Why can’t everyone be a superstar? How to recognize those who are and encourage those who aren’t.

You might reason that with the appropriate education, training, direction and encouragement, any one of your sales team members can become a top performer — a “superstar.”
Is that true?
Not likely. It is likely that everyone has the ability to improve. However, not everyone will become a superstar, regardless of the resources and opportunities you provide.
Why?
Becoming a superstar is primarily a function of two personal characteristics:

  1. The desire to learn; and
  2. The willingness to take action.

Superstars strive to achieve at higher levels — to take on more challenging tasks and responsibilities. And, they are willing to invest the time and energy to learn and develop the skills required. They are the people from whom the company obtains its greatest return on investment. It is important to keep them engaged to ensure continued growth.
At the other end of the spectrum are the “poor performers” who are unwilling, or simply lack the innate desire, to learn, improve and grow. Not all poor performers are “deadwood,” however. Some are simply in the wrong roles. These people should be moved to more fitting roles — or moved out.
Team members whose performance falls between the two extremes of the spectrum can be grouped into two classifications:

  1. Closest to the superstars are the people who have reached a relatively high level of performance, yet remain stuck there. They are the “workhorses” of the team. They are dependable; you can count on them hitting their quotas month after month … but not doing much more. Perhaps, they’ve reached the level of their competency. However, if you can offer them challenges and responsibilities that tap into their undiscovered passions, they have the potential to grow — and even become superstars.
  2. The final group is the “underachievers.” These are people whose day-to-day achievements don’t match the potential they’ve demonstrated (though, only on rare occasions). It’s important to find out what motivates people in this group to perform. Then, with proper coaching and/or training — and perhaps mentoring from a workhorse or superstar — underachievers’ performance levels can be improved … sometimes dramatically.

While you can’t turn every member of you sales team into a superstar, with careful analysis and proper investments, incentives and encouragement, you can improve your team’s overall performance.
Dave Harman is an associate with Sandler Training. He has over 30 years’ experience in sales and sales management with Fortune 500 companies as well as small, family-owned organizations. He has held positions from sales to senior management with companies such as Conoco/Vista, Amresco and Ohio Awning, and owns his own business. He earned his MBA with a concentration in Marketing from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. You can reach him at [email protected] or (888) 448-2030.