To Salvage or Not To Salvage - That is the Question: Part 3 - The Sales Organization

This month ends the three-part series on making the right decisions about poor performing salespeople.

As I said in the first two parts of this series, there are many times when the problem lies with the salesperson himself, and there are plenty of examples of sales managers who ineffectively manage their teams.

But, the third culprit of poor performance is often overlooked. The sales organization itself can be the source of the salesperson’s lack of motivation.

How is that possible? The culture may not facilitate the opportunity for salespeople to perform well.

When a company has a flawed pay plan, a salesperson can seem unmotivated to work hard. For instance, if the salesperson has too high of a base salary, his financial needs can be met without a need to work hard for commission dollars. Conversely, a low pay plan may make a salesperson feel as though he has to work much too hard for the compensation he receives, which leads to burnout and frustration.

Another problem the organization can create is failing to provide enough ramp-up time for a new salesperson.

Putting a salesperson on straight commission from day one may not allow him to build up a sufficient client base to survive financially at the beginning. This can lead to low morale, discouragement and a quick exit.

A poor performer may not be receiving the resources or support necessary to produce at a high level such as quality collateral materials, up-to-date technology, adequate expense allowance, etc. When a salesperson doesn’t have what he needs, his performance will obviously be diminished.

Inadequate orientation and training by the company can lead to conflict as well. When a salesperson doesn’t have the knowledge to do the job, the ability to perform at appropriate levels is difficult at best.

Finally, an organization that doesn’t deliver what the salesperson sells kills his drive. A gun-shy salesperson will not stick his neck out too many times after being burned by something he had no control over – operations, customer service, delivery schedule, etc.

Subtle changes in the organization’s structure can have enormous impact on salespeople’s performance.

Before you decide on a salesperson’s continued employment, it is imperative to find the true source of the problem.

Deciding if he is salvageable or not can only be determined by measuring all the factors involved. So, when your initial reaction is to blame the salesperson for the poor performance, step back and objectively determine if something else is actually causing the problem – it may be you, the company or both.

If you want to know if your salespeople are salvageable using objective measurements and analysis, contact us at 336.665.0506.