This is the time of year when lots of movement is in the air -- negotiating on new hires and cutting your losses on the non-performers. One of my clients has about 60 inside sales reps and recently let 4 reps go because of bad performance and 7 more were put on a performance plan.
When managers decide to put their team members on a performance plan it usually follows hours of coaching and meetings. Managers are at the end of their rope; they experience the daily decline, watch the revenues spiral downwards and feel exhausted with their warnings.
The managers and I came together to discuss coaching strategies for these 7 team members and I'm happy to share 5 out of 7 were salvaged. Here are some questions to help identify who stays and who goes:
1. Are they Coachable? It still boils down to the basics of whether they can be coached and if they are open to changing. No matter how much potential they have, if they are not open to changing and developing themselves, you must cut your losses.
2. Is there a job match? Its amazing how many salespeople are in sales by accident. They don't see themselves in a sales role and would rather be in marketing, operations, management, technical support, product development, etc. Why do we still try to hold on to people who don't want to be in sales?
3. Do they over complicate things? This is very common with reps who are trying just too hard and tend to over complicate and confuse their prospects. It is difficult coaching people around this because asking them to simplify something is like asking them to walk around with one shoe all day- it is awkward and they may be too attached.
4. Do they avoid confrontation? Some salespeople just can't get to the close, they are so very service oriented but lack the focus and urgency to move something along. This stems from low self-esteem, lack of confidence and simply the courage to ask and step it up.
5. Are they too robotic? A good salesperson has depth, they cannot approach sales as a generic and mechanical skill- they must pump life into what they do. Curiosity is innate, you are born with it and some salespeople just don't have that drive to ask one more question to dig deeper.
6. Are they a good listener? Many salespeople ask really good questions but they fail to not only empathize but really understand and hear the response. Today's customer just won't stand for that- they want to feel heard and want a relationship.
7. What jobs did they have prior to being in sales? This has so much to do with their performance. If they were a gatekeeper for a big CEO of a company just fielding calls from vendors all day, they are not going to make the cut when it comes to outbound prospecting because they will feel as though they are annoying people. If they were chasing down fraudulent claims, their militant tone will never establish trust on a call.
8. What is happening in their personal life? If they are going through a divorce and their self-esteem has been shot or if they owe tons on their house that is threatening foreclosure, their desperation and low self-esteem will scream out and cause discomfort with our frazzled customer.
9. Are they motivated by fear? Many reps do not have the self-motivation to maintain a steady daily momentum and when their activity slips, it may spiral down to the point of being warned. Once they receive a warning and get put on plan, it may be exactly what they need to switch it up.
10. Do customers like them? Are they well-liked by their internal and external partners? Do they make people feel comfortable and are they approachable?