In the world of sales, there are often no right answers. What would you do in this tough sales situation? Make the call below, and see instantly how your judgment compares. Final results will appear in LBM Journal. Be sure to check back next month for a fresh Tough Call.

Tough Call - A Maverick In No Man's Land

You’ve worked in enough companies to know how destructive it can be when salespeople are pitted against each other. When salespeople compete with each other—instead of the company across town—the result is a company culture rife with ill-will and mistrust. You swore that one day, when you were in charge, you’d make sure you had an environment that fostered cooperation, not confrontation.

Two years ago, you got your chance. Your company opened a satellite location to serve as a window/door showroom, and they put you in charge. You began setting the stage for a friendlier sales environment when interviewing potential sales people, letting them know that the team came first. True to your word, you put systems in place that encouraged results while requiring attendance at weekly sales meetings and call reports. You figured that holding everyone to the same standard would help keep everyone on the same page.

Your plan was solid for the first year or so…until you hired Sam Maverick. As the newest sales person, Sam naturally got the toughest territory. After going through seven reps in two years, you were all but convinced that the territory was a dead-end. Your other reps call the territory NML (No Man’s Land). If Sam couldn’t deliver results, you were set to pull the plug on that territory.

Determined to give Sam every chance to succeed, you cut him a little slack and let him miss an occasional sales meeting. The other reps didn’t object to Sam’s special treatment. After all, given his territory, it was highly unlikely that he’d succeed.

As it turned out, Sam didn’t merely succeed—he’s setting new records for his territory and is outselling the guys with more experience and better territories. As his sales caught fire, you further loosened the rules. Instead of attending every weekly sales meeting, Sam now averages one out of four. And instead of turning in the required call reports, Sam delivers purchase orders.

You couldn’t be happier about Sam’s performance, but his fellow sales reps now bristle at Sam’s special treatment. Of course his sales are higher, they say. While they’re at a desk filling out call reports, Sam’s writing orders. And while they’re in a company meeting, he’s meeting with clients. While you hate to admit it, they have a point. And the team atmosphere you were determined to create is crumbling.

Your challenge: rebuild the team atmosphere without squelching Sam’s sales.

What would you do?

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