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 - Too Many Homerun Hitters?

Replacing your mediocre reps with heavy-hitters from out-of-business competitors has created an internal mess.

As a seasoned sales manager, you’d come to accept the frustrating fact that you’d never have an entire sales force comprised of home-run hitters. It seemed that regardless how you worked to tweak your team, there’d always be a few salespeople who were content to be order-takers. It was a reality you weren’t happy with, but one that you chose to accept.

Then came 2008 and the great recession.

Despite dismal sales, your company had sufficient reserves to weather the storm.

Two of your four competitors weren’t so fortunate. When they closed their doors, you saw the opportunity to ratchet up the caliber of your sales force. To do so would mean letting people go, which is never easy to do—but this was a chance you just couldn’t pass up. Thanks to decisive action and aggressive commission plans, you snapped up three homerun hitters and said goodbye to your three lowest performers.

It’s the start of a fresh year. Business is still down, but you’re starting to see some green shoots in the local economy. With five outside sales people—all five homerun hitters—and the financial reserves to tough it out until solid business returns, you and your company appear to be in an enviable position. But, as is so often the case, appearances can be deceiving. In fact, for the first time you understand what people mean when they say, “be careful what you wish for…you just might get it.” Here’s the situation. The two salespeople who remain on your staff were accustomed to working together to decide who would call on which prospect. With a long history of working together, the mutual trust they’d established helped them avoid fighting over accounts. After All, there was plenty to go around. And the other three sales guys were happy to help out with the more mundane parts of servicing the accounts.

By replacing three order-takers with three high-caliber reps, the balance and harmony that existed before has been shattered.

Naturally, each of the three new reps is anxious to make their mark with their new employer, and each is aggressively pursuing new business. This is creating serious friction among the members of your sales team.

Plus, each one has loyal relationships with builder and remodeler clients. You were well aware of this loyalty factor, and saw it as a huge benefit to your company.

But what you didn’t foresee was the reality the conflict that this would create among your own reps. Suddenly, instead Of competing with reps from competing yards, you’ve created a scenario in which your reps are competing against each other.

A key complicating factor: top sales reps tend to be somewhat hard to manage.

They’re used to doing whatever it takes to make the sale—even if that means bending some rules and stepping on some toes.

Yours are no exception.

It’s clear that this situation isn’t going to work itself out. It’s not at a crisis point yet, but unless you come up with a solution, that’s exactly where it’s headed.

You’re beginning to question the wisdom of having only homerun hitters on your team—but you can’t turn the clock back.

What would you do?

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