It’s a special kind of sideways that a relationship between salesperson and sales manager goes. The blue skies and birdsongs that were there at the start quickly turn to darkness and decay as we watch our funnel and, potentially, one of our sales territories shrivel.
There are five stages to a bad relationship between salesperson and sales manager each with increasingly bright yellow and red flags that are our signal to get out of this relationship before too much damage is done.
Stage 1 – The Future is so Bright!
Our new salesperson, who told us in our (discovery) interview that they had “lots of high level contacts and fantastic relationships,” promises that they will “deliver results real quick.” This we’re excited about because we don’t want to manage their territory off the side of our desk and there are few new opportunities in the top of the funnel.
Stage 2 – “These Things Take Time”
Four-to-six weeks after the promises to deliver our new salesperson tells us, “these things take time,” when we gently inquire about the strength of their funnel. No matter how long or short a sales cycle is, a new salesperson, given the right onboarding plan, has the resources to add qualified opportunities to their funnel in their first three weeks.
Stage 3 – “What I Need from You Is…”
Another period of time passes, how much depends on how much “hopium” we’re taking from our salesperson. When we inquire again about a lack of results, probably less gently than before, our new salesperson turns the pressure back on us with a list of demands that they “need” to “sell against our competition.” Whether we grant none, some or all of their requests we still see no or little results, which takes us to stage 4.
Stage 4 – “Look How Hard I’m Trying”
We’re 3-12 months into our relationship with our new salesperson, which is going dramatically sideways. Little has close and their funnel is very skinny. When we bring this up our new salesperson retorts, “don’t you get it! I’m trying really hard! You haven’t given me the tools I need to succeed!” Unfortunately, we’re probably past probation at this point so we have a choice to keep burning energy trying to get a low performer to become average or go to our boss for approval on a termination package, which carries its own mental and emotional energy drain.
Stage 5 – “It’s Over”
Believing that we’ve “gotta give ‘em another shot” we decide to keep our new salesperson on, potentially under a performance improvement plan, with our fingers crossed that they show some results, so we don’t have to face a), the embarrassment of asking for approval to terminate and b), the pain of hiring for this role again.
Fortunately (for us), our new salesperson gives notice and moves on relieving us of the need for a termination package, but still needing to re-hire.
Provided that we give our salespeople all of the tools they need to succeed, including coaching and accountability, the ones who get to stage 2 and beyond are making a choice to perform to their comfort level. Those salespeople drag down the other members of our team and cause us to burn mental and emotional energy that could be better spent elsewhere.
It’s on us as leaders to recognize when our relationship with a team member is starting to go sideways so we have a chance to co-correct the situation before it drifts too far off.
Until next time… go lead.
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