Send to a friend

COACHESCORNER

Move Bad Salespeople Up Or Out

by Steve Johnson

We all know that it's not a good idea to let untalented or unmotivated people slide. But when theory meets reality, we balk. We don't know what to say, when to say it, or how to follow up. Too often, we do nothing.

Here are some steps for dealing with low performers:

If you have five strong candidates in the pipeline, you don't have to endure a low performer. But if you have no bench, you may opt to keep a warm body around – even if that body hasn't sold anything in weeks.

Let the salesperson spend time working with top performers. Schedule one-on-one training sessions. You might find that a little coaching goes a long way.

If it's a will issue, work with the low performer to set up a plan. It may be that your low performer has a closing ratio of 50 percent – which is actually very good – but is making an abysmally low number of appointments. Be direct with the salesperson, explaining that laziness or lack of focus will not be tolerated. Either way, use hard numbers.

Prepare for the worst. Decide ahead of time when you're going to cut bait.

Understand up front that turnover is not necessarily bad. You will have low performers, and you don't want to keep them around any longer than 60 to 90 days.

Firing weak links can be akin to the old canary in the mineshaft technique: Their demise warns others that they're in a dangerous situation, thus staving off complacency.

“I see that your numbers are down. Why do you think your performance is so low? What have your challenges been lately? What made you come to work here? What has changed since then? What are your goals?”

The answers to these questions should help you determine whether a low performer simply isn't good at the job, or whether he's good and just isn't doing enough.

Whether your low performer is dropping the ball due to skill or will issues, he must have a concrete goal to work toward. Focus on things the person can control: making 50 cold calls by Wednesday of the following week, for example. Put the action plan in writing, and both of you – coach and salesperson – sign the document.
.

Realize that you need to get comfortable with confronting people on poor performance. You can't be a sales coach and a conflict avoider. When someone is failing at selling, you're not doing him a favor by letting him coast along.

Low performers eat away at your coaching time and can infect everyone else's attitude and mental capacity. They pollute the sales culture and can actually bring down overall performance. By not freeing the salesperson to move on to his next stage, you're hurting him and the rest of your team. You actually can help people out by helping them out.
.

Sales consultant Steve Johnson is author of  “Selling is Everyone's Business: What It Takes to Create a Great Salesperson" Contact him at stevej@nextlevelsalesconsulting.com.
.

.

---

 

Your feedback on our editorial is welcome at . We need to remind you that our articles are copyrighted. If you would like to distribute or post our material elsewhere, please contact .  Click here to subscribe today!