Tough Love

In sales, the goal of ongoing management should be participation rate—the percentage of sales team members who are at or above plan. Research reveals that a participation rate of 60% or less will give sales managers a 10% chance of making their revenue plan. That means sales managers must aim for at least a 70% participation rate to have a good chance of success—and even then, it is not guaranteed.

So why do sales managers tolerate poor performance? A salesperson’s performance can be evaluated on two criteria: behavior and results. Assessing whether a sales rep is or could be delivering results is fairly straightforward—it’s a math problem. The four performer categories a sales manager works with include:

High performers = good results + good behavior

Coachable performers = sub-par results + good behavior

Tough performers = good results + poor behavior

Poor performers = poor results + poor behavior

In an ideal world, a sales manager would have 100% high performers. But that’s unlikely to happen. Most leaders will have some tough performers and some poor performers, which makes the job harder. Ongoing management of tough and poor performers involves a minimum of one monthly one-on-one session, as well as observational coaching with feedback and daily routines that aim to lift behavior and results.

1. Set milestones of performance.
2. Inform the salesperson where they are not meeting the standard.
3. Give the salesperson the opportunity to meet it.
4. Offer assistance to meet it.
5. Explain the consequences of not meeting it.

Sales managers know how to do this. The issue is getting up the nerve. Have the conversation as soon as it becomes necessary—putting it off does no good for anyone. Salespeople who want to succeed will step it up and improve; those who are not capable or not interested will show it very quickly. After a final warning, it’s time to go your separate ways.

Kevin Higgins is the CEO of Fusion Learning Inc. and the author of “Engage Me: Strategies From the Sales Effectiveness Source,” available on amazon.com.

The problem with this status-quo tactic is it encourages the sales manager to maintain average performers. Participation rate is a more effective measure of success. —K.H.