Sales performance management is often the primary (if not the only) concern for many sales team leaders and C-level sales executives. Sales performance can be considered the culmination of all of an organization’s sales activities, goal setting, and performance driving activities.
When the sales department is doing well, the organization as a whole can look forward to a steady stream of new deals that help keep everything funded. Improving sales performance at every opportunity should remain a key priority—even for organizations where overall performance is strong.
Why? Because poor sales performance can be the death knell for a company in the medical sales industry. So, identifying poor sales performance and its causes (then taking steps to address any issues) is vital for protecting your business’ growth.
Part of assessing poor performance is knowing how to measure sales performance in the first place. This often means keeping track of both sales process metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) for sales team members and the sales department as a whole.
Some metrics that might serve as a warning sign of poor sales performance include:
One of the most obvious signs of low sales performance is a reduction in the number of closed deals from the sales team. When fewer deals close, that can have a direct impact on the business’ profitability.
Of course, this isn’t always a sales performance issue. For example, there may be factors outside of the sales team’s control that can affect their ability to close deals—such as having fewer opportunities in the sales pipeline to close due to a depressed market.
Process metrics—such as calls made, meetings scheduled, and other sales activity measurements—serve a key role in keeping sales performance on track. When sales team members start missing their goals for process metrics, that can be an indication that sales performance is starting to slip.
High sales team turnover can be a strong indication that sales team members are feeling stressed or frustrated with their work. This often happens when employees have poor sales performance or negative performance reviews, but don’t feel that they are being given the opportunity to meet their goals.
Poor sales performance isn’t the only reason employees leave, of course. For example, High Speed Training cited “being overworked” as a major cause of employee turnover—followed by lack of feedback and recognition, micromanagement, and poor employee selection.
In medical sales, it’s rare for a sales cycle to be fast. For instance, Responsify states that “the healthcare technology sales cycle can last anywhere between a few weeks to months or even years.” So, it can be hard to generalize what an “unusually long” sales cycle is without specific data about past sales.
However, if sales cycles start taking significantly longer than they have in the past, that can be a strong indication of poor performance management. For example, if past sales cycles usually lasted one or two months, an increase to an average of three or four months could be a warning sign that performance is slipping.
What are some of the causes of poor sales performance? While the specific causes will vary from one company to the next, there are a few things that appear consistently in underperforming sales departments:
Job satisfaction is an often-cited cause of low employee performance—and sales is no exception. For example, employee engagement software provider ENME notes that: “Those employees who feel happy and content in their roles are much more likely to approach the tasks that they need to carry out with enthusiasm and dedication.”
Unmotivated and dissatisfied sales reps are less likely to go the extra mile to meet sales goals, close new deals, or foster long-term relationships with customers.
Medical sales aren’t always easy. There are a lot of things that medical sales reps need to know. For example:
Without sufficient time and resources set aside for medical sales training, it is all too easy for a sales rep to fall behind on their knowledge. This can make them less effective at closing deals in the long term.
The larger market can have a strong, if indirect, impact on medical sales. Take, for example, the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, many people were made to stay indoors as much as possible to prevent the spread of the disease. This led to many businesses closing their doors and depression in the market.
Medical sales reps, who traditionally relied on face-to-face meetings to close deals with decision-makers in pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and even private practices were suddenly forced to use alternative methods. For example, a lot of sales reps (and their prospects) had to learn how to use Zoom effectively.
As noted in one PharmaPhorum article, “The current restrictions on face-to-face meetings have exacerbated the trend of sales reps’ reduced access to healthcare customers.”
While sales reps becoming disengaged and frustrated with their work can be a problem, a bigger issue is acquiring poor-fit sales reps in the first place. Hiring the wrong sales rep wastes time and money for onboarding and training. It also means missing out on deals that a more motivated and capable representative could have won.
This is why it's important to find the right sales representative for your brand.
Improving sales performance requires a strong understanding of the specific reasons for poor performance. So, there is no “one size fits all” solution for fixing an underperforming sales team. A few of the more common tips that can help medical industry companies improve sales performance include:
How is your sales team tracking its sales metrics? Where can they find data about their sales? How do you communicate necessary changes and performance improvement plans (PIPs) to sales reps? A sales performance management software (SPM) can help provide an answer to these questions.
Having an SPM software helps make it easier for sales leaders to monitor employee performance, gather the data they need to make informed decisions, and present key performance data to others when needed. One use for an SPM could be to collate objective data for a performance review with a sales rep—showing them where their specific strengths and weaknesses are so they know how to improve.
One part of keeping sales reps motivated and working hard towards their goals is conducting semi-frequent reviews with them. During these one-on-one meetings, it can help to examine their performance data and check what process goals they’ve been following.
This is an excellent opportunity to provide feedback about the rep’s overall performance, point out specific ways to improve performance, and recognize major achievements and milestones. These kinds of reviews can be a great way to keep sales team members motivated and performing at their highest potential.
Hiring a poor-fit sales rep to your sales team can be a major drag on the whole sales department. Even someone with great sales skills could cause more harm than good if they aren’t a good fit for your corporate culture.
For example, if a sales rep is abrasive (or worse, actually abusive) towards other reps, they could bring down the performance of the team as a whole. The dissatisfaction caused by a single bad hire can be bad enough to increase voluntary turnover (which can further harm sales performance).
If a poor-fit sales rep is brought on to the team and is causing problems, then it’s important to address the issue as soon as possible. If a sales rep continues to be a problem that affects others, then they may need to be removed.
If a sales rep underperforms for a quarter, instead of simply telling them to “do better,” it can help to provide a detailed plan for how they can improve their performance. This performance improvement plan helps the employee better understand where their strengths are and what they need to work on to meet their goals.
For example, a PIP could include recommended training, some one-on-one roleplay sessions, or setting up reminders about weekly process goals so they don’t fall behind schedule.
Finding the right people to represent your brand can be difficult. Sales reps need a variety of interpersonal skills, knowledge about medical industry regulations, and the right personality to fit in with your sales team.
This is where a contract sales organization (CSO) can help. Axxelus is dedicated to helping companies in the medical industry boost their sales performance by placing the right people with the right companies. Reach out to Axxelus to get started on boosting your sales performance today!
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