Owners, Are You Making This Mistake with Your New Sales Rep?

I was coaching a sales rep from California years ago. She was doing her best to create new business opportunities while suffering her boss’ pressure-packed management style.

He wanted success and he wanted it now.

One of the verticals the rep focused on was trade shows, an area where she had some experience, having spent years as an event planner. Partly because of the typical sales cycle and partly because trade shows are often well in the future, her selling efforts in this area did not yield much initially.

Ditto for her other activity.

Finally, six months after the rep was hired, she was let go.

Six months.

Six.

Could you imagine sticking a tomato seed in the ground and then standing over it one week later, disappointed it hadn’t produced any fruit yet (yes, tomatoes are fruit)? Of course not. You need to be patient.

You need to be patient.

Patient.

The biggest mistake I see with owners is just that, a lack of financial patience. It will take a minimum of 18 months for your rep’s sales to reach a point where they are paying for themselves.

If you don’t like what you see in the first 30 days, take action. But if you like what you see; if activities are turning into opportunities and you decide to stick it out, then buckle down be supportive, and take your finger off the kill button, Dr. Evil.

Also, if you want your rep to succeed faster, enroll him or her into the Sales Vault. Go to SalesVault.pro or call Bill Farquharson at 781-934-7036