I cannot stress this enough — coming to the conclusion that a rep is unwilling should be an absolute last resort. Too often, I’ve seen managers and second line leaders assume that all hope is lost when reps aren’t hitting their numbers, because they’re simply unwilling to perform.  🥵 Hot take: Often, it’s a manager…

If your reps feel like you’ve failed them, they might have a point Years ago I was managing a team of reps I inherited. Some of them were doing just fine, while others had struggled mightily, and there was one in particular I wasn’t sure should have been hired. This person: Overall, they didn’t seem…

Once upon a time I worked for a manager who constantly focused on my flaws and weaknesses.  It didn’t matter how hard I worked or how my team was progressing, I just ended up feeling like I could never do anything right. I felt really lost. My self esteem was in pieces. I began to…

Never have I ever been given an outline or even a training on how competencies come into play at different stages of a reps’ development in role.  The only thing I’ve been shown is how to measure performance on a week to week, month to month, quarter over quarter basis.  But knowing how to measure…

How to anticipate and diffuse conflict with your reps. You and your reps are not always going to see eye to eye on things. Especially when it comes to your assessment of their performance. In fact, according to statistics, it’s pretty likely there’ll be a mismatch. According to a study by The Beacon Group, “managers…