Five Most Common Complaints About the Sales Team – Part Five

Five Most Common Complaints About the Sales Team – Part Five

As the final installment in my series regarding the most common complaints I hear about the sales team, I have saved my personal favorite for last.  “My salespeople can’t close.”  I hear this a LOT.  Many times this statement is followed by some other comment such as “Can’t you teach them some closing tips?  They just don’t seem to know what to say.”

It really isn’t that easy, although there are others out there that will tell you that it is.  It isn’t, because frequently the fact that they can’t or don’t close is merely a symptom of some other lurking problem, […]

Five Most Common Complaints About the Sales Team – Part Four

Five Most Common Complaints About the Sales Team – Part Four

#4 Salespeople Who Fight for the Wrong Deal

As fourth in a series, I will discuss today another one of the five most common complaints about the sales team.  Today’s article is focused on those salespeople who try to get every deal done and fight for the ones that don’t fit.  I hear this complaint frequently and sometimes it even ends up with the sales manager or president just giving in and letting the salesperson do the deal, even when it isn’t the kind of business they really want.  Then there is frustration about the salesperson and the time they waste […]

Five Most Common Complaints About the Sales Team – Part Three

Five Most Common Complaints About the Sales Team – Part Three

#3 They Aren’t Who They Appeared To Be in the Interview

The third biggest complaint I hear from business owners and sales managers about salespeople is that they aren’t who they appeared to be in the interview.  If you hire the wrong person it is your fault not theirs.  Everybody is going to be on their best behavior in the interview.  Any salesperson with an ounce of skill will probably try to bond with you so you like them.  The good news is that this problem is totally fixable.  But the problem lies with you as previously stated.  Frequently we see […]

Five Most Common Complaints About the Sales Team – Part Two

Five Most Common Complaints About the Sales Team – Part Two

#2 They Wait for the Phone to Ring

This is the second in a five-part series discussing the 5 most common complaints I hear from business owners and sales team leaders.  Read the first installment here.  If you have been in business for more than five or six years then you may remember a time when the phone rang and you had enough or more business than your salespeople could handle.  Since the economic downturn began several years ago, that dynamic has shifted to the point where most salespeople need to actually proactively generate some of their own business.  […]