If you are the ‘sales boss’ in your business (whether you are the business-owner or an employed manager) you owe it to your sales staff to maintain a schedule of regular performance review discussions in regard to their sales activities and results. This applies whether you have a sales staff of one or many.
Unfortunately, there are plenty of opportunities for mistake-making when conducting review discussions – so here are a few ‘do’s and don’ts’.
Do conduct your review discussions regularly and at appropriate intervals. This may mean that you have a review discussion with your experienced salespeople every three months. For a salesperson who is in the intermediate stages of development your review discussions may be conducted on a monthly basis. For an absolute beginner you may conduct review discussions weekly.
If you don’t conduct review discussions on a regular basis you will probably fall for the trap of ‘reviewing' only when the news is bad. This is not smart because it puts these discussions in a negative light.
Do have your salespeople do some preparatory work before the review discussion. In my view the best way to do this is to provide them with a self-analysis questionnaire. This questionnaire should, as a minimum, invite them to (a) comment on their own performance (b) nominate any areas where they have experienced difficulty and (c) give them the opportunity to point out actions they, or you, could take to help them improve their performance. This questionnaire can then be used as the backbone of the review discussion.
Do be prepared yourself. You will almost certainly have points you want to raise. Have these points prepared, with any backup data at hand so you can access it quickly if it’s required.
Do be open-minded and encourage two-way communication. Because you have done your preparation you may be tempted to speak but not listen. You must listen to your salesperson out of respect. Also, they may have an idea that could make a significant difference to the business (but, they will offer their ideas only if they believe they will be listened to with an open mind).
Don’t let the review discussion become an ear-bashing. This generally happens when ‘reviewing' a salesperson’s performance when that performance is below standard.
A properly conducted review discussion with such a salesperson can often uncover barriers to that person’s performance. Other times it can uncover that salesperson’s motivational buttons.
However, neither of these things will happen if the boss doesn’t ask the right questions and quietly listen to the answers.
Do be balanced in your comments. Rarely is the news all bad or all good. Deal with any ‘bad news’ aspects in an open manner. When dealing with bad news items, stick to the facts and try to point your salesperson in the direction that you want them to go.
As far as ‘good news’ items are concerned; highlight them. If praise is deserved, make sure that you give it. (Praise is like fertiliser for salespeople in that it helps them grow. Also, like fertilising, it can be overdone, so keep it sincere.)
Don’t cross the line and get too personal. The purpose of the discussion is to (a) review progress (b) identify areas where changes are necessary or additional help, training and support is required and (c) reach agreement on actions to be taken. This requires focus on the facts not the person.
Don’t make threats. If the performance of the salesperson is such that you are tempted to threaten them this sort of discussion is the wrong forum. Perhaps you should get your HR advisor involved and conduct a formal warning meeting.
Do follow-up in writing. This makes follow-though easier and helps make the next review discussion with the individual more meaningful. The written follow-up should be in the form of a letter from you to your salesperson. It is not a formal record but simply a summary of the key points discussed and any actions agreed upon by either party. The tone should be friendly and supportive; and it must finish on a positive note.
Do follow through on agreed actions (both your own and your salesperson’s). If you have undertaken to do certain things as a result of the review discussion, do them in a timely fashion. If your salesperson has undertaken to do certain things, make sure that they also keep to their side of the agreement.
Don’t try to save time by reviewing your salespeople in groups. To do so is disrespectful to your people and will certainly result in the laundering of comments by them. Let’s face it, an individual is unlikely to be totally open and unguarded if forced to discuss their own performance in front of their peers.
Summary
Preparing for, conducting and following through on review discussions requires the investment of time and effort. If you can accept the challenge of making that investment you can expect to receive some considerable benefits.
These include a better relationship with your salespeople; plus a better understanding of them and their motivators as well as their needs in terms of training and support. They will gain a clearer understanding of your expectations.
This, in turn, can only lead to a better business environment and better sales results.
(The up-coming post for Monday 16/2 is Let's beat that sales budget. It's about actions that you can take to ensure that you achieve, or exceed, your sales budget.)
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