Two photographers were following a pride of lions, when one of the lions spotted them and started towards them. One of the photographers started putting on his running shoes. The other turned to him and said ‘You’ll never outrun that lion’. The first smiled and replied ‘I don’t have to, I just have to outrun you’.
This is a humorous joke which many of you will have heard, however it can be reflected in sales teams. We’ve all seen leaderboards used in sales to measure results and incite competition (and often with some embarrassment/shame as a by-product).
What it doesn’t show you is whether your top sales people are performing at their best, or are just better than those below them. Like most things at life, it is easy for sales people to fall in to the trap of ‘doing enough’. To be better than others.
As a sales leader, you need to ask:
Are my top sales people operating at their best or are doing just enough to be better than the rest?
It is your job to make them the best they can be. Help them get ensure your sales results are achieved as, currently, these are the ones delivering your results. A dip in their results affects the team results, your results.
It is easy to ignore your top sales people and just give them praise and focus your efforts on the performance of the bottom.
If the top 20% produce 80% of your results – how should you spread your time?
Sales Deconstructed 