ToriGafford840

Aus Salespoint

If one of your sales peoples' overall performance is deteriorating, it is advisable to have a dialogue with him regarding it in order that the state of affairs can be promptly rectified. The following rules, as taught on good management training courses, have to be born in mind when having a performance discussion:

Carry out the discussion in an open way. Evaluate the sales representative's outcomes along with the probable reasons for the deteriorating performance. Do not, however, prepare any "solutions". Should you try and force ready-made solutions on a sales professional, he is unlikely to be able to identify with the outcome of your dialogue.

Don't make a song and dance out of it. Steer clear of summoning the sales professional to head-office. Complete your discussion informally.

It's not clever to tell the sales man about your meeting months in advance; let him know shortly beforehand. If there's an extended interval of time between telling the salesperson that you want to have a discussion with him and the time that the dialogue actually takes place, he could become worked up about it to the extent that it impairs his performance a lot more.

Come directly to the point. Numerous supervisors find this straight speaking very difficult and so it's generally a part of the skill development sessions on management training courses.

Notify the sales man what the purpose for the meeting is without beating around the bush: "I'm not pleased in your performance and thus wish to talk about it with you right now." Send out a clear I-message and no watered down We-message, for example "At head-office we believe..."

Discuss behaviour. Don't talk to the salesperson about results, but about his poor behaviour. Commence the discussion with the sales man's most significant weakness: "In the past quarter the amount of monthly product demonstrations which you have carried out has dropped from an average of 12 to 7".

Allow the sales representative to talk. Provide the sales representative ample time to speak about his troubles and get everything off his chest. Don't interrupt, never comment and never object to what he says. Listen to him. Demonstrate that you understand and you are thinking about what he's saying by asking questions.

You are likely to have met all of the pre-conditions for getting a remedy if you make it possible for the sales person to get everything off his chest.

Lay your needs plainly on the table. Once the salesperson has told you the problems from his point of view, lay your requirements clearly on the table. Say, "I fully grasp what you have told me, but have to ask you to...". Never enter into another discussion with the sales professional once you have made your demands.

Finish an agreement. Create a mutual contract together with your sales representative. Such as: you demand that your sales person makes no less than 12 customer visits a day in future.

Encourage the sales man to ask for one thing from you in return and offer him one thing in return as well, for instance 7 joint client visits in the future, and also a promise that the situation will have no adverse repercussions on his future pay rise.

Check that your sales man fulfils his side of the bargain. Make out a typed record of your agreement. Supply a copy of this to the sales man and keep 1 yourself. Arrange a future date to speak about the issue and check that both sides of the bargain have been kept.

If you find it tough having these sorts of talks with your team then a good management training course can help you develop your abilities and self-confidence.