I had a meeting with a potential client the other day and one of the things that was brought up was how the leaders of the company didn’t set clear expectations. It wasn’t a “you’re doing this well” it was “you just crossed the line.”
If you know me, you know I’m much more of a beg forgiveness instead of ask permission kind of girl. And if you ever (tried to) managed me then you remember how much that infuriated you.
But here’s the deal, everyone needs to know their expectations. The reason you have high turnover for a position? Go re-read the job description (because you have on right???). And while we’re at it, you aren’t going to find an awesome sales person who is 100% commission to start out. You’re going to find someone desperate who will leave as soon as a job with a salary comes along.
You can’t expect someone to live up to your expectations if you don’t clearly write them out up front. Yes, WRITE them out.
So, you are saying I need to know what I want from my team-members ahead of time? AND document it?so they can work toward it and be coached? Shouldn’t they just know what I want? What if I change my mind?
First of all…the fact that you are an opportunity taker is what makes you great! You see and act on an opportunity, while your competition is still asking for permission!
Second, any company that is offering a salesperson a commission only position from the start, is one that’s not interested in investing in you…period. A company that believes in their employees invests both time and money to support the success of their sales people through training, clear expectations, a salary, and they provide you the freedom to do the job in a way that utilizes your individual strengths.
Third, for all of those companies that do write out the expectations…stand behind what you write when your employee exceeds them and be prepared to embrace that possibility!