Developing a Career Path to Keep Top Salespeople Going and Growing
Jennifer has been in sales for 20 years, but she’s only got three years of experience. Her resume is impressive. She’s made President’s Club or received a Top Gun Award from her last three companies. But after she’s attained those honors, she gets bored. About every three years she’s ready for a change.
Pete is her latest manager. “I don’t know what’s the matter with me, Pete,” Jennifer says with a frown. “I’m just not having fun anymore.”
“Jenn, you’re making over six figures,” Pete exclaims. “You’re the top rep in the company. What more do you want?”
Jennifer shrugs and laughs it off. “Sorry, Pete. Everything’s great. I guess I’m just in a mood.” But Jennifer knows Pete isn’t completely objective about her situation. He’s won Manager of the Year for the last two years in a row on the strength of her performance. He’ll never let her go. She’s thought about talking to the VP of sales, but she’s been down that road before. All the company has to offer is a “promotion” to sales manager. But what kind of a promotion is that? For Jennifer becoming a manager means a cut in pay, more headaches, and sitting in countless meetings.
Jennifer heads back to her office, shuts the door, and begins browsing Internet job sites.
The Lack of a Career Path for Salespeople
Jennifer’s problem is one most salespeople can only dream about. Lots of reps dream about success, but few achieve it. Fewer still know how to keep it going and growing if it comes. Like many struggling folks who suddenly win the Lottery discover, success has just as many problems as mediocrity. Jennifer’s problem is she loves to sell, but there’s no career path for her to follow. Once you’re at the top, then what?
Typically, only two alternatives present themselves to the Jennifers in most sales organizations. One, they can take the pay cut and become sales managers. Or, two, they become account managers, no longer able to hunt as they farm their vast account empire. Top performers would usually rather start some new challenges than settle down to superintend a plateaued career.
So, why don’t sales organizations provide meaningful career paths for salespeople? One reason is the myth believed by many senior sales directors that salespeople are only really motivated by money. Truth is, the only people motivated by money are those who don’t have any. Once a rep gets close to maximizing his or income potential, money ceases to induce behavior (see Punished By Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise, and Other Bribes by Alfie Kohn).
Some companies supplement a maxed-out compensation plan with contests designed to give top performers trips to the leisure capitols of the world. At best these perks provide only short-term satisfaction. We know from research that the best salespeople are energetic individuals. Frequently they play as hard as they work. You can only use leisure to motivate hard work for so long before the individual discovers they can actually get more rest and time off by not working as hard!
But perhaps the reason sales is a one-off job in many companies goes deeper than any organizational chart or comp plan. The explanation might be hidden in plain sight, discovered in the assumptions of a generation of business leaders educated by burned-out hippies and conditioned by other anti-business philosophies that competition is inherently unfair, that individual success should be down-played or even punished to protect the self-esteem of the mediocre majority. Sales meetings echo with the mantras of excited entrepreneurs, but the willingness to settle for high turnover, capped income potential and lack of a career path for reps assert this sales department is governed by a demonized democracy that celebrates conformity rather true achievement.