don’t have as much ownership of the customers as either you or they think they have. If your company has a good reputation, services the customers well and have practiced tier level team selling, your risk of losing business by terminating this type of sales person is minimal.

Doing nothing is not an option

Allowing this type of behavior with no consequence sends the wrong message and it also gives permission to others that if they were that good at putting up

Handling sales people that can put up the numbers but break every rule in the book, someone that can’t get along with their peers and someone that drives inside sales people crazy can be very challenging for a sales manager. This will create a situation that ultimately will affect overall company performance regardless of this sales person’s individual success. This is especially true if this sales person holds the sales manager hostage knowing his numbers help keep corporate off the sales managers back.

Do you pay the ransom?

This type of sales person knows the score and generally uses it to their advantage. The only way to handle a situation like this is to call the bluff. But it must be done in a calculated way by using objective numbers to your advantage. The first step is to determine if this sales person is really responsible for the sales performance or are they just a member of the “Lucky Territory Club.” The second question relates to the true potential of the territory this sales person is assigned to. Are they maximizing market share growth and profitability? In other words, their performance may look good based on the goals set but are those goals too low and do they reflect the real potential that territory represents. Consider doing a fair share analysis for this territory. (E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com for a sample Fair Share Analysis)

What’s the root cause?

The next action is to step back and try to examine the situation from an outside perspective. Seek help from your mentor, your boss or even human resources. This type of situation doesn’t happen over night. Reexamine your culture, your management style and the accountability of the organization. Is this type of behavior common place? Has it been tolerated before? Have you as the sales manager set precedent in the past?

In today’s environment Lone Wolf sales people generally don’t have as much ownership of the customers as either you or they think they have. If your company has a good reputation, services the customers well and have practiced tier level team selling, your risk of losing business by terminating this type of sales person is minimal.

Doing nothing is not an option

Allowing this type of behavior with no consequence sends the wrong message and it also gives permission to others that if they were that good at putting up

rate off the sales managers back.

Do you pay the ransom?

This type of sales person knows the score and generally uses it to their advantage. The only way to handle a situation like this is to call the bluff. But it must be done in a calculated way by using objective numbers to your advantage. The first step is to determine if this sales person is really responsible for the sales performance or are they just a member of the “Lucky Territory Club.” The second question relates to the true potential of the territory this sales person is assigned to. Are they maximizing market share growth and profitability? In other words, their performance may look good based on the goals set but are those goals too low and do they reflect the real potential that territory represents. Consider doing a fair share analysis for this territory. (E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com for a sample Fair Share Analysis)

What’s the root cause?

The next action is to step back and try to examine the situation from an outside perspective. Seek help from your mentor, your boss or even human resources. This type of situation doesn’t happen over night. Reexamine your culture, your management style and the accountability of the organization. Is this type of behavior common place? Has it been tolerated before? Have you as the sales manager set precedent in the past?

In today’s environment Lone Wolf sales people generally don’t have as much ownership of the customers as either you or they think they have. If your company has a good reputation, services the customers well and have practiced tier level team selling, your risk of losing business by terminating this type of sales person is minimal.

Doing nothing is not an option

Allowing this type of behavior with no consequence sends the wrong message and it also gives permission to others that if they were that good at putting up

stion relates to the true potential of the territory this sales person is assigned to. Are they maximizing market share growth and profitability? In other words, their performance may look good based on the goals set but are those goals too low and do they reflect the real potential that territory represents. Consider doing a fair share analysis for this territory. (E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com for a sample Fair Share Analysis)

What’s the root cause?

The next action is to step back and try to examine the situation from an outside perspective. Seek help from your mentor, your boss or even human resources. This type of situation doesn’t happen over night. Reexamine your culture, your management style and the accountability of the organization. Is this type of behavior common place? Has it been tolerated before? Have you as the sales manager set precedent in the past?

In today’s environment Lone Wolf sales people generally don’t have as much ownership of the customers as either you or they think they have. If your company has a good reputation, services the customers well and have practiced tier level team selling, your risk of losing business by terminating this type of sales person is minimal.

Doing nothing is not an option

Allowing this type of behavior with no consequence sends the wrong message and it also gives permission to others that if they were that good at putting up

action is to step back and try to examine the situation from an outside perspective. Seek help from your mentor, your boss or even human resources. This type of situation doesn’t happen over night. Reexamine your culture, your management style and the accountability of the organization. Is this type of behavior common place? Has it been tolerated before? Have you as the sales manager set precedent in the past?

In today’s environment Lone Wolf sales people generally don’t have as much ownership of the customers as either you or they think they have. If your company has a good reputation, services the customers well and have practiced tier level team selling, your risk of losing business by terminating this type of sales person is minimal.

Doing nothing is not an option

Allowing this type of behavior with no consequence sends the wrong message and it also gives permission to others that if they were that good at putting up

don’t have as much ownership of the customers as either you or they think they have. If your company has a good reputation, services the customers well and have practiced tier level team selling, your risk of losing business by terminating this type of sales person is minimal.

Doing nothing is not an option

Allowing this type of behavior with no consequence sends the wrong message and it also gives permission to others that if they were that good at putting up numbers for the company they could do anything they want. Once you look at it from an outside perspective and see if the company has had complicity in the situation, then it is good to do a little self analysis to see if "you" have complicity in the situation. Frankly, in a situation such as this it is highly unlikely that the sales manager is not responsible for allowing this to happen. It is not about accepting this behavior, which is wrong; however, if the sales manager had reacted at the first sign of this type of behavior, this would never have happened. The solution, whichever one you choose, will likely involve improving the personal skill sets of the sales manager and creating boundaries for the sales team. Without establishing boundaries the situation will repeat itself.

The Solutions ---- Termination, coach, mentor or train?

This type of situation with an employee has limited options; we can either fire or teach. If an employee’s performance is not what is expected, it generally can be traced to a lack of training or they lack competency. However, if their performance deficiency is related to attitude (their numbers are good) we must consider the following:

• Is this employee motivated to learn and change
• Do you have the time and resources available to invest in behavior modification
• Is this employee worth the investment

If the answer is no to any of these questions --- Terminate

If the answer to these questions is yes --- a personalized coaching and mentoring process must be established with clear ground rules and timelines for acceptable improvements.

The biggest issue is that of motivation to change. Often times a Lone Wolf will not feel the threat of what can happen to them. As a result they don’t cooperate and work on changing their behavior. They have become complacent, arrogant and live in a comfort zone.