How to Deal With Your Problem Salespeople

Last week’s blog on the Five Problem Salespeople generated a lot of comments on www.piworld.com, as well as e-mails to me, which is always flattering. It’s always nice to know that someone other than my sister is reading. As I identified just five problem salespeople, I promised (Matt Parker) that this week I would offer up some ideas as to how to mitigate the damage and right the ship. So here it goes:

1. The Distractor. This is all about boundaries. The reason that this person is so all over the place could be one of many, but as her/his boss, it is your job to clearly articulate your expectations, and call her/him out when she/he is going off the rails. It is perfectly acceptable to say, "I hear what you are saying but that really isn’t the topic we are covering here, Bill. Let’s stay focused on our agenda, which is developing case studies to help us with our anecdotal selling—not talking about where the best golf spots are." Gaining and maintaining control and a zero tolerance policy for the distractions is key.

2. The Nostalgic. You would do well to help this person accept and celebrate that it is 2015, and that there is a lot to be happy about. Ask her/him to tell you about something great that happened in the last seven days. Reinforce all the ways that technology is helping us all to advance the sales process. Emphasize the value of engagement in any form. Show her/him examples of how someone has initiated a meaningful client interaction over Twitter and then took that social media touch all the way to landing the new client.

3. The "IFIONLYHAD." The line to take here is, "We can talk about acquiring new equipment and technology if a strong case can be made for it, but let’s focus on what we have to offer TODAY." This person needs to understand that no decision to spend money can be made lightly, or quickly for that matter, and that if she/he wants to keep earning the almighty coin, she/he needs to sell what she/he has. Today. Encourage concrete examples with backup of anything a client may be asking for that you do not currently offer, and take that evidence very seriously.

4. The Staller. The solution here is all about accountability. You might feel like a bit of a micro-manager for a while, but you need to ask hard questions about where she/he is in the sales process with anything on her/his forecast. A sales funnel is really helpful here, where you can assess the likelihood of closing a deal based on what benchmarks have been reached. For example, does she/he get to the bid stage a lot and then not close, or is she/he getting lots of meetings and then nothing happens? You need to ask her/him, "What can I do to help you?" If you are not adequately equipped to mentor her/him or offer advice for how to get over the hurdles, whatever they are, consider hiring (ahem) a coach to work with her/him.

5. The Landmine. This person needs to be shown that there are consequences to her/his actions. This behavior must be addressed immediately with concrete examples and alternatives to the behavior. For example, if she/he throws production under the bus for a recent mistake and the client shows concern about continuing to do business with you, you need to show her/him how important it is to project a united front. She/he, the CSR, the estimator and the owner are all the same in the eyes of the client. She/he needs to understand how her/his words are perceived. Ask her/him to imagine how the client feels hearing her/his words, and how she/he should interpret them. Again, a zero tolerance policy for verbal sabotage may be in order. Often times salespeople have to be reminded who they work for and what team they play on. They need to be on YOUR team in order for the whole thing to work.

So there you have it. Now that all your problems are solved, I guess I’ll retire. Just kidding. My phone is ringing off the hook.