On Salespeople: Invest in Your Bottom 20%
Copyright Jack Mixner. 714 449 1040 www.mixnerstrategy.com
In a previous article (Mixner), we quote work leading to the conclusion that there are times to invest in your weakest divisions, not your rising stars, as the return on your investment will be higher.
It seems that investing in your currently least productive sales team members has the same result (Locke Simon, page 126).
Strategic Implications
While it pays to be careful how you do it, it appears there are at least two instances where an investment in underperformers makes sense. Since training a new salesperson - and buying a new division - are so expensive these days, taking the time examine the possibilities before you act makes sense.
References
Ledingham, Dianne, Mark Kovac and Heidi Locke Simon. The New Science of Sales Force Productivity. Harvard Business Review. September 2006. Page 124.
Mixner, Jack. Contrarian Situation Analysis Increases Valuation. http://mixnerstrategy.com/ARTICLE-CONTRARIAN-SWOT.html