I will not attempt to convince you that the annual performance discussion is a guaranteed positive moment in your life. Everyone has a different situation. This is an important milestone in your employment, and you should be prepared for this discussion as it will memorialize the past year. This post and the post on January 19th deal with this annual ritual. Make sure you read both.

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The Dreaded Performance Discussion

Whether it is called a performance review, a performance appraisal, or some other term, you will find this time useful in determining if your manager values you. You will be able to determine this based on the amount of preparation and forethought that the manager shows.

For some, this is a time of discovery.  You may be asked to gather baseline data that this session will be based on. In other words you will need to sift through the sales and operational statistics to determine what you have been doing for the past year. You might think that this is laziness on the part of your manager.  You might think that  you have been asked to gather the information to “hang yourself.” On the positive side it gives you the opportunity to determine your weak points, accentuate strong points, and in general fairly and cautiously spin the information in the best light, all while preserving the truth.

Scenarios–A Few Practical Examples

Here are a few examples of how you can use this activity in your favor:

Scenario 1 : You have not been successful in developing one or more portions of your territory. Your numbers show it, and you know it will be an issue.

In your self-review point out the territorial weaknesses, the reasons for the shortfall, and the objectives that you will undertake to solve the issues. Indicate interim check dates, final completion dates and intended results. In essence put together the plan for producing acceptable results. Advance the discussion toward constructive solutions that you have drafted.

Scenario 2: Your sales numbers indicate lower sales figures and close ratios than some of the other sales professionals.

If your activity generates lower production and close ratios than are the company norm, you need to consider “baking in” those lower ratios into your activity goals. It is not uncommon for Black sales professionals to have reduced close ratios yet still be effective and successful. Everyone is not your ideal customer. The reality is that you may have to work more prospective customers to get as many sales as others in your organization. You need to be prepared to point this out and have these additional numbers considered in your sales funnel or plan. Estimate your quote/proposal ratios and sales ratios in a realistic light then share these estimates in your plan if you have confidence in them.

Scenario 3: Your sales totals are lacking and your prospect base is light and lacking productivity.

Here’s where you need to consider some real changes. You need to have a plan that is aggressive, and puts in your own milestones for your goals. Take the opportunity to outline a plan (if possible) based on quarters (this is better than months) and what the numbers will be for the interim checkpoint dates. See the two examples above for examples of how you might structure this. Above all, you must have a stronger prospect base to succeed. Consider a niche for a specialty, maybe even more than one.  As you read here previously (Your Customer Needs An Expert, December 20– see Recent Posts), this can be in terms of industry, product, or maybe even geography. Check the potential of the niche in terms of availability and numbers of customers and go in with a plan to increase your prospect base. Be honest with yourself regarding the potential and do some preliminary research on the niche.

Remember: You Are the Expert On You!

Above all, as was stated in the last post,  “Be the expert on you!”.  If your sales funnel is weak you will continuously be subject to problems as you go forward. There is a “law of large numbers”. You cannot have the success that you need without some solid sourcing of perspective customers.

Remember, you cannot instill confidence in others regarding your activities if you don’t have confidence in what you are trying to accomplish.

There are Resources at Stake

Your access to resources like house accounts, call-in business, and accounts and prospects from terminated reps is all open territory for this annual discussion. All this is made much more easy by having a well-thought-out approach to any deficiencies in your performance. Be prepared with well documented facts and logic. As a manager of a production staff, if someone had a plan, I tended to let the plan play out if it made sense.

Let me know what you think on this issue. You can reach me at Michael.Parker@BlackSalesJournal.com.

Terminations – No one wants to think about it, yet it happens.  It does not end your quest to support your family and to move forward so think about it as what it is… a part of life.  How you handle it will be the key to what happens in your next position.

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Terminations happen in all occupations.  Most of what is said here in this journal applies to more than the sales profession, but the situation of a job not working out transcends sales as an occupation.

Once a termination does happen, your future is not terminated, just the relationship with that employer.  You will be seeking gainful employment in a sales position again, and your level of comfort dealing with the termination of employment from your last employer will certainly be tested, and sometimes spotlighted.

