Page 100 - The Sales Acceleration Formula: Using Data, Technology, and Inbound Selling to go from $0 to $100 Million - PDFDrive.com

Here's what worried me: When we remained patient and gave those “weak”
salespeople another six months, many of the folks who supposedly “weren't
working out” became rock stars in our sales organization. As a guy who loves
predictability, my head was spinning.

Time and time again, I see managers giving up on new hires too early. Yes, we
would all love it if new hires crushed it right out of training and never looked
back. But often, the “weak” salespeople just need some effective coaching and
someone to believe in them for a few months before everything starts to click.

In these cases, my advice to a sales manager is to pick a deficiency in a
salesperson's process, coach them on it, and check in with them the next day. If
the manager sees improvement and the improvement appears to stick, that is a
promising sign. It may take some work, but the salesperson is demonstrating
coachability and should be able to evolve into a productive individual
contributor. However, if a manager coaches a salesperson on a simple deficiency
and doesn't see the salesperson apply the coaching, that is a bad sign. It is
probably best for both parties to part ways and let the individual contributor find
a buyer context better suited for his strengths.

To Recap

Focus on leadership skills, rather than general sales management skills,
when developing future managers internally.

Develop your leadership bench by using a formal leadership curriculum
for your salespeople who earn the opportunity.

Before formal promotion, let qualified leadership candidates hire, train,
and manage one new salesperson while still carrying their individual
quota responsibilities.

Avoid the common pitfalls of new managers: exhibiting weak time
management around coaching, acting as a glorified salesperson, and
giving up on new hires too early.