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Sales managers should occasionally review the salespeople that work for them and see where each fits in the following four categories. If you are a salesperson you might want to take a look at these categories and see which one applies to you. This can be a real eye opener for both salespeople and sales managers.

The Angel. The low maintenance high producing salesperson is one that brings home the bacon and doesn’t need a lot of his or her manager’s time to do so. This is where you want to be if you’re a salesperson and where you want all of your salespeople to be if you are a sales manager. The only cautionary note I have is that sales management tends to forget these people sometimes and not give them enough positive feedback and attention. This can be a big mistake. Other companies want to hire these people.

The Handful. The high maintenance high producing salesperson is the individual who can generate the revenue numbers but who needs a lot of attention from sales management. While their sales numbers are good, they might need someone to frequently hold their hand through troubled customer waters and provide them a lot of positive feedback. These salespeople may require more management time, but sales managers shouldn’t complain. They’re worth the time.

The Under the Radar. The low maintenance low producer is the salesperson that requires little to no management time, but isn’t exactly setting the world on fire with their sales numbers. In fact they rarely hit their numbers. These people can become invisible on occasion because they aren’t getting anyone’s attention with their results and they don’t demand a lot of management time. Sales managers can’t ignore this group (as is frequently the case) or just write them off; they need to make the decision to either attempt to get them producing or replace them.

The Devil. The high maintenance low producer is the salesperson that is the worst of both worlds. They take more than their fair share of sales management time, especially considering their results. They also rarely, if ever, even get close to their sales budget. These are sales management’s best choice to replace, and quickly. If there isn’t an unbelievably compelling story regarding how they can be rehabilitated you’ll be further ahead by not having them on your team, even if you don’t replace them.

So there you have it. Just about every salesperson (and sales manger too for that matter; just ask VP’s of sales) fits neatly into one of these categories. The new year will soon be here, time to review where you or your sales force fits.

Tags: salespeople

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