There is a sales rep on your sales team I’ll call Joe. Joe doesn’t pull his weight because, after all, he’s been with the company forever. He has the juiciest accounts and no one better touch them. He doesn’t work his accounts, but leadership justifies Joe’s behavior with the alternative – Joe leaving and taking the accounts with him. Joe has an attitude issue and is negative all the time – but everyone works around it because he’s Joe.
Just like people in a bad marriage stay together “for the kids”, many company leaders will keep a sales rep because they think it is better than the alternative.
That’s what 83 executives from many industries around the world reported as their daily cost to their company in dealing with various staffing issues in Stop Spending, Start Managing: Strategies to Transform Wasteful Habits by Menon and Thompson.
In the case of a bad sales hire, I think the cost COULD EASILY be multiple millions of dollars and here’s why:
Is your company worried that Joe will take your / “his” clients away if he leaves and goes to a competitor? If so, YOU as leadership need to be in front of all your larger customers to ensure that Joe is not the only face clients know in addition to account management or service. Note that this issue has nothing to do with sales reps not doing their job – this is a leadership issue and strategy issue for your company.
In addition to the cost of keeping Joe, there are MORE costs incurring with poor sales team members:
In the end, sales leadership may have even become uninspiring because of guys like Joe, which also adds to your big costs.
What if you have more than one Joe? There is NO question, the costs for a bad sales hire are HUGE. Do you have a couple million dollars extra in your sales budget for these types of characters?
Work to build your bench of sales talent just like the top sports teams do. No one shines forever. If your sellers are not coachable, trainable, optimistic, and with a high sales DNA, you are leaving money on the table and in the case of Joe, LOSING millions.
Contact us if you want to learn about Sales DNA, the 21 competencies for top sellers, or the 21 competencies of top sales leaders. No strings attached. We want you to make 2017 your best sales year and do to this, you may need to reimagine your sales team and sales leadership.
Lori Richardson helps mid-sized companies grow revenues by solving key issues in their sales department - like recruiting, retention, diversity hiring, process, pipeline and leadership. She speaks at CEO groups on topics of sales growth. Clients include companies in the technology, telecom, manufacturing, distribution, and professional services industries. Subscribe to the award-winning blog, follow her on Twitter
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Lori Richardson is Founder & CEO of Score More Sales, a top B2B sales strategy firm helping mid-sized companies grow revenues by solving key sales issues - like recruiting, retention, building an inclusive sales team, process, pipeline, and leadership. Lori is also the President of Women Sales Pros - a community created to increase the number of women in sales, as well as in AI-powered and sales leadership roles. She speaks to CEOs on topics such as sales growth, the power of mindset, and the importance and value of a strong sales culture. Clients include companies in the technology, telecom, manufacturing, distribution, and professional services industries. Salesforce named Lori a Top Sales Influencer in 2021 - 2025. Lori has been named a top sales influencer over the years by LinkedIn, as well as many other companies and organizations. Her book, She Sells, is on hiring more women for B2B sales roles. Subscribe to the award-winning blog, follow her on Instagram, X, and LinkedIn.
A Sales ScoreCard measures the whole sales organization and shows you where the revenue gap actually is.