As a sales trainer I go into many companies to work with their sales teams. I’m rarely called in when things are stellar but rather when there is a problem or at least a perceived problem. Sales aren’t coming in, reps aren’t prospecting, no one can close…you get the picture. Before I do anything or make suggestions I perform a needs assessment and frequently the results are very revealing.

What it comes down to is that it’s not the sales reps after all. Here’s what I mean:

• The reps don’t have any marketing initiatives to support their sales efforts. In effect, they are going into the (sales) wold naked.
• They haven’t been trained…at all. The firm follows the osmosis model meaning that some of them will get it and some of them will not. I guess you can also say it is “survival of the fittest.”
• Motivation, what’s that? The firm believes that all motivation must come from within and who are we to provide more than just the most basic encouragement.
• The sales compensation plan doesn’t support the sales efforts that the company would like to see and so the results simply don’t get accomplished.
• The sales rep is wrong for the position. Sure they may like to sell but their skill set is in consultative sales. Transactional, not so much and their results show the disconnect.

The list goes on but I’m sure that you get the picture.

If you’re reading this and you own a company or are involved in sales management in any manner then take a look in the mirror and do a deep dive into what may be causing the challenges that you are having with specific sales reps.

What you may learn is that maybe it isn’t the sales rep after all.