He Lied to Me

Lesson remembered #2

As a sales manager, I assumed that my team members would act in every way to make themselves successful

What a dunce I was.

One person proved me wrong.

He lied to me for weeks.

And he was a referral from a trusted CPA firm.  We did work for their clients and so wouldn't they refer good people to us????

To make this a short story, the sales person (we'll call him Joe) managed to get his license suspended by having a DUI.  Joe had a license when he came to work for us, but evidently lost it soon after.  Now in our office the sales people were in and out.  They did not have to appear each morning before heading to their territories, because some were far out.  So it was not usual for me to miss seeing a sales person all week because I was also out selling while managing, too.  Joe managed somehow to show up for the required Monday sales meeting.  It took me at least two months to figure out what was going on.  Obviously without a license, Joe was  not out working in the field. If Joe had communicated with me sooner, maybe, just maybe, we would have figured out a way for him to work inside during his time without a license.  But since he was devious, he was out the door.
As a result of this experience I learned to communicate with my sales people on a regular basis and know where they were and what they needed from me.  I stopped thinking that they would do everything they could to be successful.  I feel badly about that attitude, but I think for the people who were great, it just made them greater.  They liked me helping them.

What help does your sales team need?