Every month I receive a variety of questions from salespeople and their managers. These come from a variety of sources - my live seminars, the monthly phone seminars, questions that are sent into my newsletter, and issues that arise in the course of my consulting work. Out of all of these, I select those that I think have the most universal application, and respond to them here.
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I direct a sales force of 15 reps. My pain of getting them to do what I ask has been something that no human being should go through. First of all, we converted them from commission only to base plus commission. In doing so, you can imagine my challenges in moving them from coming and going as they like to getting them to stay on the job eight hours a day and live within the guidelines of a corporate environment. So, where do I start? At times I find myself getting angry and frustrated with them and at times I want to fire them all!I recently changed companies. The first day I started my new position, I immediately recognized a lack of motivation. In this case, all the salespeople were on commission and were happy with their standing, financially. They quite simply didn't want to achieve more or become more efficient. (no one wanted to strive to be their best.) My sales force seems to be motivated by a day off, more than earning additional money or trying to become an elite sales group.The lack of pride in their job and the way it gets done is frightening. I have tried to motivate not threaten. I have tried to give incentives, (spiffs and time off for a job well done) and it is taken as I owe them this time and money and not viewed as a reward. What can I do?I wish I had a dime for every time I fielded a question like this. The question, regardless of the actual words and details of the situation, always boils down to this: "How do I change the behavior of experienced, satisfied salespeople? How do I make them more accountable, and get them to do what we (the company) want them to do, not just what they want to do?" I can empathize with both sides of this issue, as I have been in both the sales and management position. Looking at it from the salesperson's point of view... They have spent years developing relationships and routines with their customers that now pay them adequately. They feel like they have invested a major amount of time in their customers and now they are enjoying the fruits of their labors. And, as long as they are selling, who cares how they do it? Looking at it from management's point of view... The sales force is typically the highest paid portion of the work force. They need to follow the company's directions in order to move the company in the direction in which it wants to go. Salespeople who won't adjust to the company's directions are, at the least, a headache, and at the most, a detriment to the organization. Where do I stand? First, let me suggest you go to my website and read an article which discusses this situation in more detail. The article is entitled, "How do you change the behavior of an experienced salesperson?" There is a natural tendency for salespeople to become self-sufficient and to consider themselves above management. It's easy to understand. Of all the professions, a salesperson has the ability to make decisions, on a moment-by-moment basis, about what he/she will do. That's a tremendous responsibility. And, over a period of years, those decisions often become ingrained as unquestioned habits.
But that doesn't make it acceptable. Here's where I draw the line. Salespeople are employees of the company. As employees, they have the responsibility to be good employees, to work to the benefit of the company, to hold the company's interests always in mind, and follow the company's directions. If you had a delivery driver, for example, and you plotted out a new route for him, you wouldn't accept the driver saying, "No thanks, I'm going to do it the way I have for the last few years." If you invested in a new data-entry system for your customer service representatives, you would not accept them saying to you, "I'm going to keep doing it the way I have always have." See the point? You would not accept any other employee not following the company's directions. Why would you accept that from salespeople? A note to salespeople: While I appreciate the time that you have invested and the relationships you have created, those in no way make you above the basic expectations of employment. If you are going to work for a company, then work for the company - strive to be a good employee. If you think that rules and directions don't apply to you, then go into business for yourself. But as long as you are an employee, you have a responsibility to strive to meet the company's expectations. I understand that I'm taking a position that is unpopular with a number of sales people. The last time I talked about this, I had a few salespeople write back and unsubscribe to the Ezine. That is the price I'm willing to pay to honestly and clearly state my position. Frankly, this is a pet peeve of mine. I see salespeople become arrogant and inflated with their own importance all the time. It is not right. Managers, if you have salespeople who sabotage you, who nod "yes" to your face and then go off and do what they want to do, ask yourself this question: "Do you really want to spend the next few years fighting with a salesperson who thinks he/she is above the company's direction?" Fire them and hire someone who will be happy to have the job. Have I made myself clear? - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - If you have any comments or questions, email them to me. I do, of course, reserve the right to edit .
Here are a few articles by Dave
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