By Adam Vortherms
As a Sales Manager or HR Manager charged with providing performance reviews of your sales professionals, your reps are counting on you to conduct a fair, thoughtful, and helpful analysis of their work. From recognizing strengths, to providing constructive criticism, Sales Managers and HR Managers need to know how to conduct sales rep reviews that will leave team members encouraged and inspired to continually improve.
The following best practices should be used by Sales Managers or HR Managers so that your sales pros receive reviews that make them want to keep shooting for the stars.
Make sure your sales rep is aware of how their performance will be evaluated. This includes educating them on the specific criteria which is being used to assess their performance.
Setting a tone of collaboration, where your sales rep knows that the review isn't a lecture, but is instead a discussion, will open the lines of communication. This is particularly beneficial to sales reps who have questions or concerns, but may otherwise be afraid to ask or address them. By making it known that this review is a two-way discussion, you're liable to get your reps to open up and share their ideas or ask questions freely.
By urging your sales professionals to honestly examine and evaluate their own performance, your reps have the opportunity to illuminate their strengths and weaknesses as they see them. This way, a collaborative plan for improvement can be created.
Performance reviews are not a time for generalizations. Cite specific examples of areas needing improvement, or recognize specific accomplishments, goals achieved, etc. This will demonstrate your personal attention and dedication to helping them build upon existing strengths, thereby reaching new levels of success.
It is vital that all points discussed in a performance review are documented. It is also crucial that you pay attention to the language you use in documentation, to ensure that the words cannot be misconstrued should an employee file a grievance.
The desired outcome of any performance review is to establish new goals for your sales rep. New benchmarks could be clearly spelled out, so that expectations are understood and agreed upon. All newly created goals should be documented and discussed thoroughly before the review is finished.
At Grapevine Targeted Sales Recruiting, we understand how crucial it is to have the very best sales managers and sales reps on your team in order to reach your sales goals. As part of your strategy for attracting and retaining the best sales professional in the business, you'll need to make sure that you put personal attention into each performance review you provide.
If you're in need of top sales reps or sales managers to join your team, Grapevine Targeted Sales Recruiting helps businesses from diverse industries to maximize sales, through providing premier sales recruitment services.
Adam Vortherms is a recruiting manager at Grapevine - Targeted Sales Recruiting. Call 952.856.2371 or email adam@brixrecruiting.com