Managing Underperformance

3 months ago, a CEO called me: "Our sales team isn't hitting numbers. We need better salespeople." I asked to see their CRM data before they fired anyone. What I found shocked them: → Their top performers were closing at 22% → Their "underperformers" were at 7% Seems obvious who to keep, right? But then I looked at their sales ACTIVITIES: The "underperformers" were making - 3X more calls, - sending 2X more emails, - and booking 40% more meetings. The problem wasn't the salespeople. It was the sales PROCESS. The top performers had: - Better territories - Legacy accounts - Easier products - More support The company was about to fire their hungriest, most active salespeople because of how they'd structured their sales operation. Within 60 days of fixing their: - Territory design - Lead distribution - Product packaging - Sales enablement resources The "underperformers" increased close rates to 20% while maintaining their high activity levels. Revenue jumped 134%. As a sales growth consultant, I've seen this pattern repeatedly: Companies blame salespeople when the real problem is how the sales function is built. Your team can't outwork a broken sales system. Look at your bottom performers: If they're putting in the work but not getting results, don't fire them. Fix what's standing in their way. The fastest path to sales growth isn't hiring "better" people. It's removing the barriers preventing your current team from succeeding. P.S. If you need help with your sales, send me a message

30 60 90 Day Plans can be a very useful and simple method to drive specific process improvement projects or initiatives I generally use them to plan out specific projects and goals within an overall Continuous Improvement (CI) approach. 💠 I start with identifying a specific issue, and then breaking down the plan into three phases- 30 days, 60 days and 90 days. That's all kept very high-level, as in the visual below. 💠 The first 30 days are usually focused on learning and planning, the next 30 days are focused on implementation and monitoring and the final 30 days are focused on evaluation and optimization. The whole approach is kept in line with Lean Six Sigma thinking: PDSA- Plan Do Study Act and DMAIC- Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control. 💠 Beyond the high-level plan, it's important to get into the nitty gritty details of improvement. This involves setting specific milestones for the end of each of the 30 day periods and agreeing roles and responsibilities with each team member. 💠 It is REALLY important to have systems and processes that support scheduled check-ins. If you are using cycle planning, the team must agree how they will communicate and collaborate. It may be a mixture of daily huddles, weekly team meetings, 1:1's or something else. 💠 It helps to use simple project management tools (e.g. Trello, Asana, or Microsoft Project) to visualize progress and manage tasks. Just make sure that support is high if people are unfamiliar with the technology as technology could be barrier otherwise! 💠 I like to keep it simple and at the end of each 30-day period, review the progress made towards the milestones. Discuss what worked well and what didn’t, and use these insights to improve the next phase. 💠 Remember to recognize all efforts and celebrate the achievements at each milestone. 💠 And when it comes to evaluation, conduct a thorough review of the entire initiative at the end of 90 days. Assess the outcomes against the original objectives. Gather feedback from the team on the process and outcomes to inform future projects. 💠 Really importantly, build in a continuous improvement approach to your process management. Establish a routine of regular feedback, monitoring, and adaptation to continually improve the process. Have you any experience with cycle planning? Have you any tips for people? Leave your thoughts in the comments 🙏 #changemanagement #strategicplanning #goals #continuousimprovement #cycleplanning #projectmanagement

How can you overcome the strict Net PPM targets of your Vendor Manager? By giving #Amazon what it wants (but not in the way you think). ❌ Don't sign a cost support agreement ❌ Don't guarantee Amazon's margins ❌ Don't even agree with the narrative Vendor Managers threatening to suppress ASINs want only one thing: 𝗔 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸. Net PPM targets act as a proxy for these discussions, as they are visible to both you and Amazon. But what's critical to remember is that Net PPM does not reflect any supply chain initiatives that reduce costs for Amazon (e.g. Vendor Flex, Direct Import or Direct Fulfilment). However, it does include inefficiencies caused by Amazon itself (e.g. over-ordering of products leading to overstock markdowns affecting Net PPM). This requires you to do two things: ✅ Record and quantify the impact of Amazon-led issues on PCOGs and Net PPM ✅ Define a plan that increases the sales share of your accretive assortment. Every dollar you spend on promos and advertising should be directed to items that stabilise your net margins and Amazon's Net PPM. If you want to go the extra mile, highlight the possibility of any supply chain initiatives your teams are willing to implement to unlock cost savings for both parties. And if all fails, escalate to Amazon's leadership teams. --- How do you engage in Net PPM discussions with your Vendor Manager? Let me know in the comments! #amazonvendor #amazonstrategy

