Have you got a salesperson in place and it has been a few months and you’re thinking “it’s just not working out.” As a business owner, the challenging question that you may need to ask yourself is, “when is the right time to let my salesperson go?”
In this blog I am going to share with you a few of the key things to look out for in order to make that tough and brave decision for you and your business.
ARE THEY ACHIEVING THE TARGETS YOU HAVE SET?
One of the obvious tipping points, when you decide to let a salesperson go, is if they are not achieving the targets that you have set. I encourage you to think about a couple of things before you do decide to let them go through:
- Could you achieve the target you’ve set?
- Were the targets realistic?
- Have you given them a good chance to achieve those targets?
The reality is that if they are not hitting their targets then that is a fundamental reason to, unfortunately, let someone go.
ARE THEY MOTIVATED?
We all have our bad days. Trust me I get lots of days where I don’t feel particularly great and you have moments where you feel like giving up and don’t want to do anything.
I have the motivation and drive to fight through that and get things done for my business. I think of the bigger purpose and my mission on what I want to achieve. Your salesperson needs to have that same inner motivation it’s one of the critical sales skills that I talk about when it comes to emotional sales intelligence.
They’ve got to be motivated to want to better themselves and also better things for you and your company. If they haven’t got any motivation to actually do what is needed, then maybe that’s a telltale sign that something isn’t right and maybe they need a fresh start.
If they have no motivation to take action for your business, that should be a red flag. The key thing is you have to have that motivation and drive and if that person hasn’t got it for your business then it is time to think about parting ways.
DO THEY HAVE GOOD TIME MANAGEMENT?
Some people say to me they are really really busy and they’re busy doing 100 things and you know they haven’t got time to do some of the sales work that they need to do. But when you dig deeper and look at what is actually happening, it is usually because they don’t manage their time effectively.
Maybe you have a sales team that is out and about visiting clients and they go and see someone that is hundreds of miles away for one meeting that doesn’t make commercial sense. It would make sense for them to go and see four or five people on that day instead.
It doesn’t make sense for them to travel a long way for one individual meeting. Most salespeople should be able to manage their time effectively and instead know to maximise their opportunity to do business or prospect.
If they don’t have those skills or are not capable of being able to manage themselves then maybe it should send warning signals to you, that it may be time to let them go.
WHAT IS THEIR ATTITUDE LIKE?
Unfortunately, we have all been in organisations (and seen people in organisations) who just have a terrible attitude. They feel everything’s hard work and a challenge. It feels like even asking them to do the simplest task is a monumental effort. They are hard work for you as a business owner.
These types of people are what I would describe as mood hoovers. You go into a room and they hoover up all the good news and moods and give you a lot of bad vibes. These types of people are not worth having in your company.
I would suggest trying to find out what is causing them to feel that way, as it may be something that you are able to work with them and fix. However, if their attitude is not in line with your values for the company and doesn’t improve over a set time period then it is probably time to move on.
DO THEY FIT WITH YOUR CULTURE?
There is a great saying that bad apples spread issues in the barrel. It is very much the same when it comes to salespeople and anyone who is not a good fit for your organisation.
If you bring someone in and you find they don’t align with your company culture then you need to take that decision to let them go.
The cultural fit that you have within any business is critical and a key tool for you to sell yourself and the company. If you have someone that is affecting this (or maybe changing the culture, but not for the better) then you may need to think about what the long-term impact of that could be.
Find someone who fits in with your culture!
ARE THEY PREPARED TO CONTINUE LEARNING?
I’ve done lots of sales training with business owners and salespeople who think they know it all.
They say things like, “Oh no I know how to do that or, no I don’t need to do that, or no that won’t work.” They have a closed mentality and mindset that prevents them from learning. If your salesperson that you’re trying to support and help has that closed mentality and they are not prepared to learn, then I guarantee you it is something you should be really, really careful about. In my business, it would be something that would make me think that they are not right for me.
At 87 years old, Michelangelo said “I am still learning”.
If someone doesn’t want to learn, then that should send warning signals to you.
There you go, a few key points around when it’s the right time to fire your salesperson.
Unfortunately, it’s a tough decision to come to and it’s not usually something that anyone enjoys.
In next week’s email, I will share with you how to go about firing someone in the right (and kind) way that protects you and your business.
This is a tough subject and it is hard to do, but there is no point denying the issue. If things aren’t right then you have to take action and be brave to do so.
I hope this has been helpful. If you want to ask for any further help on this, email me on james@thesbsa.com. I will be happy to jump on a call with you to discuss your concerns around your current salesperson.
Serve Authentically, Sell Brilliantly
James
