Bad Salespeople. How to Resolve?

[InsomnicBrain]

I was in your same situation a month ago. I had a manager who was not motivated at all. He had a commisssion incentive but he just didn't care. I tried to motivate him and gave him some more incentives to look foward to but it just didnt' work. I'm not sure if age has anything to do with it but I have now taken over the position and find myself doing his job way better than he could have ever done. I am now in the position of whether I should find a good manager and build my team around him like RogerCbryan said or keep being the manager and have my hands tied.

[Shadesz]

I think you missed the most important part of your post. You said "your lack of management experience". I'm sure you are aware that 80% of the problems your staff is having are your fault (Pareto principle - I think Deming was the first to use it in this scenario). I would say your best bet is to hire a good manager and then restructure everything around them. Bad management (or lack of) can kill a company quickly.

I can't enough. He is right on.

I would add... start by reading "Developing the Leader Within You" by John C Maxwell

[LookingforSuccess]

When I hired salespeople for my business, I looked for and hired people that had a proven track record for selling. If a person had been supporting themselves successfully for a decent period of time by selling,I knew they already had all the skills and only needed the product. My business is service related and constantly seeking new clients and this method of hiring salespeople has not let me down yet as my profit has not only grown but doubled each year.

I did not attend college and don't even know how to do half the services my company provides however I am smart enough to hire people that do know how to get the job done, that includes my salespeople.

[zachthompson]

Here them listen to Michael Olivers materials.

[mwormald]

Do you have sales background? If you dont then I would recommend you put your money into a sales manager... Sales people are a diffrent type of breed all together. They have one thing in mind... personal gain. They are tough to manage though..

Mike

[rs9996]

Motivation is a must for Sales people and tell them the benefits of their jobs
sometimes. Try to implement a bonus stucture for more sales efforts. Buy some
training videos/dvds about customer care that they can watch in your paid breaks,
5-10 minutes a day.
Then try to have a serious talk with them if you see no changes.
You should always look and be strong around them, even if you do not have
management experience. Be hard sometimes but polietly use the words "Please",
"Sorry" and "Thanks" as much as you can. They imply that you "CARE"
Believe in youself you will get through it.

Best of Luck in your Business endeavours!!!!!!!!!

[loanboy0]

I think your employee must go to a seminar.. Or else.. Inform them that if they don't do their job good they will be fired..

[clearlycody]

know your employee's weaknesses. and let them know your own. that way you can grow together.

another option would be sales contests. say the person that gets the most sales this month gets a free trip somewhere, or $400 onto their last months paycheck.

give people incentives to perform well, and they shouldn't let you down.

As Richard Branson would say: Find good people, and set them free. meaning let them get on with their work. no one likes a boss hovering over them while there trying to do their job.

Inspire the employee's!

p.s-

lemon heads in general, turns strait to sugar. converts into instant energy(and tastes good). this is what i ate all day at my sales job.

hope my well kept secret helps.

[Renata]

Well, from the information you provided it is almost impossible to see what might be happening.. it might be your perfections for things, it might be lack of employee motivation, it might be 1 employee driving this, lack of your management skills, reasons why employees are there, lack or too much business... it can be anything.
Hiring new employees usually does not improve the situation if you do not fix the route cause.
If could elaborate more on the topic, that would be helpful, but feel free to email me directly at coachrm@gmail.com and I'll be happy to see what's happening. Don't worry, I'll give you pro bono time.

Renata

_______________________________
To Your Success!
Renata Mazukniene, MS HRD, PHR
E-Mail: coachrm@gmail.com
http://www.coachingforbestresults.com

[peteyflow]

I'm one of the account executive for this telecom company, and this economic downturn has been pushing me to drive more sales. And definitely commission is one of the big reasons why I've been helping this company to generate more revenue.

[my_misyel]

I think the best way to resolve it is to re-train your people and teach them on how to motivate themselves to get good sales.

[Mr Money Maker]

Your problem is simple.....you must respect people and realize they are not you.
Let me put it this way.....If you were an Olympic Marathon Champion, you could teach every person i the world...how to run long distance....you can teach runnning style,running stride economy,you can make them do as many miles as you do and, build their sprinting speed.....but lets face facts...talent is born....either your born to run or your not.
You can teach whatever you want and you'll still destroy your runners.......they won;t have your heart, they won't have your love for a race....and they weren't born with heart and lungs and great legs........
In other words......your looking for that 1 in a million.......and I'll tell you this, what great sales person is going to work for someone when they know....they are the reason your making money..........they can go into business for themselves...Great ones always do.....just like Olympic Champions......you can't saddle a great seller

[ZingerIntl]

Try having a "score board" in a visible place that tracks everyone's progress. Egos will kick in as nobody wants to be in plast place (and if some one is ok with being last - fire them).
Nick
TransCapital Pro

Thats how Enron did it. Weekly public toastings. mwwwuuuhahahahahaha.

Hire a manager, give this manager a profit sharing bonus system. Calculate what level you are able to take them to, and share profits over and above that. Its a motivator to actually succeed because a lot of management quality individuals (on paper) are terrible for your business as well. Remember... $12/hour will not motivate any manager that actually has skills.

[ZingerIntl]

Your problem is simple.....you must respect people and realize they are not you.
Let me put it this way.....If you were an Olympic Marathon Champion, you could teach every person i the world...how to run long distance....you can teach runnning style,running stride economy,you can make them do as many miles as you do and, build their sprinting speed.....but lets face facts...talent is born....either your born to run or your not.
You can teach whatever you want and you'll still destroy your runners.......they won;t have your heart, they won't have your love for a race....and they weren't born with heart and lungs and great legs........
In other words......your looking for that 1 in a million.......and I'll tell you this, what great sales person is going to work for someone when they know....they are the reason your making money..........they can go into business for themselves...Great ones always do.....just like Olympic Champions......you can't saddle a great seller

not so simple after all!

[UAction]

I own a service-oriented company, and I can't seem to find good salespeople at all.

It's not just the salespeople, I suppose, even the clerks I'm unsatisfied with. It's probably just my lack of management skills. My salespeople are incapable of delivering the way I want them to. I don't know what else to do. I almost despise their interactions with our clients. :T

You are right. You have too many problems with your workforce indicating a problem with your management skills. As far as the work force is concerned try and identify bad apples, these tend to spoil the entire lot. On the other hand don't expect all clerical staff and sales persons to deliver with equal felicity.
Have you ever gone of a sales call with your staff?