Sales is an innately competitive game, and in every sales team, there are reps constantly crushing quotas and reps struggling to even pick up the phones. We've been studying sales reps' behaviors and found that many sellers who struggle to hit quotas aren't being motivated by the tactics and strategies that drive them to deliver results. So as a manager, you must ask the all-important question: "Should I fire my lowest performers, or should I invest in better programs?" Let's dive into the pros and cons of each option.
The Firing Line
When you fire your lowest-performing reps, you get the immediate benefit of trimming the fat in your sales team, but the benefits will quickly dwindle after that initial push. Team morale will take a hit whenever you fire anyone, regardless of their performance. Don't get us wrong, sometimes these decisions are necessary, but your team will inevitably begin to fear for their own jobs or feel sad that their old friend got kicked to the curb.
Another massive issue with shifting your workforce is that hiring and training a new sales rep can be extremely costly, with many new sellers needing 13 months to get fully ramped up to be profitable. Training programs also take time away from your managers and are an additional cost to your tech stack. Firing a sales rep is an expensive endeavor, and it should only happen when you need to cut your workforce, or that rep has proven themselves entirely incapable of working within your needs.
The Power of Inspiration
Inspired sales teams are the best sales teams. Period. Full stop. When your team loves what they do, are passionate about the process, and are motivated to work to their true potential, the ship drives itself and allows your managers to do more than micromanage. So how can you actively inspire a sales rep who is consistently falling short of their goals or struggling a bit more than usual?
Work The Way They Want To
No two reps are the same, and every sales rep falls into four main personality types: Killers, achievers, socializers, or explorers. Depending on what personality types make up your team, you must shift how you motivate your team to get the most out of them. For example, socializers, who make up over 80% of the workforce, are motivated by shoutouts from managers and peers. In contrast, killers, who are less than 5% of the workforce, are motivated by winning competitions. Discovering what kind of personalities are struggling the most on your team will help you actively combat low-performance issues.
Compete, Compete, Compete
Every sales rep loves to win, no matter what kind of personality type they fall into, but no one wants to compete when the same 2-3 people win every competition. Keep your team engaged by running a variety of sales competition types. Instead of running the same competitions where the seller with the most of a specific activity or KPI wins, try running a competition that brings in an element of chance. For instance, our lottery competition works by awarding a rep a lottery ticket every time they log an activity. The seller with the most tickets has the highest percentage of winning. Still, it's anyone's game at the end of the competition when you spin the wheel to determine who gets the top prize. This means that even your lowest performer still has a chance to win.
Broadcast Wins
Shoutouts and recognition feed your sales team, but if your managers are bogged down in training new reps and running manual competitions, they will never have the time to call out great work. We recommend using a feed, much like social media platforms, to aggregate shoutouts and good news so that everyone can be recognized for their hard work. If your team is in office, a great way to boost morale and drive engagement is to set up TV screens so that wins, milestones, and shoutouts are broadcasted to everyone. This lets everyone get in on celebrating wins and creates a sense of camaraderie.
So, if you are asking whether you should fire or inspire, the answer is simple: inspire! Your budget, morale and CFO will surely thank you for taking the initiative, driving future success, and creating a sales environment that actively creates success while attracting top talent.
