What Should You Do?” Series - “Help, My Sales Team is Lazy”

If you recall, the problem was your sales team is sitting around the office rather than visiting clients or scheduling appointments. These are your possible responses:

1. Call them in for an emergency meeting to discuss what they need to be prospecting.?
2. Throw out a SPIFF to generate excitement in the office.?
3. Have a conversation with your sales manager about her accountability.
4. Fire them all.

Which Is the Best Response??

Well, I would say that the boss’s best option is No. 3. You have a sales manager-make her earn her salary. If she doesn’t already, have her make a scorecard of key performance indicators (KPIs) for the sales force. How many prospecting calls do they make each week? How many clients did they visit at their offices? Which existing customers did they visit to solicit new business or referrals?

She needs to hold the sales team accountable for meeting or exceeding their KPIs.?

And you need to hold her accountable for her managerial responsibilities.?

No. 1 might be your second reaction to seeing your sales force sitting around the office, chatting about the weekend, having their third cup of coffee, etc. But what do you have a sales manager for?

You’re paying her to manage, motivate and lead the sales force. Let her do her job.

No. 2 is easy. Too easy. And it is simply lazy management. Manage your sales manager so she does her job correctly.?

No. 4 might be your first reaction. But, hopefully, cooler heads (yours) will prevail. Think of all the sales you’ll lose while you’re hiring and training their replacements.?

You’ll have to fire the sales manager too.?

No, let’s stick with having the sales manager do her job right.?

Deric Keller is a business coach, as well as an executive coach, for Exit Momentum. A former Marine infantryman, he takes the skills he used in the military to develop leaders in the civilian world. If you’re interested, you can call him at 307-371-3683. You can also get on his calendar here.