No sales rep is perfect. It’s expected for them to have an occasional off week, or even a month where they don’t hit their numbers. But how do you know when these mistakes aren’t just the consequence of a rough patch and actually warrant serious consequences? There are four key performance areas you should use to evaluate if it’s time to replace a sales rep or not. Examining a sales rep’s behaviors, weekly tactics and metrics, sales process results and deal closures will help you determine if a sales has the potential to succeed, or if they need to be replaced. Although this is a very difficult decision to make, identifying and replacing these underperforming sales reps will ultimately improve profitability and team morale.
Daily Behaviors
Figuring out a sales rep’s daily behaviors will help you understand whether a sales rep has the motivation to succeed but are just falling short, or if they just aren’t putting in the effort. First of all, what is the sales rep doing on a daily basis and how are they doing it? A good sales rep should be asking questions and raising options. They should be seeking out advice to problems and coming up with solutions. Also, are they in the office early and staying late to get the job done? Is their calendar full of appointments and prospect meetings? These are the behaviors of a sales rep who wants to learn and to succeed. If the motivation is there, but they aren’t making their numbers, then there is an option to coach or retrain them until they get a better understanding of the sales process and techniques. If they don’t have the drive and aren’t making quota, then it might be time to replace the sales rep.
Weekly Tactics and Metrics
A sales rep’s tactics will give you a good idea of where their time and effort is being spent each week and what kind of return they’re getting from these efforts. How many calls are they making? How many prospects are they seeing? In other words, what do their numbers look like? A sales rep who is putting in the effort, but not getting a return, may just need coaching to improve their approach. But a sales rep who is not going out to see accounts or who is not prospecting is a sales rep who needs to be replaced.
Sales Process Results
Measuring a sales rep’s progress in moving prospects through the sales process is important when considering whether or not to replace a sales rep. If a rep is having issues, is it in generating new leads, qualifying the account, or closing deals after the presentation? A sales rep with great client relationship skills but who is having trouble closing, for example, may make a better strategic account manager than an hunting sales rep. However, if they are not generating enough leads, it may be an indicator of lack of effort and a reason for termination. At a minimum, it will help you identify where to focus your coaching efforts.
Deal Closures
The final indicator of whether to replace a sales rep comes down to deal closures. How much revenue is the sales rep achieving for your company? How does he or she compare against quota? When a sales just isn’t able to make their numbers time and time again, then it would be irresponsible not to replace them. If you’re not happy with their results, then you can never be happy with the salesperson and a change has to be made.
Evaluating a sales rep in these four areas will help you get a better understanding of whether they will be able to succeed as a sales rep at your company, or if they ultimately need to be replaced. One caveat to these four indicators is that sales reps fail mostly because of lack of sales leadership. So while you’re evaluating, be sure to assess the leadership function within your organization or take a look in the mirror to ensure you are providing an environment for the reps to succeed.
How do you know when it’s time to replace a sales rep?