Last week, a mentee came to me after her annual review. Her feedback was good — specific enough to sting a little. She walked out with every intention of acting on it. I asked her one question: "What's different on your calendar this week?" She paused. Nothing was different. That's where feedback dies — not in the reading of it, but in the week after, when life resumes and the document closes. Understanding feedback and acting on it are two completely different skills. Most people only practice one. Here's what I told her to do instead: 𝟭/ 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿 "Be more strategic" tells you nothing. This does: take the project you're leading and present how it accelerates a priority your organization cares about — before your next leadership meeting. Specific. Timely. Actionable. For every piece of feedback, ask: what does this look like in practice? 𝟮/ 𝗔𝗱𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀 If it doesn't make it into your goals, it's not going to happen. Don't create a separate "development item" that lives outside your work — embed it into the goal itself or into how you'll achieve it. If the feedback is "delegate more and develop your team," don't just note it. Update your existing goal to: 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘟 𝘣𝘺 𝘘3, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴. Same goal. The feedback is now inside it. 𝟯/ 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿 Your calendar is your priorities made visible. If the change you need to make doesn't appear there, it won't happen. If the feedback is "scale your impact by partnering across the organization," don't wait for opportunities to show up. Schedule 1:1s this week with leaders in adjacent teams to learn their priorities. What's on your calendar next Monday tells you more about your intentions than anything you wrote in your development plan. 𝟰/ 𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 Share what you're working on with a peer, a mentor, or your manager. Not for accountability theater — because saying it out loud makes it real. And it invites the micro-feedback you'll need along the way. 𝟱/ 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝟵𝟬-𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸-𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 Not "am I trying harder?" — what's actually different in what you do? If the answer is nothing, the feedback is already expiring. The annual review is a gift. Most people open it, admire it, and put it back in the box. If nothing changes in what you do, the outcome is likely to be the same. What’s one change you’ve actually put on your calendar this year? PS: If you know someone in the middle of their review cycle — send this their way. --- Follow me, tap the (🔔) Omar Halabieh for weekly Leadership and Career posts

You think reps are underperforming. I think your system is broken. It's 2:47 AM and you're staring at the ceiling, calculating pipeline math that doesn't add up. "If we miss this quarter, I'm the one explaining to the board why our 'best sales team ever' can't close deals." Here's what's really keeping you up: It's not just missing quota. It's being the VP who "couldn't scale sales" at your next interview. It's explaining to your spouse why you might need to take a $50K pay cut. After auditing 100+ sales organizations, here are the 3 revenue leaks hiding in plain sight: Leak #1: Your ICP is fuzzy Your reps are hunting everything that moves because you haven't given them crystal clear targeting criteria. Half your pipeline is filled with prospects who don't have budget, don't have the problem you solve, and don't have authority to make decisions. The cost: Your best reps get frustrated and start looking for new jobs. Your average reps think they're failures. Your forecast becomes fiction because 60% of your pipeline isn't real. Leak #2: Your demo is generic Every prospect sees the same slides, same features, same flow regardless of their situation. What's happening: Your prospects sit through your 45-minute feature tour thinking "this is nice, but not urgent." They choose "no decision" because no one made them feel the pain of status quo. The toll: You watch deals you "should have won" go to competitors with inferior products. You start questioning if your solution is actually better. Leak #3: Your champions ghost you for a reason They championed your solution internally, seemed excited, then disappeared. What actually happened: They presented to their team and got destroyed. No one understood the value. Your champion now looks foolish for bringing you in. Your nightmare: Deals you thought were "95% closed" suddenly go dark. Your forecast gets destroyed by champions who can't sell internally. Let’s bring you back to reality: These aren't "rep performance issues." These are system-level constraints that no amount of training can fix. You can't train your way out of broken targeting. You can't coach your way out of bad messaging. The VP who figures this out first keeps their job. The one who keeps training harder gets replaced. Before you blame the reps, audit the system: What percentage of your deals fit your true ICP? Where exactly do champions go silent? Most revenue problems aren't people problems. They're process problems. And these are just 3 of over a dozen common leaks. — DM me if you're ready to audit your revenue engine instead of just training your team. Most VPs skip the diagnosis and wonder why training doesn't stick.

