Two of the biggest issues facing the industry today are recruitment of sales personnel and retention. Problems in this area may not be due to bad hires or low unemployment rates. If they are related to bad hires then it means you don’t fire well. You are not holding people accountable. If that’s the case, it only stands to reason that you are probably overpaying a sizable portion of your sales force, as they are not performing as “A” players.

The first thing you must do is a gut-wrenching honest assessment of your personnel. This must be done both quantitatively and subjectively. Measurements must be in place. You cannot manage what you cannot measure.. Once you do have a sales system with measurement you must complete your personnel assessment. Upgrade your sales force to minimum acceptable standards. It would be exceptionally rare to find any distributor that didn’t have at least one salesperson that wasn’t performing up to expectations. “If you pull the gun, don’t be afraid to shoot.” Being fearful of sales consequences by terminating a salesperson is the lifeblood of mediocrity in a sales force