The Problem at Hand
So, your top producer just hit a slump. Got the yips. Is whiffing the ball. Whatever you like to call it, it's happening.
Not as in "lost a bunch of clients", but as in, "can't bring any new deals in".
We've all been there as sales leaders and it can be a very highly stressful situation.
Not just for the rep, but also for you, the leader. Most likely your top rep represents a high percentage of your team's overall business and the idea of your team not hitting goal numbers is keeping you up at night.
Ugh, what now?
It's natural for you to question and worry about how to handle the situation.
It's also natural for you to go to that "is my rep even TRYINGGGGG?" place. But don't…not yet.
This article will give you some insights and provide you an opportunity to quietly ponder before taking action.
Keep in mind: your reaction to the slump is fairly high stakes and will impact your long term relationship with that rep. And ultimately, to the health of your team business.
Important Note: This article specifically addresses what to do when an established, high-producing veteran slumps. If you have a newbie who is not ramping up, a middler who is struggling, or a fast-start young rep who has slumped, the leader response would be different. We will address those in future articles (sign up to get them in your inbox or keep checking back!)
So, here we go, let's take a breath and talk about this.
The LeDev Advice
The answer is a two-parter: you need to Craft Your Approach and Craft Your Plan
Crafting your Approach
I was fortunate enough to be able to work in an organization for many years that had 15% attrition rates year after year. In that particular industry it took about three years for a sales rep to build a full book of business, so a veteran was anybody who's been in the seat more than three years. Because of the low attrition rate, I had many reps that had been with the company for 5, 10, even 20 years. Such a great thing to have!
Like all good sales organizations, we spent a lot of time analyzing what a year one newbie ramp up should look like and what a good two and three year ramp up should look like. And then, of course, how a veteran in the group should perform.
One of the things we found in studying these is that the veterans tend to perform just about the same year-after-year (barring any industry shift). Now, that doesn't mean every single veteran performs the same.
What that means is:
- one year Suzie Veteran would land a great client and would have an exceptional year while Joe Veteran would have his first slump, not closing the same volume of deals, revenue dropping, a rough year.
- The next year they would flip-flop: Suzie would lose a client and need to rebuild while Joe would come back roaring and would bounce back. Over those two years, the combined revenue numbers would be the same.
With that knowledge we learned to expect our growth from our new hires, our year two's, and our year three's because we knew that our veterans would largely remain flat as a group.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying to ignore the veteran group. Not a chance.
I share all that because what we learned means something in this situation.
Leader - if you have a veteran in a slump and you address it in the right way, they will very likely get through the slump and move back to a high point.
Now, of course, that isn't always the case and we'll talk later in this article about how to determine that. But chances are quite good if handled well.
So my first piece of advice would be to start your exploration in a positive frame of mind. Assume that your veteran is in a temporary slump. Simply a few yips. Just down for the count for a little while. Fully expecting them to bounce back!
And your role is to minimize the dip and shorten the time spent in the slump.
Come at this as a coach and supporter, not an "in your face" boss. Handling it sternly at this point will not get you where you want it to go. It will make them feel unappreciated for all that they have brought to the table over the years. You will further lose engagement and any chance of getting quick momentum back.
A Cautionary Tale
I once had a 12-year veteran and top producer on my team - we'll call him Charlie. For most of those years he was in the top-five rankings, he earned President's Club every year, and he was well regarded by his peers and leaders. Overall, a valuable member of the company.
One time he hit a pretty deep slump. We weren't sure what was going on, and neither was he. We knew there were some distractions at home with his children and he seemed to not be himself. But he was showing up to work, and trying, and putting in effort every day. His leader kept an eye out but gave him some time to recoup on his own.
The slump lasted a while. After about 4 weeks the President of the division, with whom he had a long standing relationship, walked up to him and said "Charlie, I don't know what your deal is, but you need to get it together. You need to work harder. Remember how you used to work on Saturdays when you first started here? Where's that guy? You need to stop leaving at 5:30 and you need to get back to the grind." And he walked away.
His slump continued. About 2 weeks later our Group President, the division President's boss, invited Charlie out for coffee. And he sat him down and said, "Charlie, I'm concerned for you. I see your numbers are down. I'm sure this must be hard on you. Let's talk about what's happening. What do you think is going on and how can we help?" And Charlie opened up and shared his struggles. They had a dynamic dialogue - the Group President gave him a few tips, some encouragement, and helped him to feel valued. And then took him back to his desk.
