As managers we have all been there when individual members of your team are performing less well than you'd hoped.
In my experience organisations often focus on a quick fix as one person not pulling their weight affects organisational performance, especially in smaller businesses like I have worked in.
I don’t see enough long-term planning as performances can often be improved by simple tweaks. For example, Could investment in training help? Alternatively, could this person fit in to another side of the business?
As sales people we have all enjoyed good times and we certainly have gone through bad times and that is why I am strong believer in continuous development and backing your team. If you genuinely believe they have the ability and motivation to turn their performance around, then work with your people, not against them.
Before you can fix poor performance, you must understand its cause and rather than becoming absorbed with productivity and numbers, lets investigate our individual’s ability and their motivation to succeed as anybody can turn their performance around with the right guidance.
Without a doubt, there is relentless, almost unbearable, pressure wearing down on most sales organizations these days, as the ailing economy and shrinking margins make it harder and harder to retire quota and drive revenue. Sales reps – the front-line first responders who carry the future profits of the company on their backs – are taking on bigger territories, facing higher quotas, and making more customer contacts than ever. Unfortunately, in many organizations they are still losing ground. Where does the sales rep turn to for direction, motivation, and performance support in the middle of such challenging times?
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