Terminating employees is probably the most difficult task a manager faces, and it can be even harder with salespeople. Most other employees are terminated for bad things they did, but salespeople are usually let go because of good things they didn’t do. Namely, close sales. So. deciding whether to terminate a salesperson can be difficult because there is always the thought of what they may do next month.
When you end up in this scenario in which the numbers support termination, but your gut is hesitant to pull the trigger because “you never know”, try this simple idea…
Choose the best answer below to this question: If the salesperson in question resigns tomorrow, how would you feel?
- Stressed and anxious
- Slightly disappointed
- Neutral – no real emotion
- Somewhat happy
- Relieved and exhilarated
If you answered Number 5, then strongly consider termination. Answers 2 – 4 signal that you should evaluate their performance and activity, and develop a plan to coach them to success.
For the record, we’re not human resources experts, but I have run through this scenario dozens (maybe hundreds) of times with sales managers and salespeople. Virtually every time, answering Number 5meant that the manager was holding on for an empty reason.
