The Best Way to Discipline a Sales Rep

“Disciplining” an under-performing sales rep was much easier years ago when people were actually held accountable for their actions (or inactions). These days, our culture does not deal very much in right and wrong. Instead, we spend our time in the grey, rationalizing pretty much everything, talking about others’ perceptions and writing things off to personal choice and perspective.

In the “old days,” (I cannot believe I actually just typed that) I almost never had to discipline or fire. Reps would typically come to me, tell me they weren’t hitting their goals and what they were going to do about it, and ask for the help they needed. After that, if they continued to miss their goals, they would pack up their belongings and submit a letter of resignation.

Today if you address a rep’s poor performance or attitude, you are met with a “how dare you” or a “that’s just your point of view” or “you’ve got to be kidding me” comment. This fascinates me because, in my opinion, sales is the easiest profession in which to work in black and white rather than grey. Reps either hit their numbers or not. One can’t “kind of” achieve quota; you either do or do not.

So, how did we get here? Is here where we intended to be? Is here the right “here”?

My Explanation

Generations X and Y were raised by baby boomers who enjoyed successful careers and generated tremendous wealth. So much so that Gen X and Gen Y – generally speaking – didn’t have to try to figure out a way to get to college, pay for college, do well in college, struggle to find a job, and struggle to compete for fewer jobs. And they could demand higher salaries, too. Things typically came easier to them than they did for their parents. This translated into a culture of expectation that prior generations did not experience. Therefore, they view themselves as “deserving” of what they have, rather than humbled and grateful.

* Disclaimer – I’m part of the Gen X age group.

In addition, the same people that created this within their kids often did the same within their companies. As owners and managers, they made the path much easier by removing expectations or judgments. Anything that could be viewed as judgmental – like a quota number, activity number or expectation of any kind – was eliminated. After all, someone might fail, damaging their sense of self.

Now we are left with statistics like these:

• More people on social programs than ever before in our nation’s history;
• Almost as many people not paying taxes as paying them;
• The old 80/20 rule, in which 20% of the people generated more of everything than the other 80%, is more like the 95/5 rule today.

In other words, what’s playing out in our culture also is playing out in corporate America.

So, what does this have to do with how to discipline a sales rep? Absolutely everything!

Sales as Culture

Why did my reps, in the “old days,” come to me proactively to tell me that they were not hitting their objectives? Why did they have a plan to rectify it, a timeline to complete it, and coaching and training requests? Because they knew what was expected of them.

I clearly communicated, in black and white terms, how I was evaluating their performance. I also communicated to them that it was their responsibility to come to me for help, not my responsibility to figure out where they needed help and foist it upon them. We had mutually respected roles, clear communication and crystal clear expectations. Nothing was grey, “perspective,” or “point of view.” It was a single view. Everybody on the team either contributed to the goals or they took themselves out. I did not need to take them out myself.

How do we get back to the “old days?”

Actually, those old days are not so old. In 20-some years, I’ve only had to let two people go. The remaining reps either succeeded or stepped down on their own accord. The two I did fire were both in my first year of management, before I “figured it out.”

What did I figure out? The only proper way to discipline a sales rep (or anyone else for that matter) is to not discipline them. Clearly communicate your expectations with tremendous specificity, including performance metrics (activity and results). Report on and communicate the metrics continuously, keep your door open to provide help, and create a culture of accountability and self reliance. Reps will either perform or go somewhere else where they fit in better.

That, in my opinion, is how you do it. But I wonder if people actually want to go back to black and white, or if they would just rather continue to navigate the grey.

What do you think?

Brian