Entrepreneur Plus - Short White
For Subscribers

In Their Corner Focus your coaching efforts where they'll pack the most punch--on your top performers.

By Kimberly L. McCall

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

When it comes to coaching your sales force, you musn'twander down Egal-itarian Avenue--it's a corridor of dashedexpectations and unmet challenges. Well-meaning entrepreneurs maybe forgiven for thinking a sales team should run like a democracy,but don't confuse the wonders of our social and politicalstructure with the rigors of sales management. It's imperativethat you focus on the fundamental few salespeople who'll affordyou the lion's share of the results. Squeamish about playingfavorites? Vanquish any unease by digesting the following reasonsfor devoting your coaching time to your elite sales performers:

  • The money's at the top.For centuries, economic theorists have fashioned elaborate formulasto arrive at what you know from just taking a look at yourreceipts: About 20 percent of your employees are pulling in 80percent of your business. So it just makes good fiscal sense to putthe majority of your resources where you expect to getthe greatestreturn on your investment. Alan Fine, a sales coach, is thepresident of InsideOut Development LLC in American Fork, Utah.Fine, who has spent time working with both top golfers and tennisplayers, equates outstanding sales performers with professionalcompetitors: "You coach and support the top athletes becausethat's where the greatest ROI is."
  • Coaching marginal performers is awaste of time. You must take care to differentiatebetween average and awesome. Todd Duncan,the author of High Trust Selling: Make More Money in Less TimeWith Less Stress (Thomas Nelson), argues that coaching averageperformers is largely worthless. "In selling, you either haveplayers or pretenders," Duncan asserts. "Playersshouldn't have to compensate for the inadequacies ofpretenders."

Continue reading this article — and all of our other premium content with Entrepreneur+

Join the internet’s leading entrepreneur community! With your subscription you’ll get:

  • Access to all of our premium content and an ad-free experience
  • A complimentary subscription to Entrepreneur Magazine
  • Four free e-books a year and 20% off everything from our bookstore
  • Exclusive events with business celebrities and successful entrepreneurs

Editor's Pick

She's Been Coding Since Age 7 and Presented Her Life-Saving App to Tim Cook Last Year. Now 17, She's on Track to Solve Even Bigger Problems.
Lock
I Helped Grow 4 Unicorns Over 10 Years That Generated $18 Billion in Online Revenues. Here's What I've Learned.
Lock
Want to Break Bad Habits and Supercharge Your Business? Use This Technique.
Lock
Don't Have Any Clients But Need Customer Testimonials? Follow These 3 Tricks To Boost Your Rep.
Why Are Some Wines More Expensive Than Others? A Top Winemaker Gives a Full-Bodied Explanation.
Business News

California Woman Arrested For $60 Million Postal Service Scam

Lijuan "Angela" Chen faces two charges that each carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Business News

Apple Just Unveiled Its VR Headset. What You Need to Know.

The Vision Pro is Apple's first major product launch since AirPods.

Marketing

5 Things You Can Do Now to Improve Email Marketing

Abide by these simple tricks to help your campaigns gain more visibility and generate revenue in the process.

Science & Technology

'We Were Sucked In': How to Protect Yourself from Deepfake Phone Scams.

Phone fraudsters are using AI to clone the voices of loved or trusted people to rip them off. Here's how to detect if the phone is real or robot.

Leadership

The Return to Office Movement is Causing a Mental Health Crisis. Employers Are Part of The Problem — But They Can Be Part of The Solution.

Employee mental health substantially worsened with the return to office demands, and it's causing disengagement and low morale. The solution demanded by employees is the answer.