You need to be paying your employees 20% more than your competitors if you want to retain them. But here’s the good news. The 20% more doesn’t need to be in cold hard cash. It can be in many other areas which when added up clearly show your salespeople that they’re getting at least 20% more with you than they would anywhere else.

Here are a few examples:

Training. Employees are concerned not so much with being employed, but more so on being employable. In essence, this means that the more stuff you give them to add to their resume, the longer they’ll stay with you.

Set realistic goals. For goals to be embraced, they must be agreed upon together. Sit down with each of your employees in advance and decide together on targets that are attainable while also being a stretch.

Listen. You can’t listen if you’re always talking. Frequently ask your employees for their feedback and take action on their suggestions. When talking to your employees, make eye contact, ask clarifying questions, and observe body language.

Resources. Lackluster back-office procedures, inadequate support systems, and unnecessary barriers are the main reasons for mediocre sales performance. Ask your team what’s impeding their ability to perform well – and fix it.

Job satisfaction. The key in job satisfaction is to use your natural talents as much as possible. So if your salespeople are spending more time completing paperwork than they are meeting with clients, change it. You’re wasting their talents and skills.

Careers. Most employees don’t want jobs – they want careers. Each of your salespeople should be on a career development plan. It’s all about mentoring. Figure out where they want to go, what they need to attain to get there, and then help them get it by providing on-the-job experiences so that they develop the skills they need to progress.

Balance. The smallest effort can really show your employees you care. Identify each salesperson’s personal needs and see if you can accommodate them, and be on the lookout for any employees that are especially looking exhausted or overworked.

Recognition. Catch your employees doing things right. The best recognition occurs as soon as the positive action is witnessed, using language that’s as specific as possible so that the behavior is repeated in future, and it’s delivered sincerely and personally.

It all comes down to this. If you give your employees what they can’t get anywhere else, why would they ever resign?