Unlock the Hidden Potential of Your Sales Force
Your average performers are worth more than you think. In our work with sales organizations, we see top and lower performing reps everyday. In fact, there is a well known "rule" describing the gap between top and lower performing sales reps. This "rule," the "80-20 rule," refers to the fact that in most sales organizations, 20 percent of the salespeople produce 80 percent of the revenue
This "rule" is so accepted within sales that many organizations just accept it, trying to hire as many top performers as possible and doing little to leverage their existing above average and average performers. But other studies say only 10 percent of salespeople are exceptional. Organizations simply cannot afford to rely on 10 percent of their sales force and not fully leverage the other 80-90 percent.
What if you could replicate your top performers or at least considerably narrow the gap between your top performers and everyone else? What would it mean to your company's bottom line if each and every average performer increased his revenue by 30 percent?
In fact, a 2003 study called "Shifting the Performance Curve" by the Sales Executive Council Corporate Executive Board, found that a 5 percent performance gain from the middle 60 percent of average sales forces would yield 70 percent more revenue than a 5 percent shift from the top 10 percent of the sales force. The bottom line? Average performers represent the largest part of the sales force—and they have the greatest potential for performance improvement and for improving the bottom line.
Throw out the "80-20 Rule"
To harness the potential of your entire sales force and throw out the "80-20 rule," organizations must do more than bring a sales training guru in, give reps a sales account planning tool, or just follow the old standby—more pressure. They have to figure out what makes their most successful people so successful and put everyone on that road map to success. They have to ensure that everyone has the supports they need to be as successful as possible and that all obstacles blocking people's success are removed. This roadmap to success includes the following four key elements:
1. A very specific and objective definition of what top performers do to achieve the results that they do, including measurable guideposts and milestones for each stage of the sales process that every salesperson can follow and managers can easily track and coach to.
2. An assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of individual sales representatives measured against top performance standards.
3. A sales blueprint for success identifying the supports required to build, enable and sustain excellent performance over time and across the sales force as well the obstacles that are currently obstructing excellent performance.
4. A management execution plan outlining measurable and specific goals of the program that link directly to the goals for the organization (for example: a 20 percent increase in revenue attainment from average performers), how the road map to success program will be implemented and by who, as well as how the results will be tracked and measured who against organizational goals. This step is the most important step, but is often overlooked. People assume results. But, with regards to sales performance improvement programs—execution, measurements, and tracking are the weakest links.
Prioritizing Performers
Your top performers are incredibly valuable and should be recruited, developed and retained, but just by their sheer number, average performers represent the greatest potential for improving the bottom line of organizations. There will always be the naturals, but the gap between those people and everyone else can be narrowed considerably, enabling higher level, consistent sales performance from all levels of a sales organization.
The sales organizations that take the time to define, coach and develop and maintain a roadmap to success that guides and focuses everyone on repeatable and measurable success milestones will be rewarded many times over by the positive impact a little investment in the middle can have on their bottom line.
Tina Teodorescu (tina@competencesystems.com) is president of Competence Systems. Randy Lipson(randy@competencesystems.com) is a principal for the company. Competence Systems is a sales management and performance consulting firm that helps sales executives replicate top-performing sales reps, decrease variability in sales performance over time and across sales reps, accurately track and predict sales results, and increase the ROI received from sales training and tools.
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