As I’m sure you guessed by now, Charlie saw his way out of his slump, and then some. In fact, he moved from the #5 spot to being the #2 rep in the division and stayed there for quite some time.
He told me later in a one-on-one that when the President approached him, he was so deflated that he quit-stayed for a while. He started looking for another job. He was reaching out to friends who worked for competitors to see what they had going.
But then, when the Group President invited him to coffee, he was so moved and so thankful, he came back motivated. Because of that meeting, he re-engaged and doubled-down. He refocused, gave it his all, and brought the business back around.
The Plot Twist
What's interesting about this story - at one point over coffee the Group President said "Hey, Charlie. Do you think maybe you could be putting forth a little bit more effort?" He then sat back and patiently listened as Charlie answered the question with "yeah". So he got the same point across, but in a very different way. And he didn't leave Charlie feeling unappreciated.
With a tweak in the approach, he accomplished exactly what the President had wanted to without damaging the relationship. In fact, he strengthened it.
My message to you is start here:
When you see a veterans numbers dipping and they have you concerned,
- Ask them to go grab coffee with you
- Ask them a simple leading question
- And then patiently listen to them
- Then make a plan together
Sometimes that's all it takes for a recovery.
Crafting Your Plan
Now that you've crafted the ideal approach, let's make an action plan.
As my story above illustrated, sometimes a good heart-to-heart with some simple suggestions is all it takes.
But oftentimes you need to provide more.
One mistake I see many leaders make is assuming that their veteran reps don't need any coaching.
"Hey, Charlie, if you need me I'm over here coaching the newbie."
Big mistake.
Even your most veteran reps need ongoing coaching.
- They slip into bad habits
- They take short-cuts
- They assume that their prior failed sales attempts will never work and stop trying too soon…sometimes forever
Granted, they may not need coaching as often as your newer team members, but they still need it.
If you have been holding regular coaching sessions with your top rep, you will see the slump coming and will know how best you can help. If you haven't, then now would be the time to start up. Go do some coaching, and stat! (side note: see my "four essential touchpoints" article to review exactly what a coaching session entails)
After a few coaching sessions, look more closely at the details.
- Deep dive into all the metrics
- Not just the results, but every KPI
- Compare each metric. Specifically, before and during the slump vs. during prior successful periods
- Pro Tip: Make sure you are using trends (4-week, 8-week, 13-week) and not just short periods of time
- Look for discrepancies and investigate those specifically using observations and audits
- Once you've identified discrepancies, start observing and auditing
- Do some targeted shadowing tied to the gaps you've observed in the metrics
- Listen to recorded calls, again with a targeted goal in mind
- Role play with your rep
- Review anything else you have visibility over that could help illuminate specific gaps (CRM notes, emails, etc.)
You get the gist - take a close look to help with diagnosis, areas of correction, and suggestions for improvement.
The goal is not punitive. You are not looking for a smoking gun. The goal is to help them get back on track.
Once you have completed your review, sit down with your rep, share your observations, ask them for their thoughts, and build a recovery plan together.
The End Result
Taking these two steps will accomplish several things:
- Taking the collaborative and caring communication approach will help your rep feel valued and important
- They may be checking out, or feeling burned out, or just plain feeling ignored. Your time and attention can help rectify that
- Taking a proactive approach to build a recovery plan will help them feel empowered and confident
- It will also help with accountability. They will see that you have expectations of them as a leader, and will help better define those expectations
So, next time your top producer is in a slump, try out these two steps - they can only help!
Final Thoughts - Beyond Repair
I mentioned at the beginning of this article that this approach will most likely help get your top rep out of the slump, but it won't help them all.
Where it won't help is:
- Your rep has lost the desire to do the job and wants to make a change. Because top reps have established a stable income it's hard for them to walk away and start over. In some cases they feel trapped because they are supporting a family on that income. So they may try to hang on to the job but have lost their mojo.
- Your rep has a life change that's impacting their ability to do the job the way they used to.
Instances like this will become apparent to you when you craft your approach, and if not then, when you craft your plan. If you suspect that something like this is happening, the plan of action gets more complex. At that point I'd recommend getting your leader or HR involved to help you navigate the waters. They are quite a bit choppier!
Or, hire a sales leader coach - they can help. 