5 Reasons Even the Best Sales Teams Fail

In a recent article, sales consultant Michael Treace pointed out five common “afflictions” that hurt sales teams. According to Treace, he’s noticed these specific problems time and again throughout his career.

Below are the five “afflictions” on Treace’s list, along with our own commentary on each.

The question today’s sales managers need to ask themselves as they read through this list: “Which of these five am I guilty of … And what can I do to rectify that?”

March 22, 2011 by Bob Hill

A well-known business specialist breaks down the most common pitfalls today’s sales organizations face. 

In a recent article, sales consultant Michael Treace pointed out five common “afflictions” that hurt sales teams. According to Treace, he’s noticed these specific problems time and again throughout his career.

Below are the five “afflictions” on Treace’s list, along with our own commentary on each.

The question today’s sales managers need to ask themselves as they read through this list: “Which of these five am I guilty of … And what can I do to rectify that?”

Poor use of salespeople’s time. Time management is a major concern for sales managers, especially in cases where salespeople waste a great deal of their time trying to close stalling prospects or dealing with low-priority tasks that, while important, aren’t urgent. Perhaps the best solution is to make a list of the critical tasks salespeople are expected to complete each week.

Poor use of sales meetings. It’s amazing how many sales organizations continue to have regularly-scheduled meetings with no real agenda or outcome. Sales meetings can be incredibly beneficial, provided the manager (or moderator) knows what he/she expects salespeople to do differently as a result of the meeting and salespeople are given a clear goal to shoot for. The best question to ask yourself before each meeting: “What do I expect salespeople to do differently, and how will I gauge their effectiveness in that area?”

Poor strategy. How long has your current sales strategy been in place? How effective has the organization been at meeting each of its goals? You may want to take the most effective aspects of your overall strategy and combine them with some new tactics, provided you have specific metrics in place to gauge the overall effectiveness of new initiatives. A lot of sales managers naturally assume it’s the sales team that’s coming up short, when the real problem lies in the fact that salespeople don’t have the infrastructure they need to succeed.

Capping or killing bonuses. Nothing is more disparaging to a salesperson than finding out he/she’s no longer entitled to a bonus or commission he/she was in the past. Perhaps second to that is closing the deal of a lifetime only to find out the company has a nonsensical ceiling on commissions that forbids salespeople from getting the percentage they truly deserve. It’s worth going back to look at your comp structure to determine if there are ways to make it more effective in terms of maximizing revenue (and motivating salespeople to do so).

Playing favorites. It’s easy to get behind your sales superstar or the salesperson who follows every one of the company’s policies. But part of the job of being a manager is to remain objective and treat every salesperson with the same degree of respect. When/if salespeople feel there’s favoritism being shown, you won’t only have a morale problem on your hands, you may also have — in extreme cases — a full-blown mutiny on your hands.

Source: “Five Common Afflictions of Sales Teams,” by John R. Treace, author of the book Nuts & Bolts of Sales Management.