Force of Habit
If your salesperson is used to spend every Monday morning in the office, for example, it is incredibly difficult for him to overcome that routine and use the time for sales calls instead.
When faced with the prospect of calling on those high potential accounts — which is a new and unproven behavior, and, therefore, fraught with potential for failure — he’ll often default to that which made him feel productive and useful before. Go into the office and get busy with clerical work.
I’m not sure that these decisions are rational or conscious. It’s just the force of habit directing us to fill our days with that which is comfortable as opposed to that which is risky.
Self-Image Barriers
Closely associated with that is the sales person’s self-image. This can be a huge barrier to the sales person’s performance. Some salespeople, for example, just don’t see themselves as substantial enough to interact with a CEO or CFO, or any C-level executive. They see themselves as much more
comfortable with the operators and purchasing people. It is a matter of their image of themselves.
One of the lessons I’ve learned over the years is that people will inevitably revert to their image of themselves. They will become who they see themselves as being.
Specifically, to your issue, typically high potential accounts are larger accounts where there are a variety of different types of people and job descriptions with whom the salesperson must interact. If he sees himself as a “good old boy” who can create relationships with other “good old boys,” that image of himself is going to
prevent him from calling on the accounts where there may be very few “good old boys.”
Changing habits and self-image?
So, we have two specific causes of the problem: Habit, and Self-Image.
Your first step is to decide which of these is predominant in each individual salesperson.
You can help someone change their habits if they are willing to work at it.
Create specific expectations; put some incentive behind achieving what you want them to achieve and create some consequences for not; manage them closely; measure them accurately; and praise and encourage them publically for success. One of my previous articles, “Implement Change,” speaks specifically to this issue.
Self-image is a far more powerful force. Outside of an intense brain-washing experience, or a transformational spiritual event, I don’t think adults easily change their image of themselves.
If you believe that is the issue, you can work intensely with the salesperson. Taking him with you on calls to C-level executives, coaching him, modeling behavior, training him, etc. But, from my experience, that is a long and tough journey, with the likelihood of only limited and sporadic success.
My suggestion? Focus him on those accounts with whom he is comfortable and find someone else to call on the high potential accounts.