The root cause of many of the findings was that the sales force was NOT money motivated.  Order takers and lack of money motivation are quite the combination.  Company executives eventually learn that order takers rely on the on-going and renewal business of their existing customers. These salespeople tend to earn much more than they’re worth, develop a sense of complacency and fail to accomplish what the company needs them to do.

When the manager knows what has to be done, has the ability to do it, and there is a compelling reason to take action, that is clearly not the time for consensus building!

Never let an employee hold your growth hostage.  Never sign anyone who has yet to prove themselves in a role to a long-term contract.  Your employment agreements should specify that employees are employees at will.  Stamp out mediocrity, surround your salespeople with great sales management talent and grow the company.

In his industry, his current revenue would be mediocre at best. But what if one of your salespeople was comfortable doing half of what you needed him to do?  What if one of your salespeople reacted badly to increased expectations?  What if he couldn’t work under pressure?  What would you do?  Would you:

In addition to my Blog, I have some other resources for the sales force scattered around the internet.  Over at work.com I have written a Guide to Sales Force Development and over at Squidoo.com I created a Lens to the World of Sales and Selling.