Acceleral

It's a tough decision to make, but firing non-performing sales people has to happen eventually. But before you let them go, make sure that it's them, not you. And it's for this reason that the Acceleral Framework™ focuses on People, Process and Pipeline as a whole. Often, poorly performing sales people are mired in a larger issue, that of the anti-sales company. In such a business, underachievement is the norm overall, not just for Sam in sales, who is sitting in the firing line.

Of course, no company likes to see themselves as anti-sales! Still, it happens as this "hypothetical scenario" from a global vendor illustrates:

"The organisation as a whole has witnessed a period of poor performance in this region over the last few years. This has been primarily caused by the low rating of its operations – from the management of the sales staff through to the disregard and languor shown towards generating and maintaining revenue streams."

While this business was mature enough to recognise the issue, it would be fair to say that such acceptance is few and far between.

So, let's get back to the point.

And that point is that firing someone for poor performance is a serious outcome, both for them in terms of career, esteem and take-home-pay, and for you in terms of investing in staff and revenue.

So before you pull the trigger, the question that needs to be answered is, "Is it them, or is it us?"

And to help answer that, here are some pointers to consider when doing due diligence on Sam's future:

How you Sell: If you sell high-value items that take a long time to close and require sophisticated sales planning - think ERP, CRM, CMS, telecom networking gear, jet aircraft, offshore oil rigs...you get the picture - then looking at the pipeline Sam inherited is vital.

If that was anaemic to start with (maybe you hired Sam to revitalise a region or kick-start a new segment) then it's unlikely that Sam is going to short circuit your normal sales cycles and bring home the gold. And if you were expecting a bluebird to drop from heaven and make Sam's sales figures, then that says more about your management than Sam's ability.

However, if you are selling high turnover items - think whitegoods in a retail store, PC-based accounting software, mobile phones - then your lead time is minimal and the "pipeline" irrelevant. In this case, Sam is under a serious cloud because each and every day is an opportunity to bring home the gold.

Product: Just as it is impossible to tell new parents that their baby is ugly, often it's just as hard to tell your development team that your products are ugly. Well, actually, you can tell them, but will they listen?

I have found this to be a particular problem in companies where the product line-up includes the one that the CEO built the company around. Often this poor orphan product is dying on the vine because the CEO insists that a) "I knows what's good for it, dammit"; and b) who really wants to stand up and be the voice of dissent to the person who signs off the pay run each month. So maybe Sam is fighting a losing battle in the market with a product that's behind the times and missing the high notes?

Lead Generation: There should be a line in each sales job advert that goes along the lines of "Must bring leads". As a sales manager you were probably expecting Sam to bring lots of leads from an "extensive network of C-level contacts". Fair enough. But unless you hire a gold-plated industry expert with instant name recognition to all and sundry, it's unlikely that Sam was ever going to drag in those deals. So be realistic when considering what you were expecting from Sam, because it is hard to drum up demand and sell at the same time. In fact, that's such an important point, I'll say it again...

It is hard to drum up demand and sell at the same time!

The symptom of a business that does this is a "boom and bust" cycle (or "feast and famine" if you prefer). Nothing much seems to happen for a while, then suddenly ka-ching, the registers start to sound and everyone is happy, happy. The trouble is, having heard the ka-ching, Sam is now back at the start of the next cycle...and you are looking at his performance and wondering what the hell is going wrong.

Of course, if you have a professional approach to lead generation and prospect nurturing, and are feeding Sam all the well-qualified leads he could possibly need, then the problem is drifting back Sam's way.

Timing: This is of course related to "How you Sell", but if it usually takes a long time to close a deal, then firing Sam in the middle of the sales cycle is always going to be an interesting decision. But it's another (usually unwritten) expectation that you expect your sales team to shortenthe sales cycle, not stick to the average. They are meant to be experts at fancy strategies like 'cut through', 'thinking outside the box' and 'hunting the whale'. But unless your whole business is geared toward shortening the sales cycle, it's unlikely that an individual rep is going to this on a regular basis.

Pricing: Don't sell on price, sell on value! Ouch...

Of course, it's one of those industry adages that sales reps love to give discounts. And perhaps that's true, though why they would want to do that when it impacts their commission has always troubled me. Anyway, if discounts are mentioned, the question to ask is "Why?" Most often the answer is "Because the prospect asked for one...", in which case some training on selling on value is a legitimate response

But consider whether your prices are too high compared to the competition. It can be hard to do, but an emerging issue, especially for software vendors, is that Software as a Service (SaaS) is slashing the barriers to entry. And that tends to slash the purchase price. (But interestingly, not necessarily the total cost of ownership. Someone has to pay for the server farm and Internet connection and all that stuff, and unless the SaaS competitor goes out of business, that someone is the customer.) If you are still thumping the table for an upfront license fee, with 20% annual maintenance and 1:1 implementation fee then your days are numbered. So perhaps Sam is highlighting a sea-change in your industry and nobody is listening.

Of course, all of these points are indicators to problems, not the smoking gun.

If all the other reps are selling, but Sam is not, and they access to the same leads, and territory and presales staff etc etc...well, then pulling the trigger is probably justified.

But is Sam is the only rep...or the rep with a new patch...ore the rep with a new product line...or the rep you expect to recover a troubled region...or whatever, you get the idea.  In that case, taking a good hard look at all the circumstances before you pull the trigger makes good business sense.