As an inside sales rep responsible for current clients in a growing medical device company, Diane was one of my top performers.

Because of her solid performance, I promoted her to a tele-sales position where the majority of work was outbound to new prospects. Although initially excited, her enthusiasm waned as her numbers slipped lower and lower.

Each time we talked about her performance, she vowed to improve.

However, nothing happened.

In a desperate “heart-to-heart” talk, she admitted that she was petrified to talk to “strangers”, people who had never heard of the company or of her. We both realized that there were two options. Either “demote” her to her previous position or figure out a way for her to be successful based on how she was wired.

As we talked further, Diane admitted that she enjoyed “following up”. Therefore, we designed a creative, eye-catching mailer wrapped around a lemon theme. Now, when Diane placed her follow up calls, she introduced herself as “the lemon lady.” Prospects loved it, accepted her calls, and her numbers started to climb once again.

Learn how your people are wired so that you can maximize both their job satisfaction as well as their job results. Then you can tap the strengths of both the individual and the team, creating synergistic results.

There are numerous assessment tools that help you get a better understanding on the natural gifts and talents of your people. As a sales manager, know how your people are wired so that you tap the strengths of both the individual and the team.

Management Question: What steps have you taken to better understand the strengths of those on your sales team?

 

 

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