All sales teams have their high and low months. Not everybody can be “winning” month after month. That said, sales managers still need to look out for signs of underperformance—and address these immediately.
What are the signs of underperformance within your sales team?
- The most obvious sign is not meeting their KPIs (key performance indicators), foremost of which is hitting targets or sales targets
- Substandard work is also a red flag. If the quality of their work—say, in the reports they’re submitting or presentations they’re making—is suffering, this is unacceptable. Managers should set expectations for their sales reps to meet, and they should also set standards in terms of skills. These should be clear from day one: you should clarify all expectations in terms of behaviors and results in the very beginning. If it’s been made clear and yet substandard work is still being produced, then that’s a problem.
- Inconsistency is also a bad sign. They could be doing good today but slacking off the next few days.
- Colleagues are complaining or they don’t seem to want to work with said underperforming employee(s).
- Low productivity. We’ve explained many times the importance of having sales metrics to track performance, and productivity metrics should be in place. If your metrics results look bad and are continually declining, then you have an underperforming team.
- Attitude or behavior is also a factor. Whether it’s tardiness, poor attendance, insubordination, or noncompliance, bad behaviors should be nipped in the bud.
There are other more concrete signs, and as a sales manager, you would just know. So what do you do in the event that you have a sales team that is underperforming?
The 5-Step Plan to Improve an Underperforming Sales Team
STEP 1: Get to the root of the problem—and talk about it.
Talking about the issues at hand is the first step to addressing or correcting them. Managers make regular work assessments, but don’t let those documents do the talking for you. These assessments should be discussed at length and in person. If you have more than one underperformer, talk to everyone separately. Here are some ways you can establish a constructive conversation to get to the root of the problem(s).
- First things first, do not be emotional. You may be feeling frustrated, even angry. Do not let those emotions through.
- Make sure the employee is also not emotional. If you have been making regular assessments, as you should, then we’re pretty sure the employee knows what’s coming next. He’s probably nervous or anxious, and make sure that you address his emotions as well. Begin by saying that the meeting is a conversation between the two of you, and that you are there to hear his side too.
- Be very clear on what the problems or transgressions are. “You missed your targets all months of the first quarter.” “The proposal you sent to Best Pharma Company did not address what the client was looking for, and I’ve had to fix it a couple of times.” And make sure your concerns are backed up by evidence. If there are several issues to address with a particular employee, start with your top 2 to 3 concerns.
- Get their side, and really listen to them so you can also see things from their point of view. This way you can see if there are internal (e.g. lack of training) and/or external (e.g. problems at home) factors involved. We have to say though that you have to be prepared to hear some BS from time to time. Even if you are being sincere, an employee may not reciprocate the same genuine commitment to fixing the problem(s). How can you tell if they’re lying? This may help.
- Ask them what kind of help they need. The answers to this can help form your plan of action for Step 3.
- After you’ve heard their side and assessed the situation, there’s still one bottomline: the issues will still need to be corrected. Tell the employee what’s coming next: that you are going to plan for improvements. Make sure he understands everything and before ending the meeting, get his commitment to work with you.
- Recap in writing. After the meeting, send an email outlining what was discussed.
How do you get an employee to work with you? That’s Step 2.
STEP 2: Establish a trust-based relationship.
Why is trust so important? Because they will never believe anything you say, no matter how good you sound, if they don’t trust you. They need to know that you are there to help them do better. How do you build trust?
- Be transparent. There should be an honest, open dynamic between managers and their team members. Be accessible, engage your employees, and show genuine interest.
- Understand their goals and what motivates them. What are their short-term and long-term personal and professional goals? What drives them to really excel in their work? Start asking them these kinds of questions.
- Make it very clear that you are on their side, and you have one intention: to help them improve. Ask them what you can do to keep them motivated and help them meet their goals.
- Show their value to the team and the organization. Employees feel more empowered when they know they are valued. Share with them your own goals for the team and the company, and show them where and how they can contribute to the achievement of said goals.
STEP 3: Create a plan of action.
It’s also important to involve the employee when you begin developing a performance improvement plan. Set these performance goals together. These are the things to keep in mind when goal-setting:
- Be SMART. Set Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-framed goals.
- Be very specific about what goals need to be set. “You will submit weekly sales productivity reports every Friday at 4pm.” And set clear time-framed goals on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.
- Identify the metrics for assessment and the time frame for the execution of the plan. You will also need to work with your Human Resources department for all the documentation and paperwork.
- Give the proper training and mentoring. This performance improvement period will involve a lot of one-one-one coaching. You will have to personally attend to a lot of these one-on-ones so make sure to set aside time for this.
STEP 4: Follow through.
This is such a critical step in the process. Make sure that you follow through with everything you’ve discussed. Monitor deadline compliance (e.g. are you receiving the weekly sales productivity reports every Friday at 4pm?) Monitor and give regular feedback. Do follow-up meetings a month after the plan has been discussed and then again after another month, or whenever it’s necessary. This will be a series of check-ups.
This is also the perfect time to step up your game as a sales manager, too.
If employee continues to fail expectations, make sure employee is made aware and the incidents are documented. Pretty soon, you will need to ask yourself: Is it worth giving this employee another chance?
STEP 5: Acknowledge and reward improvement.
Take note of developments and progress and acknowledge them. A simple acknowledgement is sometimes enough to show your appreciation.
When an employee improves by leaps and bounds, then a reward may be due.
Photos from Pexels
