Building a better sales team is the most important responsibility of every sales manager. But too often, managers get distracted by the daily chaos of their lives. Here are five steps you can take over the next six weeks that will improve the overall success of your sales team quickly.
Week 1: Start interviewing
You don’t need to wait until you have an open position before you begin interviewing to fill that position. Tell your HR Dept to increase the number of applicants you see by lowering the qualifications for the sales position.
Yes, I said “lowering.†The best hires in my experience have been candidates who are slightly underqualified for the position. If a candidate sees your sales position as a step up from their current position, you are more likely to get somebody who works harder to succeed.
If you follow the rest of my recommendations outlined below, by the time you find someone you want to hire, you will likely have an open position or two on your team!
Week 2: Escort your worst players to the intersection of choice (improve or leave).
Allowing mediocre or poor performance to continue unchecked is a recipe for disaster. That’s why, just as with any professional sports team, you have to cut some players and hire new and better ones to maintain your team’s competitive edge.
Put your low producers on a Performance Improvement deadline. If you don’t have solid, documented evidence of their poor performance, then spend time documenting what IS happening that you don’t want to see and what ISN’T happening that you do. Then hold a 1-on-1 discussion (not a lecture!) with each poor performer where you visit four points:
- The problem—Describe what issues you’ve seen (provide your documented evidence). Get the salesperson’s feedback or reaction.
- The cause(s)— ASK the salesperson what they think the underlying cause is of the problems. You can offer your own ideas but do it via inquiry rather than edict (“Could it be XYZ, or do you think something else is contributing?â€)
- The solution—Describe specifically what the employee will need to start doing, stop doing, or do more of to resolve the problem. Ask what support they will need to make the changes happen (training, mentoring, role-play practices, etc.). Describe how you will be monitoring their progress.
- The Two Roads—this is the most important part of the discussion and the element that is almost always skipped by managers. You tell the underperformers that they are now at a junction facing two roads. Down one road are the negative consequences if they do NOT improve within a certain deadline. This could include de-hiring. Down the other road are the positive consequences if they DO improve.
Check in with the person a week after the discussion to make sure they understood the choice—the Two Roads—they are facing. Implement any support you offered and start monitoring the results. If the person does not improve in the targeted areas within say, a 6-week timeframe, it’s time to let them go. Fill the position with the best candidates from your hiring interviews.
Weeks 3-4: Improve the skills of your “B†players
“B†players are salespeople who are putting in the effort but lack the skills or experience of your “A†players (top performers) and therefore produce acceptable but not stellar results. With a little more coaching help at least some of your “B†players can turn into “A†players.
Start by doing more observations or ride-alongs with your B players so you can assess their strengths and gaps, then move quickly to provide training and mentoring to fill the gaps.
Weeks 5-6: Focus on your top-tier performers
These people have high sales competency, but perhaps they could sell even more if you gave them a boost. Effective strategies I’ve used include:
• Recognize top-performer achievements. What have your top performers achieved over the past, say, 90 days. Not just sales made but also important commitments from key accounts. Did you acknowledge any of those achievements in a way that was meaningful to the top performer? (And don’t tell me you’re too busy to recognize the achievements of top performers and motivate them to boost their sales performance even more!)
• Turn their earning targets into “stretch goals.†Define an earning target that is, say, 10-15% above what the salesperson has done in the past and talk to the salesperson about what they could DO with the extra earnings when they achieve that goal. The goals may include to save for college tuition for children, take an exotic vacation, pay down their mortgage, buy a new car—you won’t know until you ask them.
Week 6+: Monitor and improve
Periodically review the progress of your four team development tasks: hiring, confronting poor performers, B-player improvement, and “A†player energizing. What is working well in your approach? Which people are following through on the improvement plans, and which aren’t? Adjust and improve this systematic approach to sales team development and you will be well on your way to developing an elite, high-performance sales team!
Kevin F. Davis is the author of The Sales Manager’s Guide to Greatness online course. For salespeople, he delivers the Slow Down, Sell Faster online course. Contact Kevin- [email protected]
