The Right and Wrong Reasons to Add a Rep
Too many reps on the team or in the territory can cause a morale issue and brings the risk of the unwanted departure of solid players who don’t want someone else cutting into “their” piece of the pie. Too few reps and you leave your business vulnerable to a business loss created by the unforeseen departure of someone on the team (and c’mon, what other kinds of departures are there in sales?).
If you are considering adding a rep to your team, make sure you are doing it for the right reasons.
The Right Reasons
Not enough coverage- As reluctant as reps are to admit it, sometimes there is simply not enough coverage to adequately work the department or territory. Do the math, and if it just doesn’t add up even under the best of circumstances, then you may need to add a rep.
To work a new channel- If it is time to work a new channel of business and your current reps are already stretched working their existing channels, they will find it difficult to give new markets the attention they need. A new rep might be just the ticket!
The Wrong Reasons
Survival of the fittest- This is an old-school sales team strategy which is based on the belief that having too many reps on a team will create the internal competition needed to get everyone to perform at their top levels. Unfortunately, this usually results in something more like “survival of the cheaters and the greedy” and it could cost you your best long-term performers.
Because reps are easy to recruit- Nothing about recruitment, hiring, screening, managing or terminating sales reps is easy in today’s market. Choose well, take care of your good people and hire when you genuinely need a rep.
Brenda Abdilla is the president of Management Momentum. She founded it to focus on a small number companies and to utilize her passion for improving sales and management performance. Contact her at 303-456-1210 or www.managementmomentum.net
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