The CRAP Report

Ah yes – you know where that line comes from, don’t you?  While country music is not necessarily my go-to choice of music genres, I really love the song The Gambler by Kenny Rogers.  I love it for a couple of reasons, really.  Growing up, I can remember listening to it in my parents’ living room, on their 8-track player no less!  There’s a nostalgic factor to that song that can take me right back to that living room some 30 years ago.  I also like that song because I enjoy playing poker; Texas Hold ‘Em for me, thanks.  It doesn’t get any more cliché than listening to that song while playing, but it means more to me because I do play (not well at all, in fact).  How does this relate to teleprospecting, though?  Well, I’ve got to tell that when you’re dealing with business development reps, sometimes you really do need to know when to fold ‘em.

We’ve all had them, right?  Employees that we LOVE and could never imagine working without.  Then, something happens, and all of sudden you’re like, “why have I been holding on to this person for so long?”  If you’re partnering with an organization to provide you with sales qualified opportunities or maybe you’re managing a team of teleprospectors yourself, but regardless of which, there’s going to come a time when you need to let go of one of your BDR’s.  The way I see it, there are three instances (barring an HR issue) that should cue you as to when it’s time to fold ‘em, and let them go: 

1. Productions been gone – for a while.
2. They’ve become a negative influence on your culture.
3. They’re change averse.

The first one is easily the most obvious – productions been gone, for a while.  Look, if you’ve got a BDR and they’re not producing for you, you can do one of two things – you can figure out why or you can just let them go.  I think most of us would always opt for the former, but in the cases where you can’t, for the life of you, figure out why they’re not producing anymore, then it’s time to help them transition on to something else.  Let’s say, too, that you’ve got a BDR who you really enjoy working with; they’re always positive and always contributing to your corporate culture.  The problem is that they’re just not cutting it like they used to.  Maybe in the past you could get 10 to 15 fully qualified sales opportunities out of them, and now you’re lucky to get five or six.  Regardless of how you feel about them, it’s time to move them off of your team (or your vendor’s team).  Be friends with them outside of the office, sure, but don’t let that connection drag you down because of their lack of performance.  Again, I know this one’s obvious but it’s no less important to stress.

Second, when you have a BDR who’s become a negative influence on your culture, it’s time to let them go.  You know who this rep is, they’re the one that’s always got something to say and doesn’t care who’s around to hear it.  It’s always uncomfortable and always negative and always demeaning to someone.  They’re not happy with the account they’re on, they’re not happy with the team they’re working with, and their numbers are never where they’re at because it’s someone else’s fault.  Goodness gracious, get rid of them!  Now sometimes, that negative person is really good at the job.  In that case, I still advocate letting that individual go.  It’s not worth it to the rest of the good people that you have working with and for you.  Negativity in a teleprospecting bullpen is like a cancer – I’ve watched it first hand, and you’ve got to deal with it quickly before it spreads.

Lastly, when you’ve got a BDR who’s change averse, it may be a sign that it’s time to fold ‘em.  These folks can have you or your trainers sit with them, listen in on calls, and give them tons of feedback on areas of improvement, and when you sit with them days later, they’ve neglected all of your suggestions.  These BDR’s just can’t get it together in terms of implementing new ways of doing things.  They’re stuck in a rut, stuck in old ways of thinking, and they don’t want to do anything about it.  Get rid of them.  You don’t need that, nor do your clients.

What do you think?  There are other reasons for “folding” a BDR – what did I miss?

Photo Credit:  Alex Stoen on Flickr