Put a half-dozen B2B sales managers who have not previously met each other and who work in drastically different industries together in a room and chances are good that within 30 minutes they will have discovered challenges they share.
In her book “The Sales Leader’s Problem Solver,” (2016, Career Press), consultant Suzanne M. Paling (SalesManagementServices.com), in essence puts herself in this same room and offers the group solutions for their shared problems. Paling addresses everything from reps who only sell to existing customers to noncompliance with CRM systems.
In a chapter on motivating the mediocre rep, Paling discusses the common problem of a salesperson who has worked with a company for several years and is routinely surpassed in performance by new reps that he helps onboard. “If he performed at the group average of 112 percent, his sales revenue would increase by several hundred thousand dollars. Instead, he remains in his comfort zone, closing deals of a certain size and just making quota,” Paling states. Nothing his manager has tried has moved the needle on revenue production. Paling offers these tips:
• Keep a log – In one of the ultimate ironies of business, mid‑level producers demand the most attention from management. Without making an attempt to change anything initially, track time spent on phone calls, email, texting and face-to-face meetings with mid-level producers.
• Establish territory potential – Look at the mediocre rep’s actual sales performance during the last five years and multiply it by the group average for that same year. Over a period of five years, chances are a company loses over $1 million in sales revenue. Those are dollars that go to the competition and remain there as long as the mediocre rep remains with your organization.
• Address one area for improvement – Even if an assessment shows the mediocre rep needs to improve in several key areas, plan to focus on just one initially. Taking on too many sales skills at the same time overwhelms most mediocre reps. Let them choose the area they want to work on so they can take ownership of the problem and become more independent.
• Set graduated revenue goals and evaluate regularly – Asking a rep to jump from under 100 percent of quota to 112 percent is not realistic. Set graduated goals, be clear about them and regularly evaluate progress.