The question is simple:  Should you hide a termination from a prospective Employer?  The Answer is simple: No! Especially if you are a sales professional!

The Truth Will Set You Free

If you have read Black Sales Journal, you will remember one of my favorite suggestions:“Always tell the truth!” The key in this situation is not to focus on it.

Terminations happen and there is nothing pleasing about them.  What you don’t want to do is to relive bitterness and the trauma of a termination while you are in an interview looking for a fresh start.  One simple reason to tell the truth is that it is easier to remember.  The other is that you need to start this new relationship off on the firm footing of the truth.  In the world of sales professionals, many have had terminations for legitimate reasons, even though they endeavored to make it work.  Terminations do happen.

This is the information age and that gives prospective employers an ability to “uncover” you previous work history cheaply and fairly easy.  Note, that finding your history does not mean that a prospective employer would be uncovering the facts and details of what happened such as what your reasons for leaving.  Any hiring manager knows that a sales job followed by a prolonged absence of several months may well denote that a job action took place.

If you have been let go from your previous job because of performance issues, you need to be prepared to discuss reasonable reasons why you parted company.

Your resume needs to match up with any job history investigation that an employer can conduct.  The prospective employer checks this information through a service, such as Equifax,  or other services, and certainly with any on-line information that you might post such as LinkedIn.

Consistency eliminates questions and doubts.

What Should You Say?

There are sales jobs (and any other jobs) that just do not work out.  Your objective is to be able to tell the story in a cogent fashion.  There should be no accusations or disparaging remarks, but a clear story of why selling widgets for ABC Company in Columbus, Ohio did not work and resulted in you leaving after fifteen months.

Cover the issue of what the problem was.  Whether that was pricing, marketing support, sales support, a problematic territory, or a product that was inferior.  Do it in a professional manner, and always cite what actions you took to improve your fate.  If you do not have a solid and believable story, it may appear that you just cannot sell.

If you are a sales professional selling widgets and in your last job you were terminated because you did not meet your quota/goals, you need to own up to the fact that you were terminated.  I give below an example:

“I was let go because of not meeting the quarterly sales targets in two consecutive quarter.”  You can then give clarification of the most important issues (an example)… “I had difficulty meeting the goals as we promised delivery dates that were 4 weeks to a month longer than our other competitors.”

Places You Should Never Go!

You never want to go into an interview saying that your previous employer (or any employer you have had) is prejudice or discriminatory, even if you believe it to be true.   This is a sure way not to get a second interview and a possible hire.

The “well” will be poisoned if you make statements that allude to disparate treatment, as a prospective employer will immediately put themselves in the position of the previous employers.  Remember, they do not know you!

Instead, compliment the best aspects of the previous employer as difficult as it may seem.  If it is true a compliment such as: “There is no organization that does training like ABC Corporation”, shows your respect for the company.

Additionally, there should be no disparaging comments about your previous manager.  You are on fair ground if you cite the fact that you did not have much support, but disparaging comments are out of bounds.

Compensate For the Weak Areas

If you have been terminated for not reaching goals, you will do well to have some support from your former employers, co-workers, and clients.  You should get letters of recommendation citing your accomplishments.

We have covered before in Black Sales Journal, that you need to fully be prepared when you go to the interview including customer testimonials and all of your sales numbers.  Don’t share proprietary information which would jeopardize your past employer’s customers or information, but do be prepared to support your effort and accomplishments.  A customer testimonial helps to illustrate your affinity for customers and the sales process but you still may have some work to do to show that you effectively prospect.  Cover all of the bases and give yourself a chance to win.

You should provide good focus on your strong points and accomplishments as well as tout your specialties.  You need to be prepared to talk about your weak points that caused you the termination.  They may not apply to the new job, and thus lose relevance, but something like door-to-door prospecting might still be a part of the job, and you need to be prepared to show how you are going to change things.

Above all, you need to walk or run the road to continuous improvement, and be prepared to enunciate this also.  Your ability to tune-up your sales career (Black Sales Journal 8/15/2011 – Tuning Up Your Sales Career) may have some relevance to a prospective employer, but it is for you.

Thanks for reading, and your comments are always welcome. You can reach me at Michael.Parker@BlackSalesJournal.com.