One of the things that surprises a lot of clients is my insistence on doing formal annual written evaluations of salespeople. “But, they know how they’re doing,” I’m told. Nonsense. Annual evaluations are a great tool for improvement; unfortunately, too many of the evaluations used don’t really cover the important areas that salespeople should be evaluated on. Today, let’s talk about the most important evaluation you will ever have – your own self evaluation.
At the end of the day, you are responsible to your customers, your co-workers, your employer, and your family. Most of all, you’re responsible to yourself, and the best salespeople are able to accurately evaluate how they have fulfilled that particular responsibility throughout the course of the year. For those of you who have never really evaluated your own performance, never fear: I have a four-point evaluation structure that will help you develop yourself now, and in the future. This comes with one warning, however – it only works if you’re completely honest. To take your own personal “check up from the neck up,” click below and read on.
Criteria one – the numbers: Obviously, the most important measure of achievement is results. So, how have your results been? Compare your performance to your goals, and give yourself a 1-5 rating by the following criteria: Give yourself a 1 if you’ve never gotten close enough to your quota to see it. Give yourself a 2 if you’re usually under quota, but every now and then, you’ve had a breakout month and made it. Give yourself a 3 if you’re usually at or close to quota. Give yourself a 4 if you’re usually well over quota, but still miss every now and then. If you can’t remember the last time you missed quota (more importantly, neither can your boss), and you’re usually 20% or more over, give yourself a 5. Now, multiply this result by 2.
Criteria two – the funnel: You should have targets for your sales funnel activities; i.e. appointments, proposals, etc. Rate yourself 1-5 again, with this criteria: If you’re consistently 20% or more below your targets, give yourself a 1. If you’re usually below target, but sometimes make it, give yourself a 2. Those of you who almost always hit target should give yourself a 3, while those of you who always meet and sometimes exceed targets should give yourself a 4. If you’re always over by 20% or more, give yourself a 5.
Criteria three – customer relationships: In this criteria, we will evaluate the quality of your customer interactions and relationships, as this is a predictor of your future ability to make your numbers. For the purpose of this exercise, focus on those customers that generate your top 80% of business. We’ll rate your relationships in terms of your ability to retain this business in the face of adversity as well as your customers’ willingness to evangelize for you, again on our 1-5 scale. If 50% or more of your top customers are one service failure away from leaving, give yourself a 1. If 20% to 49% of your customer base is one screw-up away from leaving, give yourself a 2. If 0-20% of your base is one mistake away, give yourself a 3. If you can withstand a screw-up with all of your customers, give yourself a 4. If you can withstand failure with all your customers, AND at least 25% of them are willing to refer you or serve as testimonials, give yourself a 5.
Criteria four – internal relationships: Some people don’t believe that it’s important for salespeople to be good internal citizens of their companies. To that, I say B.S. If you’re a negative influence inside your company, you’re costing that company money in lost productivity from those who are negatively affected by your poor attitude. On the other hand, being well liked and respected can pay career dividends in many different ways. Rate yourself 1-5 again on this criteria: If a conference room or office clears within 2 minutes of your entry (because no one can stand you), give yourself a 1. If you’re usually afraid to ask co-workers or support personnel for favors because they’re not willing to grant them, give yourself a 2. If you have at least three “go-to” people that you can get favors and help from, AND have people that you avoid because you can’t, give yourself a 3. If you are nearly universally respected, and have at least three “go-to” people, give yourself a 4. If everyone is your “go-to” person, give yourself a 5.
By now, you should have a feel for the criteria. 1 is awful, 2 is bad, 3 is average, 4 is good, 5 is superstar-level. We double-weighted sales results because, frankly, that’s the most important criteria. But it’s not the only criteria. In any criteria that you ranked yourself a 1 or 2, you have work to do. Seek help from co-workers, customers, and your boss to develop yourself. Overall, here is the scale:
25 to 30: You’re either a superstar or on the edge of superstardom (or at least you think so).
20 to 24: You’re good, a cut above average, and unlikely to have job worries anytime soon.
13 to 19: You’re average. Very, very average.
7 to 12: You’re below average to the point that you’re a constant worry for your boss.
1 to 6: Unless you’re brand new with no experience, in this category, you need overnight change of either behavior or career.
If you’re truly honest with yourself, this can be a very productive exercise. Don’t be afraid to solicit help from your boss, co-workers, and your customers. If you’re committed to self improvement, they’ll be happy to help.
