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 - Dealing With Deception

Looking back, 2008 wasn’t your favorite year. Sales were down significantly and a couple of major builder customers closed their doors. Both had a serious negative impact on your financial performance, but your least favorite part of 2008 centered around your top sales rep, Jim Judas.

Jim joined your company in the mid 1990s. A former builder with a drive to succeed and a winning personality, it didn’t take long for Jim to become a top performer. His sales—and income—climbed steadily, before exploding during the prolonged building boom earlier this decade. Jim became known as Diamond Jim when he moved his family into a beautiful new home, bought matching Lexuses for himself and his wife, and showered his kids with expensive gifts. Jim’s talents, turbocharged by a booming housing market, catapulted the Judas family into ever higher income brackets.

Then the bubble burst. The housing market crashed—and Jim’s bread-andbutter clients, aggressive production builders—took the biggest hit. Since others at your company earned more modest incomes, it was Jim who had the farthest to fall. Suddenly, his income collapsed, sinking from healthy six figures to low/mid five figures.

Unbeknownst to you, while still on your payroll, and while still enjoying full benefits, Jim was also working full time for an investment management firm. It wasn’t tough to pull off; as an outside salesperson with a large territory, he was seldom in the office anyway. You’ll never forget the day you learned about it. A friend of a friend recommended his new investment advisor Jim Judas. It couldn’t be the same Jim, you thought. Until you dialed the number, and were horrified when your Jim picked up the phone.

Jim was just as horrified when he heard your voice. He apologized, said he’d quit the investment firm immediately, and insisted that he had a good explanation.

Your impulse was to fire him on the spot, but this was a decision for the owner.

In your weekly meeting with the owner, which included the latest, everweaker sales figures, you shared Jim’s deception. The owner told you to handle the situation as you thought best, so you called Jim and terminated his employment.

Word spread through the staff about the situation, and his former co-workers were angry and hurt, and were glad that you let him go. When you distributed his accounts to the remaining salespeople, they were grateful and assured you they’d replace his numbers. That should have been the end of it.

However, while you were meeting with your staff, Jim was meeting with the owner. He explained the financial pressures he was under, and said that he couldn’t let his family suffer financial ruin. Jim acknowledged that he had taken a fulltime position as an investment advisor, but assured the owner that he was still managing to service clients. He apologized profusely, and begged for another chance.

And that’s when your phone rang, and the owner dropped the bomb: she hired Jim back, and Jim was on his way to the yard right now. The owner explained that Jim was the top producer, and the company needed his sales if it was to pull through. While you realized that Jim had been a key player, you were confident that others could pick up the slack. Plus, after telling you to do what you thought best, and after you announced Jim’s firing to the staff and distributed all of his accounts, the owner overruled you and made you appear powerless to Jim and the rest of your staff. What would you do?

GOT A TOUGH CALL OF YOUR OWN? Send it to Rick@LBMJournal.com. If we publish your Tough Call, you'll win a free LBM Journal shirt. And don't forget: there's a new Tough Call each month: check the back page of LBM Journal or come back to www.LBMJournal.com next month for a fresh challenge. If you don't get LBM Journal, subscribe today! It's free for qualified subscribers.