The best managers are terrific detectives Imagine this scenario: Two employees, Sam and Sarah, both failed to meet several goals last year. Seems like they're in the same boat, right? Well, not necessarily. Behind the scenes, their reasons for underperformance could be worlds apart. Now, picture yourself as their manager. You want to be fair, but you also need to hold your team members accountable for their performance. So, where do you start? It's important to begin with few questions: ·     Is the employee new to the organization? Or Function? Or Role? ·     How was his / her performance in the past? ·     What has changed in the ecosystem – both internal and external? ·     What’s happening in his / her life outside work? ·     How has his / her relationship been – with me and others in the team?   Underperformance can happen due to several reasons: 1.    Lack Fitment to the role. I remember my first job in key account management, I disliked it and didn’t do too well. The reason was not my lack of knowledge or hard skills, but the personality mismatch. A person may also not fit the culture of the organization or function or the team (every team has a subculture with nuances).   2.    Ambiguity Overload that naturally comes with many roles today, or simply unclear on the expectations and deliverables.   3.    Lack of Capability to deliver the role, be it knowledge, critical cognitive or behavioral skills. While with right mindset and resources, anyone can develop the capability, it is important to identify the mismatch and address it.   4.    External Environment can significantly influence performance of an individual, be it dwindling customer pool, entry of new competition, regulatory pressures, difficult terrain… the list can be endless. Within the same organization, people are likely to face varying external pressure.   5.    Interpersonal Issues either with the manager or rest of the team or peers. Does the person feel valued? Recognized for his / her contributions? Or empowered to deliver results? It’s important to reflect on this as it needs effort from all parties to rectify interpersonal issues.   6.    Personal Battles can be varied: ranging from workplace stress and burnout, boredom with the job, to personal issues at home, poor health, or crisis at home. Sometimes life throws a curve ball and all we can do is keep our head above water.   So, here's the bottom line: The root cause of underperformance isn't always obvious. That's why it's crucial for managers to play detective and get to the heart of the matter. Only then can we strike the delicate balance between accountability and fairness. #performanceappraisal #managers #performance #performanceimprovement

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗮𝗹-𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗽: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗙𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗽: Setting ambitious goals is crucial, but the pitfall comes when these goals aren't fully understood or when they're borrowed from external benchmarks without real personal insight. The biggest hurdle? Not properly planning the time and resources needed to achieve these goals. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲: Time estimation. It's easy to underestimate how much time tasks will really take, especially when your schedule is already packed. Our experience at OwnersUP, working with over 1,000 entrepreneurs, has highlighted time estimation as a critical hurdle in goal realization. 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖-𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗦 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 Transform your goal-setting with our structured 𝗖-𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗦 approach: • 𝗖larify Your Objective: Ensure your goal resonates with your personal and business vision. • 𝗕reak It Down: Segment your goal into 30-minute actionable tasks. • 𝗥esources Identification: Evaluate necessary resources for each task—time, money, assistance. • 𝗜mplement Daily Commitment: Carve out 1.5 hours every day to focus on these tasks. • 𝗖heck-Ins Regularly: Assess progress and fine-tune your strategy continuously. • 𝗦tay Flexible: Be prepared to pivot based on new insights and challenges. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀: 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: It breaks down lofty goals into manageable actions. 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆: Encourages a realistic assessment of time and effort. 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆: Fosters a deeper understanding of the path to your goals. 𝗗𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝘂𝗯𝘁𝘀: No more wondering why goals aren’t met or making excuses. We're talking clear steps, manageable tasks, and real timelines. It’s the step so many miss, then wonder why success seems just out of reach. Say goodbye to the guesswork and hello to hitting those milestones. 𝗜'𝗺 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀: Is time estimation your biggest hurdle in achieving your business goals? ----------------------- Hi, I'm Tanya Alvarez. I help B2B service-based entrepreneurs scale profitably and reclaim their time. Need help? Send me a DM.

Your salespeople need training. And if you’re reading this as a seller, let me be clear. This isn’t because you’re underperforming! It’s because the job you do is harder than most people realize. Most sellers are smart, driven, and deeply capable. They manage pressure, rejection, complex buyers, internal chaos, and aggressive targets (often with little more than instinct and grit.) That’s not a talent gap. That’s a support gap. We hire great sellers and then ask them to perform in high-stakes conversations without ever teaching them what their brain does under pressure OR how to stay grounded, confident, and influential when it counts. So when deals stall or confidence wobbles, it’s not a character flaw. It’s just biology. Untrained behavior defaults under stress, even for elite performers. Neuroscience isn’t about fixing sellers. It’s about UNLOCKING what good sellers already have. When talented sellers understand trust, influence, and decision-making at a brain level, they don’t just close more deals. They control the conversation. They stay calm when buyers get emotional. They become consistent instead of streaky. When we invest in sellers like professionals with real training for the reality of the role revenue follows. And it's not because sellers suddenly got better, but because they were finally equipped to perform at the level they were always capable of.

