Your New Salesperson Isn't Performing. Before You Fire Them, Read This.

 Most Presidents and CEOs know long before they admit it.

About 60 to 90 days after a new salesperson starts, something doesn't feel right. The excuses begin.

Activity isn't turning into opportunities. The pipeline isn't developing. You start wondering if you made another bad hire.

I've had countless conversations with business owners who admitted they had that gut feeling but waited months before acting on it. They seemed to be waiting because they hoped things would change.

So I started asking them a simple question: "Why did you wait?"

The answers were surprisingly consistent.

• They hoped the salesperson would figure it out.

• They didn't want to admit they made the wrong hiring decision.

• They had already invested significant time and money.

• They dreaded starting the hiring process all over again.

• Most importantly, they lacked confidence that they would make a better hiring decision the second time.

Unfortunately, waiting often becomes the most expensive decision of all.

The Hidden Cost of Waiting

Multiple presidents & owners have shared with me that they have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars because they waited too long to address an underperforming sales hire.

I saw one company wait so long that it ultimately contributed to the business closing its doors.

The cost isn't just salary.

It's the opportunities that never enter the pipeline.

It's the growth plan that gets pushed back another six to twelve months.

It's the frustration that spreads through the sales team when one person isn't pulling their weight.

If your strategy depended on hiring a hunter to bring in new customers and six months later they're still relying on existing accounts or hiding behind email, your growth plan is now wishful thinking.

But Is the Salesperson Really the Problem?

This is where I challenge leaders.

A struggling salesperson is often a symptom of a much larger issue. Before you conclude the hire has failed, ask yourself whether you've created an environment where they had a realistic opportunity to succeed. Three issues show up repeatedly.

1. Success was never clearly defined.

If the salesperson doesn't know what success looks like, how can they achieve it? Too many companies measure only revenue. Revenue is the outcome. The real question is whether they're executing the behaviors that eventually produce revenue.

2. Onboarding ended after orientation.

Giving someone a laptop, a phone, and a few hours with HR is not onboarding. Strong onboarding includes milestones:

• What should they know after two weeks?

• What should they accomplish in 30, 60, and 90 days?

• What skills should they be developing?

Without a roadmap, leaders often confuse slow onboarding with poor performance.

3. Accountability never became a habit.

I've always believed: You need to inspect what you expect.

Weekly one-on-one coaching conversations should focus on progress, obstacles, development, and next steps. Don't just ask for updates on how things are going.

Every meeting should end with one coaching takeaway and one clear commitment before the next meeting. That's how performance improves.

Before You Decide They've Failed, Ask Yourself These Questions

Are they coachable?

When you provide feedback, do they apply it, or simply nod and continue doing things the same way?

Are they executing the right behaviors?

Don't focus only on revenue. Are they consistently filling their calendar with qualified prospect meetings, building pipeline, and moving opportunities forward? Those activities create revenue later.

Have you made expectations unmistakably clear?

There's a big difference between saying:

"Make 50 calls this week."

And

"By Friday, I want you to schedule five first meetings with CEOs that fit our ideal customer profile. Let's review your target list together and build a strategy for each conversation."

One measures activity. The other creates purpose.

Are they actually in the right sales role?

If you hired someone to hunt for new business but they continually retreat to servicing existing accounts, motivation isn't the issue. You may have a role-fit problem.

Sometimes the salesperson isn't the right fit. That happens. But in my experience, too many leaders diagnose the person before they diagnose the system. That's why I believe a bad sales hire is often a symptom of something much bigger.

A weak hiring process.

Poor onboarding.

Unclear expectations.

Little accountability.

When you fix those problems first, you will not only make better hiring decisions, but you will dramatically improve the odds that your next salesperson succeeds.

If your newest salesperson isn't performing, ask yourself this: Are you evaluating the person, or are you evaluating the system they're working in?