Dave Kurlan is a top-rated speaker, best-selling author, sales thought leader and highly regarded sales development expert.
You always know when salespeople aren't prospecting. Their pipeline becomes stale - not empty mind you, just old. And finally, they aren't closing enough business. You know it. You may or may not do anything about it. Some managers fire these people. Others ignore it. A few actually know how to provide coaching and motivation in such a way that they can fix the problem. But what happens when you know they're aren't getting it done and you aren't able to say anything or do anything because you're so uncomfortable with confrontation? That's when you feel like a nut. Your inability to turn this salespeople on or around makes you part of the problem. In psychological terms, you become co-dependent. But why? You aren't their lovers, best friends, parents or spouses. Why can't you simply lay down the law and terminate them if they don't come around?This problem is so very common. The reality is that the managers who don't lay down the law are very similar to the salespeople who don't prospect. Both are failing to perform in some aspect of their positions and in each case, we don't know why.When we evaluate sales organizations, the first thing we learn is why people fail to execute all of the expected behaviors for their positions. Only then, after we understand the real problem, can we develop an effective course of action. And sometimes, no action plan will work because some people don't have enough incentive to change. When they aren't performing and they won't change, they don't figure to be part of your company's plans for growth.How many salespeople in your company are failing at some aspect of their jobs?(c) Copyright 2005 Objective Management Group, Inc.
