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The Goal
Nothing can be more troubling than when one of your top producers is no longer hitting the mark. In this episode, we look at what to do when a salesperson is facing sales burnout—so you can identify what’s happening and, hopefully, get them back on track.
The goal is to figure out what to do with a consistent performer who has started to fall off—and turn them back around so they can get back to producing solid results.
Before we go further, let’s define a couple of terms.
Burnout is a psychological term for the experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest. In most cases, for salespeople, it’s the latter: diminished interest.
Let’s define burnout
You’ve probably seen this before. A salesperson who has been productive and a valuable part of your sales team for a long time suddenly starts going through the motions. It’s disturbing, to say the least. Their production falls, and the numbers you’ve counted on just aren’t coming in.
Let’s define lethargy
Lethargy is defined as the state of being lazy, sluggish, or indifferent.
Could this be the same as burnout? In some cases, yes. Whatever you call it, it comes down to the same thing: they have lost interest in the job, and their performance is suffering because something else has their attention.
The attention they once paid to the quality of their work has disappeared.
Why you can’t ignore it
If you do nothing, it may never come back—and you could lose them forever.
Your numbers go down, and you’re back to square one trying to replace another member of the team. You return to the cycle of recruiting, interviewing, and training—then you wait months to see if the new person ever reaches the level of performance you lost.
Some organizations are built to be in constant hiring mode. If that’s you, and you’re comfortable running people in and out of your organization, this may not be the right episode for you.
But if you and your organization value what a long-term employee can contribute, this is worth addressing.
Find the cause
When you tackle something like this, look for the cause first.
You’ve probably heard: don’t treat the symptoms—treat the cause. This is a perfect example. You can confront and badger someone about production, but that’s the byproduct of a bigger problem.
So find the cause. Why the falloff?
Meet with the salesperson
The first step is to meet with the person in question. If you’ve been conducting regular one-on-ones, you should already have a good relationship with them.
Your goal is to talk in a very relaxed manner and uncover any issues. Address the problem head-on with something like this:
“Thanks for meeting with me today. I didn’t want to take you out of the field, but you’ve been a very valuable member of the team. You’ve proven you have the ability to get the job done, but you’ve fallen off lately—and I wanted to know what I could do to help you get back on track.”
That’s it.
Problems like this usually have to do with something else in their life taking priority. There are several things that can cause this, such as:
- Problems in their personal life
- A problem with someone in the company
- They feel like they are not being recognized or appreciated in their current role
- They have adopted a new outlook on life and no longer want to put in the time
If they feel unappreciated or undervalued, that could be a management problem. What are you doing to make them feel that way? Was it your intent? If it wasn’t, take a hard look at how you’re conducting yourself. Maybe it’s time to improve your one-on-ones and work on building your relationship with each salesperson.
If they were passed over for a promotion or weren’t given something they felt they deserved, ask yourself how you can fix it.
Some of you may be thinking, “This sounds like their problem, and they need to learn how to deal with stuff. Most of these situations only exist in their heads.” You may be right—but their perception is their reality, and as a manager, that’s the reality you have to deal with.
If they are having problems at home or in their personal life, the only thing you can do is listen if they want to talk. There isn’t much you can do there, because you aren’t trained to handle those issues—and for the most part, what happens in their personal life isn’t your business.
Another common issue is a problem with someone inside the organization that is zapping their resolve and causing them to question why they are there. This is a big one.
The fix
Step 1: Listen
The first step is to listen.
Step 2: Take action
The next step is to take action. If it’s you—and you do want them on your team—let them know you value their contribution and ask what you can do to resolve the issue.
If you don’t want them on your team, don’t beat around the bush. Take the steps you need to get them out the door and move on.
If they’ve lost interest
If it’s a loss of interest, give them a new challenge—something else to think about in hopes it gets them moving again.
One option is to have them spend time with a newer salesperson. They have knowledge they can pass on, and at the same time, helping someone else may get them thinking differently about what they do and get them excited again.
If you can, consider giving them a new area to work. A change of scenery could help. The objective is to find a way to get them re-engaged.
Take them back to the basics
When we lose our drive—or we have something else on our minds—we all need to refocus.
You can help by taking them back to the basics. Even though they’re experienced, manage them like you would a new salesperson for a period of time.
With a new salesperson, you’re trying to help them establish a rhythm for developing new business, making calls, presenting, and closing. That’s what you need to do now with your experienced rep.
This means managing their activity more closely. For a while, you may want to call them every couple of days and ask how they’re doing. Talk to them about the day’s activity.
Have you heard the expression: don’t expect what you don’t inspect?
Perform a deep dive into their sales reports each week, and have them walk you through the activities associated with each sales activity.
Work with them to establish daily and weekly goals for themselves. Work with them because they need to take ownership of the goals. If you establish the goals for them, they often mean nothing. They may agree, and in most cases, nothing will happen.
Taking an experienced rep back to the basics is often a good way to help them get back to where they were.
It doesn’t always work. Sometimes they’re too far gone to make it back. The key is to catch it early and give it your best shot.
Conclusion
In the situation I discussed with my client, the salesperson was upset because she felt passed over when one of her accounts was given to another salesperson during a territory realignment.
I explained to my client that he was the cause of the problem—not the rep.
As a leader, you have to make decisions. Some decisions have a big effect on people, and you have to take that into account. You don’t need their blessing, but to maintain a cohesive work environment, you need to communicate effectively with everyone involved.
He didn’t think it was that big a deal because the new territory could produce the same revenue. He may be right—but her perception was that she had lost something. Her perception was that she was being shortchanged. Better communication could have avoided the situation.
So when you notice someone starting to slip, don’t wait. Talk to them immediately and see if you can get to the heart of the problem before it’s too late.
Close
I truly hope this helps you as you strive to lead your team to success.
If you have ideas or suggestions for the show—or topics you’d like me to cover—I’d love to hear from you. You can email me at feedback@salesmanagementworkshop.com.
If you have time, please leave an honest rating and review on iTunes. It helps the show and its ranking. Thanks—and I hope you enjoyed the episode.