Like most sales managers, you have a mix of talent on your team. Your top reps consistently bring in deals, while you spend too much time trying to save lower performers. Then there are your middle performers — the ones who do OK and occasionally surprise you with a big win.
Wouldn’t it be great if they could perform like your stars more often? Many of them want to, and with the right support, some of them can.
SalesFuel’s recent Voice of the Sales Rep survey gathered responses from more than 830 sales professionals. Nearly 300 of them achieved less than 90% of quota. Here’s what we learned about middle-performing reps and how managers can help them reach the next level.
Where the Middle Says They Need Help
All reps, regardless of skill level, have strengths and weaknesses. Middle performers identified their top challenges as:
- Connecting with the person that controls the budget (37%)
- Handling objections (35%)
- Customer retention (29%)
Handling objections and identifying the person who controls the budget are critical for closing deals. Managers must work with reps, coaching them and even role playing until they grow more confident in their ability. Specifically, managers need to encourage reps to expand their critical thinking skills.
Customer retention is a major concern. We all know it costs much more to gain than to retain a customer. To improve customer retention rates, managers should develop a system for regular customer touches. And reps should be held accountable for their use of the CRM system as a way to maintain strong relationships with existing customers.
Sales Managers See It Differently
In our Voice of the Sales Manager survey, we also solicited the opinions of nearly 300 management professionals. We asked for their opinion regarding the strengths and weaknesses of their team. The top challenges according to sales managers break out as follows:
- Pre-meeting research/Pre-call intelligence (39%)
- Connecting with the buyer on an emotional/logical level (30%) (This is what top performers do exceptionally )
- Providing value/insight to prospects (24%)
Insufficient Attention to Pre-Call Intelligence
The disconnect regarding perceived weaknesses between managers and sellers is significant. In particular, the need to conduct proper discovery — to dig into a prospect’s business before a call — cannot be overlooked.
Your reps have information available to them. Top achievers, those who regularly exceed quota, make use of data. Over 61% review their CRM notes and past activities before connecting.
However, only 37% of middle performers are taking the time to learn about their prospects. Even simple things like checking the newsroom section of the prospect’s website gets overlooked. If they go into a call without proper preparation, it will be extremely challenging for them to even get to the point where they can handle objections and ultimately close the deal.
The best salespeople know managing their own time matters, but respecting the buyer’s time matters more. When a sales rep shows up unprepared, they shouldn’t be surprised if they don’t get another meeting.
They Lack Clarity
Sales reps perform best when they understand their roles and goals. Unfortunately, many middle performers lack that clarity:
- Only 71% clearly understand their role within the
- Just 55% say they know the one thing they do better than anyone else.
- Only 53% understand what their managers expect and how their performance is measured.
To improve results, managers should communicate expectations more clearly. During one-on-one meetings, ask reps to repeat specific instructions to ensure understanding and alignment. If your reps prefer written communication, have them summarize their understanding of your meetings. The process of writing it down may help them remember the details.
They Don’t Value Skills Development Enough
Training is one of the most effective ways to elevate the sales skills of middle performers. However, many of them don’t yet recognize its value:
- Only 24% have taken training or coursework to improve their skills in the past year (compared to 37% of high-performing reps).
- 35% rate their sales training as fair to
- Only 14% of them say they need more/better training on how to sell with AI — that’s 64% lower than high-performing
To address this issue, managers have a number of options. They can offer to reimburse reps for the cost when they sign up for an approved training program. Or, managers can consider hiring a professional sales trainer such as SalesCred.
Among managers who give their teams a five-star rating, 25% use external training programs. Outside experts not only bring fresh insights, they also signal that the company is investing in its people, which can boost motivation and engagement.
They Need Proactive Leadership
Middle-performing sales reps often lack clarity in their roles, confidence in their unique strengths, and access to effective training. Their biggest weaknesses include handling objections, connecting with decision-makers, and retaining customers. To help the majority of their team emulate the behaviors of their high achievers, managers must commit to training, coaching and accountability. For most teams, improving the results of middle performers just 2 to 3% will make a huge impact on the bottom line.