Bad goal setting can cripple your business (I know from firsthand experience). Here's how to set goals that propel your business forward. Step 1: Analyze last year’s performance. You can’t set the right goals without the correct information. So, take some time to gather data from the previous year to find areas of strength and weakness. Look at your: Revenue streams — what are your most profitable areas? Your biggest cost centers? Sales & marketing — can you spot trends in customer acquisition or marketing ROI? Operations — where is your business bottlenecked? Where might you be overstaffed? Employee performance — look at productivity and churn. Which direction are things going? — Step 2: Brainstorm areas for improvement. Write down all the possible things you could work on. This is a great group activity for your leadership team or even the whole company (depending on your size). The data you’ve collected in step 1 should give you some idea of opportunity areas. One tip: don’t discount an idea just because it’s hard. Often the biggest impact things are hard to do. But you should be realistic about the effort required to get something done, and its chances of success. — Step 3: Set SMART goals Specific: Define clear and precise goals. Instead of saying "increase sales," say "increase sales by 12% in the next 6 months." Measurable: Ensure each goal has quantifiable metrics. E.g. "Reduce customer acquisition costs by 15% by the end of the year." Achievable: Set realistic goals based on your resources, budget and other constraints. E.g. if you have limited cash, avoid goals that would severely impact your monthly cash flow. Relevant: Align goals with your overall business objectives. Ensure they address the key areas for improvement identified earlier. Time-bound: Set deadlines for each goal. E.g. "launch a new service by Q3." — Step 4: Develop an Action Plan For each goal, create an action plan that outlines: Steps and Milestones: Break down each goal into smaller, manageable tasks. Set milestones to track progress. Resources: Identify the resources needed (time, money, personnel) and ensure they are available. Responsibilities: Assign tasks to specific employees. Ensure everyone understands their role and what is expected of them. Timeline: Establish a timeline with deadlines for each task and milestone. Doubling down on one point there: always assign tasks to a single person. They can still bring in other people to contribute, but it’s one person’s responsibility to get it across the finish line. — Step 5: Monitor and Adjust Goals are not static. Regularly check your progress, and adjust based on new insights or changing circumstances. Schedule monthly and/or quarterly reviews to keep everything on track. Having a simple KPI tracker is a good way to keep tabs on things. Make sure you’re regularly checking in, and ask people to flag any roadblocks or necessary adjustments as soon as they identify them.

Hey Medical Sales Managers, let's talk about underperforming reps. You know the drill. Numbers are down, so you do what every sales manager since the dawn of time has done - tell them to "just make more calls." Because obviously, having your rep repeatedly crash and burn in front of more prospects is exactly what your territory needs right now. When's the last time you actually went on a sales call with your rep? And no, watching them fumble through that one Zoom call doesn't count. Have you seen how they handle those value analysis committees? (Hint: If they're sweating more than a rookie covering their first OR case, there might be a problem.) The real questions you should be asking: Is your product portfolio aligned with what the market actually wants, or are you pushing a commodity that offers no real advantages over what already exists? Can your reps effectively communicate value propositions, or do they sound like they're reading from a brochure written in 2005? Are they reaching the right decision-makers, or just becoming best friends with the front desk staff? Does each rep possess the specific skills needed for medical sales success, or are they still using the same pitch that worked in their previous job selling office supplies? Here's what's worrying: Too many managers are more of an "expectation setter" than a coach or sales partner. Sure, setting targets is important, but without proper diagnosis and development, you're just yelling "jump higher" at someone who needs to learn proper jumping technique first. Action Step: Shadow your lowest-performing rep for a full day. Yes, a full day. Document specific areas where they excel or struggle. Then put together a plan to address any deficiencies that you'll work on together. When your sales team underperforms, it's as much your responsibility as theirs. Identifying any deficiencies and helping them to address and overcome them moves the needle on sales. And that's why we're all here. __________________ Want your meeting events to be more productive with an ROI? Consider incorporating a comprehensive sales skills refresher at your next national sales meeting. Because let's be honest, another "motivation speaker" talking about climbing Mount Everest isn't what your team needs right now. If you're interested in innovative approaches to sales training that don't involve trust falls or team-building exercises that make everyone cringe, maybe we should talk. DM me or find more info in my profile.