This document provides a 9-point checklist for improving sales force performance based on research identifying differences between high and low performers. The research analyzed salesperson characteristics like personality, motivation, and knowledge. It also examined sales activities, management, organization design, rewarding, and satisfaction. High performers tended to be more conscientious, extroverted, achievement-oriented, intrinsically motivated, and knowledgeable about markets and competition. They also worked harder, developed more opportunities, received better management and reviews, understood their roles better, and were more satisfied overall. The checklist prompts assessing these areas to optimize sales force performance.

1. How to improve your
sales force performance?
A 9 point checklist.

2. The checklist is based on
research projects trying to
identify what causes some
sales people to perform
better than others?

3. The research is based on the following
Sales Force Performance Framework

4. What causes some sales people to
perform better than others?

5. The Sales People Characteristics

6. Sales People Characteristics: Personality
EXTROVERT
Which personality
AGREABLE OPENESS
traits are
significantly different
between high and
NEUROTIC CONSCIENCOUSNESS low performers?

7. Sales People Characteristics: Personality
Let’s get this
finished!
Conscientious Sales People are
more likely to become high
performers

8. Sales People Characteristics: Personality
Extroverted Sales People are more
likely to become high performers.

9. Sales People Characteristics: Motivation
Need to
Achieve What motivational
EXRINSIC
MOTIVATION
Need for
POWER
factors significantly
underline the
difference between
INTRINSIC
MOTIVATION
NEED for
AFFILIATION
high and low
performers?

10. Sales People Characteristics: Motivation
Sales People with a high need for
achievement are more likely to
become high performers.

11. Sales People Characteristics: Motivation
Sales People who are
intrinsically motivated to
be a sales person are more
likely to become high performers.

12. Sales People Characteristics: Knowledge
PRODUCT
What types of
EXRINSIC
knowledge do high
MARKET
MOTIVATION
performers have that
is significantly
different from their
COMPETITION CUSTOMERS
low performing
colleagues?

13. Sales People Characteristics: Knowledge
Sales People who are very
knowledgeable about their market
and their direct competition, are
more likely to become high
performers.

14. The Sales Activities

15. The Sales Activities
HIGH PERFORMERS
AVERAGE PERFORMERS
LOW PERFORMERS
38 54
Working hours a week
On average, high performers work 30% longer
than their low performing colleagues.

16. The Sales Activities
High Performers are more skilled at
identifying, qualifying and developing
new business opportunities than their low
performing colleagues.

17. The Sales Management Activities

18. Sales Management: Activities
DIRECTING
Which sales
EVALUATING
And MONITORING management
REWARDING
activities are more
likely to lead to
PERFORMANCE
REVIEWING
COACHING better sales
performance?

19. Sales Management: Activities
High Performers have
more frequent and
better performance
review sessions with their
sales managers.

20. The Sales Force Design

21. The Sales Force Design: Role Ambiguity
In general, High Performers have
a better understanding of
and are more satisfied with,
their roles and functions
within the organisation than
their low performing colleagues.

22. The Sales Force Design: Role Ambiguity
In general, high performing sales
organisations invest more time
and effort into defining and
communicating the roles and
responsibilities to their sales
people than those of low performing
sales organisations.

23. The Sales Force Design: Sales Territory
High Performers are generally
more satisfied with the size,
potential and customers
within their territory than
their low performing colleagues.

24. The Organisation

25. The Organisation: Sales and Marketing Alignment
Sales and marketing departments in
high performing organisations
generally experience less friction
and are able to better coordinate
all their activities than, in low
performing organisations.

26. The Organisation: CRM Technology
Sales forces in high performing
organisations are technologically
better equipped to manage their
activities and, further to this, they
collect and use more customer
information than low performing
organisations.

27. The Organisation: Performance Management
The sales force in a high performing
organisation has more formal
performance management methods
and metrics available to them than
lower performing organisations.

28. Outcomes: Rewarding

29. Rewarding
Extrinsic
REWARDS
REWARDING
QUALITY VERSUS INTRINSIC
REWARDS
Which type of
QUANTITY
rewards are likely to
lead sales people to
REWARDING
RESULTS versus
STRETCH
TARGETS
perform better?
BEHAVIOUR

30. Rewarding: Target Setting
On or
ABOVE
TARGET
High Performing
sales organisations
BELOW
TARGET expect 90% of their
sales force to
1 10
achieve their
target.

31. Rewarding: Quality versus Quantity
High Performing sales
organisations reward
the quality of the
activities equally to
the results

32. Rewarding: Behaviour
That is a This
good IDEA! worked High Performing
for me.
sales organisations
reward team
based selling and
the exchange of
best practices.

33. Outcomes: Satisfaction

34. Outcomes: Satisfaction
Management
EVALUATION
PROCESS
REWARD
SYSTEM
What are high
performers more
satisfied with than
CUSTOMERS and
TERRITORY
ROLEs and
RESPONSIBILITIES
low performers?

35. Outcomes: Satisfaction
High performing sales
people are more satisfied
and have better relations
with their
management.

36. Outcomes: Satisfaction
High performing sales
people are more satisfied
with their role and
responsibilities.

37. Outcomes: Satisfaction
High performing sales
people are more satisfied
with their rewarding
and evaluation
process.

38. The Conclusions
9 questions
to ask yourself

39. Checklist: Sales People
1. Personality and Motivation: Do your sales people have right
profile to meet the needs of your client base?
2. Knowledge: Do your sales people have the relevant knowledge about
your markets and your competition?
3. Activities: Are your sales people working at their full potential and,
are they skilled enough at identifying and developing new business
opportunities?

40. Checklist : Management
4. Sales Management: Are you spending enough time monitoring
and discussing performance with your sales people?
5. Roles and Responsibilities: Are all the sales roles clearly defined
and further to this, have you clearly communicated specific roles and
responsibilities to all your sales people?
6. Sales Territories: Have you reviewed the potential and workload of
each of your sales people’s territory (or customer portfolio)?

41. Checklist : Organisation
7. Sales and Marketing: Are all the activities of your sales and
marketing department sufficiently aligned and coordinated?
8. CRM Technology: Do your sales people have the right technology
and customer information available to them to perform to their full
capability?
9. Performance Management: Does your organisation have formal
performance management processes and metrics in place to support
your sales people?

42. The Sales Performance Model

43. Are you interested in learning more about the model, the
research behind it and the tools available to assess your sales
force performance?
Visit my blog at: regislemmens.blogspot.com
Or contact me at: regis.lemmens@salescubes.com
graphics are designed by the JAM