great question. First, a good sales leader (notice I said leader, not manager. Big difference) can easily decipher the rep making the most impact in a team selling environment. Ideally both reps kick ass. Those teams can’t be stopped. 1+1=3 in those cases. I’ve held many different roles in this industry including regional sales trainer. I traveled throughout the region and did work contacts. Man....there is a giant gap in competencies between reps within the same region, city, and even the same mirrored team. It’s obvious just by observing someone on a few calls. And it’s like that...EVERYWHERE.
Second, behind the curtain in manager meetings with their boss these things are discussed. YOU are being talked about. The better reps get bigger raises, promotions, etc....the other rep, if they aren’t meeting expectations, gets put on performance management at some point. May take up to a year to get rid of someone. Lots of documentation and phases one goes through unless a rep just steps in it and does something that allows for immediate dismissal. Sometimes reps improve and are taken off performance management. All the things that go into a field work contact that gets documented are things that help differentiate a high performer versus their mirrored counterpart. Works the other way around as well. It’s the legal way to reward someone in a mirrored territory to differentiate them.
Finally, the difference between a high caliber performer v avg and a poor performer is enormous. In sales alone it could mean up to a million dollars per territory. A poor performer can drive off high performers and be a cancer to a team. Performance management is taxing to a sales leader and diminishes their ability to invest in their producers on the team. My employer spends on average $80,000 per new hire during their on-boarding training. Mistakes are costly.
I hope that answers your question. I’ll reiterate, you can’t overpay a high performer.
Second, behind the curtain in manager meetings with their boss these things are discussed. YOU are being talked about. The better reps get bigger raises, promotions, etc....the other rep, if they aren’t meeting expectations, gets put on performance management at some point. May take up to a year to get rid of someone. Lots of documentation and phases one goes through unless a rep just steps in it and does something that allows for immediate dismissal. Sometimes reps improve and are taken off performance management. All the things that go into a field work contact that gets documented are things that help differentiate a high performer versus their mirrored counterpart. Works the other way around as well. It’s the legal way to reward someone in a mirrored territory to differentiate them.
Finally, the difference between a high caliber performer v avg and a poor performer is enormous. In sales alone it could mean up to a million dollars per territory. A poor performer can drive off high performers and be a cancer to a team. Performance management is taxing to a sales leader and diminishes their ability to invest in their producers on the team. My employer spends on average $80,000 per new hire during their on-boarding training. Mistakes are costly.
I hope that answers your question. I’ll reiterate, you can’t overpay a high performer.
