Middle-performing reps make up around 60% of any sales team. Despite this fact, sales leaders often overlook these employees in favor of their higher- and lower-achieving counterparts. While top performers deliver outstanding results and lower performers can need coaching, middle performers offer the greatest potential for total revenue growth.
By implementing the below strategies, sales leadership can help guide middle performers into a state of "flow"—a peak performance mindset characterized by increased engagement, motivation, and continuous improvement. This mindset ultimately leads to a greater return on investment for the entire company.
Why Middle Performers Matter
Middle performers are the backbone of every sales team. They may not be breaking sales records, but they consistently contribute to the bottom line. However, if sales leaders do not provide sufficient support and encouragement, these middle-performing reps risk stagnation and disengagement.
Reports indicate that one critical reason middle performers struggle to reach their full potential is the lack of structured development and mentorship. According to Gallup's 2024 annual report on US employee engagement, only 30% of employees strongly agree that someone at work encourages their development, a decline from 36% in March 2020.
This downward trend suggests that many employees—particularly those middle performers—are not receiving the coaching they need from sales leaders. Without proper sales coaching and career growth opportunities, engagement levels can decline, leading to missed revenue potential for your company.
Sales leaders can reverse this trend by prioritizing sales team engagement through personalized coaching, targeted sales incentives, and a culture of recognition. This will harness the untapped potential of middle performers and drive a more substantial ROI. But which activities will best motivate middle performers?
Applying Bartle's Player Types to Middle Performers in Sales
British professor Richard Bartle's theory of player types was originally developed to categorize video gamers, but his framework provides a valuable perspective for understanding how different sales reps engage with their work. Bartle categorizes individuals into four primary personality types: Killers, Achievers, Explorers, and Socializers. Here's how these types can be applied to sales teams:
- Killers are those hyper-competitive top performers who star in sales competitions.
- Achievers are reps who thrive on structured challenges and clear rewards.
- Explorers are employees who are motivated by curiosity and discovery.
- Socializers are people who are energized by team dynamics and recognition.
Understanding which personality group your middle performers belong to (typically, it’ll be one of the last three categories) will be vital in determining how to get them to work in a flow state.
How Flow Helps Boost Sales
Flow is a psychological mindset in which individuals are fully immersed in their work tasks, experiencing heightened focus, motivation, and, as a consequence, contentment. When sales reps are in this state, they are more productive, can confidently handle objections, and consistently meet or even exceed their quotas. You often hear professional athletes, actors, and musicians talk about entering a flow state while performing. The same can be said for employees in dynamic fields like sales.
Achieving this flow state will help middle performers overcome stagnation and move into a cycle of continuous progress. Sales leaders can facilitate this development by creating a culture that defines clear goals and provides ongoing motivation and feedback to reps.
How to Help Middle Performers Find Their Flow
Personalizing goals can be an effective strategy, especially for our Achievers and Explorers. Uniform quotas don't typically encourage middle performers as they might their top-performing Killer peers. Instead, sales leaders should develop tailored, achievable goals that challenge these reps without overwhelming or overworking them. Reaching bigger targets with small, incremental steps and providing actionable feedback can facilitate huge progress for middle performers.
Sales coaching is essential for generating flow. Managers should conduct regular feedback sessions highlighting their team members' strengths and areas for improvement. Leveraging real-time sales performance data enables leaders to highlight each employee's challenges and opportunities for improvement.
Gamification can be another highly impactful way to increase employee motivation and sales performance. Again, this works particularly well when aiming to motivate Achievers. By applying leaderboards, recognition programs, and friendly competitions, middle performers are more fired up to improve. Here are some proven gamification aspects to utilize:
- Real-time dashboards let representatives know at a glance where they stand in the rankings.
- Leaderboards support friendly rivalry and highlight the most productive middle performers.
- Reward systems based on accomplishment (e.g., badges, bonuses, recognition) help reinforce positive behaviors.
Fostering a culture of recognition and team support fuels engagement, especially for our Socializer middle performers. Engaged sales reps are much more likely to sustain peak performance. However, traditional sales incentives often cater to top-performing Killers, leaving middle-tier reps to become disengaged. To maintain motivation, organizations should implement incentives that reward incremental progress and consistent improvement, not just the final outcome. For example, adding in an element of chance, like a random bonus draw, helps keep engagement high across all performance levels.
Cultivating a collaborative working culture where reps feel supported by their managers and peers leads to greater employee motivation and overall job satisfaction.
The Impact of Investing in Middle Performers
It's a fact that companies that invest in employee engagement—including the all-important 60% of middle performers—experience higher engagement, productivity, and revenue growth.
Gallup's 2024 State of the Global Workplace report states that companies with more highly engaged employees see:
- 23% higher profitability
- 18% higher productivity
- 10% higher customer loyalty
So, focusing on middle performers can help drive higher win rates; energized performers close more deals. Another happy byproduct will be consistent pipeline growth. Increased motivation leads to more prospecting and follow-ups, leading to stronger revenue contributions. As we've already discussed, companies with engaged teams experience greater profitability.
Turning Middle Performers to Top Performers
Middle performers offer untapped potential in sales organizations. Sales leadership can generate sustained success by helping these reps into a flow state through clear goals, gamification, and consistent recognition.
Investing in middle performers rewards individuals and elevates the entire sales team. Leading to higher sales team engagement, improved productivity, and a more profitable business. Rather than overlooking the middle tier, it's time to harness their potential and drive sales performance to new heights.
