Has your sales staff become complacent and stale or maybe one person is pulling all the weight for your business? Maybe you are tired of having to cattle-prod your sales team on a weekly basis or could you be the three-person-show with one member dragging you down?

Cultivating and harvesting top sales people, or what some people call producers is a tough job. It’s not easy but someone has to do it if your business is going to be successful in the long run.

If you are going to move your small business to the next level, don’t get caught like this business did. They had a lot of momentum and drive. Out of ten sales people, three were writing over 50% of the sales for a particular vendor, and sales were increasing year over year. These three people were all entirely different but had drive, passion, and motivation. Between them they each contributed and lent to the continued increase in success of this vendor.

Then tragedy struck when all of a sudden, two of the top sales people left the company. It was as if someone turned down the faucet, and sales declined. Now this loss of these two top producers was a significant, contributing factor, and has hurt sales until recently. This company finally recruited new sales people, and looks to be getting back on track.

Avoid this scenario and consider the possibility of growing your sales by cultivating and harvesting new sales people who are motivated and excited to be a part of your organization. What can you do to cultivate and harvest top sales producers in your small business?

Here are some suggestions:

• Cultivating new talent has got to be a priority, not a fire drill!
• Avoid mediocrity and complacency by cleaning house on an occasional basis.
• Keep trimming and updating your sales training programs. Learn and grow!

If you don’t have training in place then get busy and make it happen.

• Put the fire in the basement when possible – in other words find a new rising star who desires to make an impact and then support ‘em with all you got!
• Offer incentives, bonuses & rewards for those that produce for your organization.
• Network with other business owners; keep your feelers out and eyes open, because you never know when top talent will cross your path. A top producer might already be working for a competitor or vendor in some cases. Remember, companies merge, down-size and close, so it’s important to stay on top of industry changes.

It is my observation that top producers generally have certain traits, like passion, and a desire to excel in all areas of their lives, not just work. This trait will show itself when they come across your path. You’ll know it and will need to act quickly; making the connection before you part ways.

Work on cultivating top tier producers. If you do, then make ready for the harvest and watch your sales grow!