The document discusses common reasons why sales performance improvement attempts may fail, including: 1) Underperforming sales reps dragging down the team's performance are not being cycled out. 2) The sales team lacks proper training and occasional refreshers. 3) The sales team is unmotivated or has low morale, possibly due to lack of coaching or tension between teams. 4) The sales team is not held accountable for following up with prospects.

1. Why DidYour Attempt to Improve
Sales Performance Crash and Burn?

2. You had a very specific number in your head, and so did
your sales reps. Everyone on your team knew what the
sales goal was and was working toward it, prospect by
prospect. So, why did your attempt to increase sales
performance fail?

3. Like a weight strapped to your sales team’s ankle, the
underperforming 20% drags down everything your high
performers and company achieves. From low morale to
decreased revenue, your bottom performers bring a sales
leader’s worst nightmares to life.
You’re not cycling out bottom performers.

4. Training sets the structure for your team and the pace
for what they are able to do.Without training and
occasional refreshers, your sales team could be
operating on false or outdated information that they
could then pass on to other reps and customers.
Your team lacks proper training.

5. Whether it’s a lack of motivation or low morale, the result
looks similar: sales reps who appear defeated, do the bare
minimum, or take too many sick days. Unmotivated sales reps
may be causing a drop in team morale, or it could be linked to
culture, tension between sales and marketing or lack of
coaching with leadership.
Your team is unmotivated or demoralized.

6. Tracking follow ups comes in two forms – automatically through a CRM solution and the
sales process. Does your company have both? If not, your sales reps may be using a
notebook to manage follow ups, a tragic image that leads to tragic results. Without a way
to hold yourself accountable for monitoring follow ups or a procedure for reps to contact
prospects again, it’s safe to say that follow ups aren’t happening.
They aren’t held accountable for follow ups.

7. Your team’s sales funnel shouldn’t be filled with “prospects” with no need for your product.
When sales reps can’t access data on target customers, they sell to anyone listening. As a
result, the sales funnel bloats at the top with unqualified leads. Your reps may not be getting
the right leads from marketing, or it could be a matter of withheld data.
They need better prospect data to succeed.

8. When your sales reps make first contact with a prospect, how
many will follow up with that prospect again? A National Sales
Executive Association study says that the answer might be 48%.
In a sales world where 80% of contracts are drawn up between
5-12 contacts, your sales people need to be following up with
every prospect more than once.
They aren’t following up with prospects.

9. Poor sales performance didn’t happen overnight, so it probably won’t be solved
overnight either. But don’t worry.These six reasons may give you a leg up on boosting
sales performance on the next turn.
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