Last weekend I paid the price for weeks of neglect in my flower garden and spent the better part of a beautiful morning (definitely should have been on the beach) on my knees weeding our new perennial garden.  I didn't know what was going to give out first - my knees or my back! 

Then our little seven-year-old neighbor wandered over to observe all this groaning and dirt flying. "Why are you doing that?  Why don't you just leave those in there?" he asked.  Eyeing my beach chair propped against the car, I asked myself the same question!  But, I explained to him, if I don't pull these out, my good flowers wouldn't grow.  And, this got me thinking about how sales managers have to periodically weed their sales gardens.

I got a call last week from a very talented salesperson we placed at Computer Associates a few years ago.   He's a top performer and having a fabulous run at CA having exceeded his quota for the last eight straight quarters.   We were talking about how CA and other companies (like GE) regularly rid themselves of their non-performers.  This is a healthy practice. 

By getting rid of non-performers, you make room for new performers. It's like your garden.  If you don't pull out those weeds, the healthy plants won't have room to grow.  If you think you may need some weeding, here are some suggestions to help you in your process.

• First, do an analysis
  Be honest with yourself.  Who is not performing-who should you "pull?" Usually the formula is something like this - if you have a sales team of five people you'll have one that's a superstar, three that are hitting (or just) their numbers, and one that is not hitting the numbers.  That may be the weed.  Some questions to help you define that? How long have they missed on the numbers, are there any extenuating circumstances, what's their attitude like? If there's a question, give it a little longer.  Sometimes, it's easy to mistake a flower for a weed (I almost pulled my Japanese anemones this spring!) Give your salesperson some extra coaching (fertilizing) and see what happens.  You may be pleasantly surprised.  But, if not, make the change.
   
• Make the decision
  Make a plan today to replace that weed with a potential high-blooming flower.  Have a time frame to hire a replacement.  Have a date in mind that you would like that new person to start.  Then look for a replacement.  (Hiring in this market should take you anywhere between 3 to 6 weeks.)  You may be surprised to know that most salespeople who are not performing know it-and sometimes they are almost grateful when you let them go.  Remember, what may have been a weed in your garden, may bloom for someone else!
  
  
•   If you find yourself hesitating, remember this "golden rule" - GOOD SALESPEOPLE WANT TO BE AROUND GOOD SALESPEOPLE!
  This is the most important reason to weed your sales garden.  If you don't weed out your non-performers, you stand a great chance of losing your superstars.  In the many years I've been managing salespeople and hiring salespeople for our clients, I know one thing.  Good salespeople want to be around other good salespeople.  And, when they are in a company where bad sales performance is tolerated, they don't like it.  It brings them down.  And, in the end, if the situation remains unchanged, they leave.  Just like the garden.  If you don't pull those weeds, you're going to lose your superstar flowers.
  
  
• Carpe Diem!
  This is the season. The market is good for replanting your garden - I mean sales force!  There's a healthy supply of good salespeople out there who are looking for their next opportunity.  And, there are great salespeople who are stuck in companies that are under performing for a number of reasons.  Seize this opportunity to capitalize on that market and start your search today. 

I sure was sore after spending that time in the garden.  But, the results were gratifying to see and I felt a real sense of satisfaction that still lingers.  That garden looks terrific! The same will go for you.  The fruits of your labor in your sales garden will be very apparent in your results. It just might be a little painful!