1. Module Ten
Evaluating the Performance
of Salespeople

2. Purposes of Salesperson
Performance Evaluations
• Ensure that compensation is consistent with
actual salesperson performance
• Identify salespeople that might be promoted
• Identify salespeople who should be terminated
and to supply documentation
• Determine training and counseling needs
• Human resource planning
• Identify criteria for recruiting
and selecting salespeople

3. Purposes of Salesperson
Performance Evaluations
• Advise salespeople of work expectations
• Motivate salespeople
• Help salespeople set career goals
• Relate salesperson performance to sales
organization goals
• Enhance communications between
salesperson and sales manager
• Improve salesperson performance

4. Salesperson Performance
Evaluation Approaches
General conclusions:
• Annual basis
• Combine input and output criteria
• Use quantitative and qualitative measures
• Performance standards and quotas are set
in collaboration with salespeople
• Assign weights to different objectives
• Incorporate territory data

5. Salesperson Performance
Evaluation Approaches
General conclusions (continued):
• Multiple sources of information
• Conducted by the field sales manager who
supervises the salesperson
• Provide a written copy of the review and
conduct a personal discussion

6. 360-Degree Feedback System
• Evaluated by multiple
raters Sales
Manager
• Salesperson’s value to
Evaluation
the organization and
customers
• Considerations
– Quality data Salesperson
– Confidentiality
– Useful
– Not used exclusively

7. Perspectives on Salesperson
Performance Evaluation
Outcome-Based Behavior-Based
• Little monitoring of • Considerable
people monitoring of
salespeople
• Little managerial
• High levels of
direction of managerial direction
salespeople of salespeople
• Straightforward • Subjective measures
objectives measures of salesperson
of results characteristics,
activities, and
strategies

8. Dimensions of Salesperson
Performance Evaluation
Behavioral Results
Salesperson
Performance
Professional
Profitability
Development

9. Criteria for Performance Evaluation
Behavior:
• Activities performed
• Activities to promote long-term customer
satisfaction
• Sales calls
• Customer complaints
• Required reports submitted
• Training meetings
• Letters and calls to prospects

10. Criteria for Performance Evaluation
Professional Development:
• Assess improvements in certain
characteristics: traits, skills, knowledge
– Attitude
– Product knowledge
– Initiative and assertiveness
– Communication skills
– Ethical behavior

11. Criteria for Performance Evaluation
Results:
• Measured objectively: sales, market
share
• Possible negative effects
• Sales quotas

12. Elements Important in
Assigning Sales Quotas
• Concentration of businesses
• Geographic size of the territory
• Growth of businesses within the territory
• Commitment by the sales manager to assist
• Complexity of products sold
• Past sales performance
• Extent of product line
• Financial support
• Amount of clerical support

13. Criteria for Performance Evaluation
Profitability:
• Specific products sold
• Prices negotiated
• Expenses incurred
• Criteria

14. Performance Evaluation Methods:
Characteristics any method should include
• Job Relatedness
• Reliability
• Validity
• Standardization
• Practicality
• Comparability
• Discriminability
• Usefulness

15. Performance Evaluation Methods
Graphic Rating/Checklist Methods
• Performance evaluation form
• Especially useful in evaluating behavioral and
professional development criteria
• Good on most characteristics, especially job
relatedness, standardization, practicality, and
comparability
• Disadvantage is providing evaluations that
discriminate sufficiently

16. Performance Evaluation Methods:
Ranking Methods
• Rank all salespeople according to relative
performance on each performance criterion
• These methods force discrimination as to the
performance of individual salespeople
• May be complex
• Rankings only reveal relative performance
evaluation

17. Performance Evaluation Methods:
Objective-Setting Methods
Management By Objectives (MBO)
• Mutual setting of well-defined and
measurable goals within a specified time
period.
• Managing activities within the specified time
period toward the accomplishment of the
stated objectives.
• Appraisal of performance against objectives.

18. Performance Evaluation Methods
Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS)
• Links behaviors to specific results
• Salespeople are used to develop
performance results and critical behaviors
• Positive feedback about behaviors may be
more effective than positive output
feedback

19. BARS Scale: Cooperative Relations with Other Sales Team Members
Behavioral Anchor Statements Could be expected…
…to cooperate when aid is requested by other team members.
10 …to go out of her/his way to help the team achieve its goals.
9
8 …to lend a helping hand and can be expected to try hard to help the team.
…to occasionally support the team on problems encountered in the field
7
6 …to contribute half-heartedly to the team effort to accomplish goals
5
4 …not to care much about the team and its members
3 …to antagonize members of the team and pull against the team goals
2
1
0

20. Performance Evaluation Bias
• Occurs when a manager’s evaluation of a
salesperson is affected by considerations
other than the specified criteria
• Common sources of bias:
– Personal relationships
– Perceived difficulty of territory
– Impression management
– Halo effect
– Outcomes bias

21. Framework for Using
Performance Information
Evaluate Salespeople against Relevant
Performance Criteria
Identify Problems
Isolate Causes
Determine Solutions

22. Salesperson Job Satisfaction
• Job satisfaction related to turnover,
absenteeism, motivation, and organizational
commitment
• Job satisfaction may be related to performance
(direction of relationship is unknown)

23. Salesperson Job Satisfaction
• INDSALES measures satisfaction with:
– Job
– Fellow workers
– Supervision
– Company policy and support
– Pay
– Promotion and advancement
– Customers
• Results may identify areas where manager may
intervene to improve job satisfaction