The responsibility for ensuring that every member of the sales team is successful, lies entirely with management and below are the eight reasons why sales people fail. In fact, I usually ask just three very straightforward questions, in order to identify why a salesperson is underachieving i.e. Are they visiting/talking to enough clients/prospects? Are they talking to the right people within those client/prospect organisations? Are they saying/doing the right things? However this list, whilst not exhaustive, remains extremely accurate and as I said earlier, management has total control over each of these, including the last one!! Wrong or no selection process - The wrong person for the position Wrong or no training - Insufficiently developed Wrong or no planning - Expected to do all of their own planning Wrong or no supervision - Left without competent supervision Wrong or no motivation - Not properly motivated to meet objectives Wrong or no stimulation - Not stimulated by appropriate incentives Wrong or no evaluation - Not regularly appraised against a set of agreed objectives Wrong or no executive action - Not adequately supported by a competent manager |
