wholehearted Success: What's it like to work at a publicly-owned company posting profits in the billions? For one thing, get ready to use tools such as Heartland's proprietary Web-based CRM solution, Atlas. Accessible from any computer or iOS device, Atlas streamlines prospecting – managing pipeline, pricing and creating proposals, and drawing up paperless agreements with Heartland clients.

• #2 Sungard

  SunGard Superstars: Growth continues to be strong at SunGard. With 15,000 customers in more than 100 countries, SunGard enjoys very high customer retention rates – nearly all of the top banks are SunGard customers. SunGard's CEO spends more than half his time in the field selling and supporting customers. The same dedication is expected of executive team members; their appointments are tracked inside Salesforce each week.

• #3 ClearSlide

  A Clear Choice: ClearSlide hires candidates who have a history of leadership and success. Senior roles require a track record of consistent quota attainment in hyper-growth companies, as well as industry expertise. Newer hires must show a passion for technology and a knack for collaboration. Once hired, ClearSlide salespeople actually use their own product, which means they get the same productivity and performance benefits their customers enjoy.

• #4 Hilti

  Hello, Hilti: Want to know you're joining a winning team? Each new sales hire at Hilti is formally evaluated (using Hogan Assessments) in the areas of ambition, sociability, interpersonal sensitivity, and prudence. The company's hefty budget for organizational and development initiatives helps support reps once they've been hired.

• #5 Iron Mountain

  Top of the Mountain: Iron Mountain understands that amazing sales managers are the backbone of sales success. They've made a significant investment in assessing and developing frontline sales leaders to help turn them into outstanding coaches. Their sales-performance culture includes leveraging virtual training solutions and role-based scenarios to reinforce key concepts. Successes and big wins are shared so the team can benefit from peer learning.

• #6 UniFirst

  The UniFirst Universe: With a services-renewal rate of 91 percent among its customers, UniFirst knows how to keep people happy. Salespeople are supported through weekly product training sessions as well as daily and ongoing skills training. The company's print, audio, and video library allows reps to learn at their own pace, on their own time.

• #7 Northwestern Mutual

  Lifelong Achievement: To make it easier for its sales reps to succeed, Northwestern Mutual provides daily activity coaching in the first six months on the job, and weekly activity coaching during the second six months. Ongoing mentoring is offered during the first few years to provide case consultation and selling skills coaching. They also offer Monthly Client Builder study groups.

• #8 Hormel Foods

  Work Hard, Win Big: Top performers at Hormel Foods have lots of opportunities to reap the rewards. The company offers a Chairman's Inner Circle contest trip (a tropical vacation getaway with top company executives), incentive trips (for those who outperform their quota targets), performance perks (including Visa gift cards for exceptional performance), and sales contests tied to meeting goals set by marketing.

• #9 Paychex

  Freedom to Succeed: An entrepreneurial, vibrant, growth-oriented, client-focused culture helps the Paychex sales team thrive. The executive team recognizes that the ongoing success of the company is tied directly to sales growth. Each executive has had extensive education and training on the latest techniques in sales coaching; they engage in weekly one-on-one coaching sessions with their direct reports.

• #10 Undertone

  All Together, Now: Undertone believes each member of the company plays an important role in helping the company succeed. Accordingly, they encourage collaboration, transparency, and innovation. The sales team works across departments to provide the best service possible to clients. Senior members of the sales team mentor junior salespeople. The teamwork lends energy and excitement to the sales culture.