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The Successful Failure
May 12, 2008

I received a phone call from a client recently. He had just fired his new rep—the one that I’d been coaching—and he wanted to thank me for my role in the killing. Don’t get me wrong: he took no pleasure in the dismissal. Far from it. He really wanted the kid work out. It’s just that it wasn’t going in the right direction and he pulled the trigger early, saving him a lot of money and frustration. Calling me was a nice gesture on his part and I appreciated it. Sales trainers don’t usually get such positive feedback. In this case, it was particularly rewarding since I had strongly recommended the rep be canned after my second phone call with him. The manager, however, didn’t feel he’d given the kid enough time and wanted to be sure. Understandable. Thus, it wasn’t until his fourth month that he canned the guy. My client used some interesting words in his call to me, “Bill, this is what you call a successful failure.” I couldn’t agree more.

Years ago I attended a Pyxis meeting at one of many NAQP Owner’s events. Russ Evans from Print Tech (Westfield, NJ) was presenting. He was talking about his company’s policies and procedures for hiring, training and managing sales people. He said, and I quote, “We generally make the thumbs up/thumbs down decision on a new rep after the first 4-5 weeks.” As usual, I was half listening (Sales + Meeting = zzzzzzz) and I immediately played the tape back in my head. Nope. It didn’t make sense, so I raised my hand and asked Russ, “Did you mean to say ‘4-5 weeks?’ I think you meant 4-5 months, right?” to which he replied, “No. I meant to say weeks. We fire new reps after 4-5 weeks if we don’t like the early signs. We didn’t always, but as we thought back the reps that didn’t work out, we knew at the 4-5 week level. We just didn’t act on it. Why wait 9+ months, bury your head in the sand, and lie to yourself about your rep’s habits and behavior? It is NOT going to change. Ever since then, we decided to act faster.”

That seminar and those words changed my thinking when it comes to sales coaching, evaluation, and trusting my instincts. How often do we meet someone, hire someone, or even going into business with them all the while ignoring your gut instinct and the obvious signs that this is not good fit (bookworms should read Malcolm Gladwell’s Bl¬ink for more information on this subject). In the case of how to handle a new hire, there are a lot of lessons here.

First, establish expectations based on activities, not volume. Tell the rep you expect him or her to send out X number of letters each week or make X number of phone calls. The goal is to establish 3-5 appointments a week. That is the volume you should be measuring in the first 60 days. Honestly, would you fire a rep that sold nothing but consistently made new business appointments? Heck no! So, keep your eyes trained on that measure of success.

Second, know the signs that your rep is struggling. It is the norm that new sales people whither with fear when things aren’t going well. They are afraid that they will be fired so they stay out of the office to make it look like they are busy. The result is a manager who sits around and asks, “Where is he?” and then assumes the worst. Emotions build based on those assumptions, and bad things happen. “My door is always open” is the second dumbest sales management phrase, just behind, “Did you sell anything today?” Instead, make your rep aware of the fact that frustration is expected. A sales rep who feels safe—even safe enough to fail—will speak openly with you, allowing for some priceless management opportunities.

Third, don’t assume anything. Ask! Meet with your rep at the beginning and end of each week for brief, “What are you doing this coming week?/Where did you go this past week? meetings. Ask questions directed towards learning more about their sales activities.

Finally, don’t wait 6+ months if you sense a bad relationship brewing. Act! If YOU are doing your job, you should see the signs early enough to save yourself a lot of money. Yes, hiring a new rep is a hassle. But your other option is to stick your head in the sand and hope the situation improves on its own. It won’t.

Within the first 4-5 weeks of a new reps’ employment, you should do the Julius Caesar thing (thumbs up, thumbs down). In the long run, you are doing the rep a favor, too.

Posted by Bill Farquharson on May 12, 2008 | Comments (2)