It can happen in any organization that the top sales person loses their edge, their sales fall off and they begin to underperform. Why should a first class top sales person stop succeeding? There can be many explanations but the top 5 reasons your top sales person isn’t performing are listed below:

Insufficient training

Training should be an ongoing affair and even top sales staff need to be trained in the best sales techniques. Selling isn’t a static skill and customer’s needs change as well as the products the company sell. A training program is good for motivation and keeps sales staff fully acquainted with the new products. It also allows staff to be aware of different trends and new sales techniques that work and to avoid old sales tactics that no longer produce results.

Inadequate salary and incentives

The top sales person needs to have a reasonable remuneration and benefits to perform at their best. If a top sales person thinks he is poorly rewarded his sales are bound to suffer. Unless there are adequate incentives where the desire to push oneself that little bit more, performance will stall after awhile? Top sales people should be adequately rewarded as they are the foundation block of any modern business. There is little point in manufacturing goods unless they can be sold to the public.

Bad management

Unless the top sales person has full support of the management he may lose incentive to try that bit harder. Management should be right behind the top sales person and provide full support and give top sales people the information they need to get the job done. If there is malaise in the management team it will filter down to the sales staff.

Poor or inferior products

Top sales people need total faith and confidence in the products they sale. One cannot expect a top sales person to achieve the forecasted sales if he himself doubts the quality of the merchandise he is peddling. Again good and frequent training in product support can help to re assure sales staff as to the benefits customers will gain from their products.

Old stale and bad leads

Some top sales people do not have quality leads to follow up. This is ultimately down to poor management in failing to provide either quality or up to date leads. If the leads are bad the sales person’s hands are tied and will fail to secure sufficient sales. It is the responsibility of management to give valid and current sales leads to the sales staff.

It is necessary for good communication to exist between management and the top salesmen. The top sales people should be armed with the tools to go out and sale. They should be adequately trained, supported and be given remuneration to enough to encourage the best sales performance possible.