SALES PERSON - ASSET or LIABILITY?

A true sales professional should never be a bleed for your organization.

They should not only be bringing in revenue, but actively contributing to incremental growth and upwards mobility in your organization.   I've seen too many instances where sales people will go months without ever hitting quota, but we, as leaders, keep these warm bodies around to fill a void.   Salaries, if they are even given one, should be just enough to keep them hungry.  They should be hitting commission more often than not.

If they are failing, here are a few reasons why:

1.  Leadership

- first thing you look at when a sales professional is failing.  Have they motivated the individual and provided them with all the tools to make them successful?

2.  No clear defined goals

- how can a sales professional be successful if they don't know what they are aiming for?

3.  No accountability

- They are left in the field to flounder with no meetings to discuss numbers, relation to goals, and upper management keeps everything so close to their chest that they don't even know if they are moving the needle

4.  Lack of development

- if you're not learning, you're not growing.  Development is a constant process.

5.  Ability

- Maybe, just maybe, this isn't for them.