Why You Should Consider Laying off 20 % of your Salespeople Every Year
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Before you bite my finger off based upon the title , just look to where it ’ s pointing . The biggest issue I see in the workplace by far is a lack of accountability . Similarly , the biggest issue I see in sales forces is letting salespeople stay on the payroll while doing close to zero , or in some cases , while even losing the company business . I ’ m not talking about nonproduction over a period of days , weeks , or even months , I ’ m talking years in many cases . This absolutely needs to be addressed if you are going to be a highly successful sales organization . In one case an insurance agent was on the payroll for seven years with almost no production the entire time because he was a friend of the agency owner . In another case I saw a salesperson do virtually no business for over three years yet stay employed because the owner needed to “ save this person and his family .” Non-productive salespeople are killing your business , not only in salaries and related items , but also by dragging down everyone around them . You are also hurting , not helping them , by keeping them around . So if you are one of those who keeps people around much longer than you should , or you ’ re wondering why motivation and morale are lacking in your office , read on .
1 ) The bottom 20 % are causing 80 % of your headaches and problems . They are also the biggest drain on your time , money , and resources while bringing in only about 2 % of your business . In insurance agencies I see the bottom 20 % continually go back and argue and fight with office staff over taking a second look at less-than-desirable business and bad risks because they have no other business
by john chapin
prospects . I see this same 20 % call underwriters at insurance companies and waste hours of their time trying to push through miniscule , risky business opportunities , so they can get a measly little sale . These people sap energy , dampen enthusiasm , and kill morale within the office , not to mention your bottom line . These people are your business dragnet and they are hurting all involved including customers , prospects , other employees , vendors , you , and even themselves and their families .
2 ) By keeping the 20 % you are actually hurting , not helping them . It baffles me when someone keeps a person in a job that they obviously are not cut out for , that they perform horribly at , and one in which they do not like , but I see it all the time for a myriad of reasons . I once had a business owner tell me , “ I can ’ t get rid of this person , he is married and has three kids .” The employee he was referring to had recently missed two mandatory sales meetings because he was traveling with his family two States away to check out , and subsequently purchase , a $ 600 puppy . The next time the owner uses that excuse , he ’ ll have to add the “ new puppy ” in after the three kids . Here is a struggling salesperson , who has no qualms about taking on another mouth to feed , and yet the owner feels more responsible for the salesperson ’ s family than he does .
While the owner is under the delusion that he is somehow “ saving ” this person , in reality he is squashing his future possibilities for success along with his confidence and self-esteem . It ’ s impossible to be in a job that you don ’ t do well , and that you aren ’ t cut out for , and feel good
10 KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER | MAY - JUNE 2016 |