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What should you do with your poor sales performers?

Guest post by: Trent Leyshan

Article Overview: One of the most frequent areas that I get asked to consult on is sales team 'performance', or lack thereof. In many sales teams what I observe is a small percentage of sales stars shining and the rest making up the numbers. This conundrum I call, 'The Law of Lesser Equals'. This law propounds: All women and men are created equal, yet when compared in competitive environments some underperform, not just marginally, but resoundingly. Many team members have the same training, similar backgrounds and experience, but some get the results, while others struggle. Is that a result of luck, experience, or natural talent, or is there a more substantial explanation?

What should you do with your poor sales performers?

One of the most frequent areas that I get asked to consult on is sales team 'performance', or lack thereof. In many sales teams what I observe is a small percentage of sales stars shining and the rest making up the numbers. This conundrum I call, 'The Law of Lesser Equals'. This law propounds: All women and men are created equal, yet when compared in competitive environments some underperform, not just marginally, but resoundingly. Many team members have the same training, similar backgrounds and experience, but some get the results, while others struggle. Is that a result of luck, experience, or natural talent, or is there a more substantial explanation? A few months ago, I coached a team of 12 experienced medial liaison offers. This group consisted of a mixed bag of personalities: outspoken directors; reserved thinking types; to socialiser and relaters. As I facilitated the session, I observed the behaviours and engagement levels of each participant and it soon became evident who would get the most out of the sales training content. By the morning break, even without viewing individual sales performance records, I could tell who the top sales performers were and why. How?

There is second part to, 'The Law of Lesser Equals': Those that are created equal will determine their advantage, not by luck or natural inclination, instead through will and determination to better themselves and those around them. You see, the salespeople who understand this principle are invariably those who outshine everyone else. These people think and behave in a way that develops them into more of their potential. Research indicates it takes approximately 10,000 hours (roughly 10 years) of practice to achieve mastery in any field. So those who are patient and committed to their development over the long term will more-often-than-not come out the other end more successful.

In the medical liaison group there were 2 people who contributed most during the session, and surprise-surprise, when I spoke to their manager afterward, she explained they were the 2 top performers. Not just marginally, nearly 40% of the business was being achieved by these two salespeople, the rest were merely making up the balance. Some of the rest had more experience and had been working in the company longer, others presented more impressive credentials, yet those attributes were not enough to outshine the two best people.

If your poor sales performers are putting in the effort, have a positive mindset and are doing things right most of the time, but are not getting the results-give them more time. In sales there is a lot to be said for effort. It's not often the hare that wins the race; they may get the quick wins here and there. It's the person who is committed to slow, steady and never ending improvement that develops the mindset and habits that not only create but sustain success.

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Article Tags: sales coach, sales coaching, sales seminars, sales training



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What makes a good sales rep? - I read about a great salesman and poor salesman who were sent to a village where people could not afford to buy a new shoe. The poor salesman did not believe anyone could buy new brand shoe so he could not sell in the poor village. But this great salesman believed that at least there would be a person who would be interested in using the new shoe for the first time in his or her life. That believe made him to sell more new shoes in the village than the other person who went back to the city because of his believe. So, one of the qualities sales representative can have is to believe in himself and the products is representing. I will share more of the qualities in the next posts.
Re: Gap Between Rich and Poor Widens - yes very true... In under-developed countries the gap between the poor and the rich is getting wider day by day. This has created frustration in the people because survival has now become a question mark for the poor...
Re: Is being too connected pushing your business forward or back - Being too connected can push you back. A few weeks ago my wife gave me a blackberry. It can be a distraction. Top performers are good at sorting out priorities. Respect your time and your prospects will too. Try to end every call with your prospect wanting more.
Re: Gap Between Rich and Poor Widens - d gap between the rich 'nd d poor is immeasurable. Think of a bottmless gulf! Wat makes it bigger is even the fact dat the poor r being exploited daily for wat they can give in exchange for mere survival. Most esp in the 3rd worlds were bosses are almost unregulated as to how they deal wit employees- if dey love their lives, dey better stick in to the bosses favour!...
Re: Gap Between Rich and Poor Widens - One thing about "rich" and "poor" is that it's all relative. Poor people in the US live like kings compared to the poor in other countries. For example, there's starvation in the Sudan, not to mention genocide... Whereas here in the States, the poorest people have cellphones (given to them by the government because apparently it's a right to have a cellphone), food - whether acquired through food stamps or from food shelves, Section 8 housing, WIC for mothers, and so on. Most poor people have at least one TV - color, of course - and when we go digital in another year or so, instead of having to buy converter boxes so their old TV sets can receive digital signals, the poor will receive coupons so they can get them for free. Whereas lower middle class has to pay for all that stuff... But there again... you have to blame the government. By "enabling" people to live off handouts, by allowing people to live as if they *deserve* those handouts, they're destroying their initiative. And as each subsequent generation grows up...they seem to not know that they can actually do things for themselves...


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