“I hate you and never want to talk to you again!” she yelled and then hung up on me. That, my friends, was how my first girlfriend blindsided me and broke my heart in high school (way back during the dark ages).
I had no clue it was coming. We had spent time together that very same day at school and then walked home holding hands that afternoon. We had plans to go the movies a few days later. We were laughing, kissing and enjoying our time together.
And then later that evening “blam” – I never even knew what hit me.*
Early in my sales management career, I’d been blindsided like this too.
I had a team of All Stars, we were crushing our numbers and things were going great. One day, my top rep popped his head in my office and said, “Do you have a minute?”
Then he sat down and handed me his resignation saying he had decided to pursue another opportunity.
This should have never happened. If I’d been doing a good job as his manager, I would never have been surprised. He might have resigned, but I would have expected it and known well in advance.
But I wasn’t. I was out of touch and as result, lost my top performer.
Since then, it has never happened again.
Things I Do Now to Never Get Surprised
- Mentoring – This is the #1 most important way that I connect and build trust with my reps.
- Career Coaching – During quarterly reviews, I always discuss my rep’s career. I’ll give him an honest assessment of where he currently stands, we’ll talk about what he wants to do and we’ll discuss opportunities to advance inside and outside of the company.
- Career Assistance – This is where the rubber meets the road. If you are a good manager, you’ll introduce your rep to others who can help him. You’ll setup interviews for him. You’ll write letters of recommendation. You’ll prep him for interviews and advise him on salary negotiations. You’ll do whatever you can to help him move forward. Even, and especially, if his promotion means you will lose him.
- Keeping His Confidence – I strongly believe that being transparent and honest with my team is the only way to go. But that’s not always how others with authority feel. It’s important that I don’t discuss my rep’s plans with other executives – unless I have the rep’s permission and I’m certain there won’t be negative repercussions. I’ve seen reps get put on an unofficial sh!t list once others find out he’s even considering another job. They get tagged as “disloyal” and may get laid off first, skipped for promotions, assigned weaker territories or won’t receive raises.
These are just a few ways we can help guide our reps that o beyond just helping him “hitting the number”.
When we do this well, we don’t get blindsided. Instead, our reps will involve us in their job searches. They seek our guidance, solicit our opinions and go out of the way not to put us in a bad position.
Here Are A Few Examples of What Happens When You Manage This Way
#1 My top Inside rep quit to take a field sales job with another company. A year earlier, he had told me that he wanted to move into Field Sales in the midwest. During the past year, I got him involved in shadowing our field sales reps and going onsite for some sales calls. I also reassigned him to cover the midwest. We created a plan to try to build this into a viable territory. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to generate enough business there. My rep started interviewing with other companies. He kept me apprised during the entire interview process and helped me to transition his responsibilities to others on the team when he landed a new job.
#2 When a struggling rep resigned, I knew it was coming for weeks. I liked this rep. I had hired him. He just couldn’t deliver the results we needed and wasn’t happy. During our 1-on-1s, I asked him, “Are you sure you want to do this? Do you really want a career in Inside Sales?”
I gave it to him straight. I explained what was required to be successful in this role. We talked about his strengths and his weaknesses.
When he resigned, he thanked me. He had decided to return to Grad School to pursue a career in Science which he felt was a much better fit for him than sales.
#3 During our first 1-on-1, a veteran Inside Rep told me she loved her job – she just needed to make significantly more money. I gave her the straight truth, which apparently nobody had ever done before. I told her that she was at the top earning potential for her Inside Role. Other than getting lucky and having a blowout quarter, she’d never earn significantly more than she was already in this role. I explained that her best options were to move into management or field sales and that I would help her build a plan to get there. It took 2 years, but she eventually moved into a field sales role which doubled her income. Because she kept me involved in her interview process, I had a full quarter’s notice to hire her backfill and transition her territory.
Most managers have been blindsided at least once when someone on their team suddenly quits. Occasionally, this is unavoidable – such as when there’s a family issue, a tragedy, or an unexpected event that happens in the employee’s life.
But 95% of the time, it’s because the manager hasn’t built a trusted relationship with the employee.
I’ve outlined a few of the ways to do this. If you want to learn about more, check out my other articles in these categories: Mentoring, Team Building, Coaching & Communication.
*My old girlfriend contacted me decades later because she still felt guilty about this. She told me her mother made her break-up with me because her mother didn’t approve of my stepfather. It made me laugh because I didn’t approve of him either!