CRM Current Reps vs. Former Reps

You may remember a blog post that I wrote about a former rep that used CRM data cleaning as an excuse for poor performance. You can read about that HERE.  Accurate data is important, especially making sure critical data is accurate and spelled correctly. But spending the time to remove 'www' in the website field (even though it worked just fine having it there) or adding a period behind every state abbreviation is beyond ridiculous. But I digress.

A good salesperson is often perceived as a "bit" arrogant. It is really easy when you are the brand-new shiny rep to think that you are blameless, perfect and that any previous reps were idiots and morons.  There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance. I'll hire confidence every day, but I will avoid arrogance like the plague.

We are moving to a new CRM system, and I have been reviewing old CRM data and importing it into our new CRM.  I came across this comment in our CRM today from our infamous data clean up rep.

"S/W Sheila. She does not remember talking to 'Sally Sales Rep'. No needs, but confirmed her email and I sent it. Sheila had mentioned that "it could of been someone else" 'Sally Sales Rep'. visited with. After uncovering her title, once again, ''Sally Sales Rep'. was talking to a Admin, not the DM. NEXT: Look-up a new Marketing contact and confirm DM's name. "

 I can't even begin to tell you how many of these types of comments I come across in our CRM. Our new rep decided he was better than our former rep (he also decided he was better than me, but that is a different story).

So here is my unsolicited advice and observation to both a new rep and their boss.

1. As a new sales rep, you do not always know the history of a rep. In this case? 'Sally Sales Rep' was a fabulous sales rep and I would have taken her back in a heartbeat. She had to leave our company to care for a family member.

2. Saying or making these comments? It makes you look small and petty to be trashing your predecessor via notes in CRM. Really. The best way to make a previous rep look bad? Outperform them. Period.

3. This type of passive aggressive and narcissistic behavior is a death knell for the future of this rep. Cut your losses and move on. This type of personality will blame everyone else (remember the CRM data cleaning?) for their shortcomings or mistakes.

4. Are you a CRM admin? Watch out for these kinds of notes in CRM, they are a great indicator of the personality traits of a rep. Culture and personality are incredibly important in a rep. If they don't represent your company well by being rude, snarky or arrogant, they can and will cost you money in more ways than one.

Stay tuned for more about confidence vs. arrogance. But I want to leave you with this.

A confident person brings people together and celebrates everyone's wins.  An arrogant person thinks they are better than everyone else, shouts their own accomplishments, belittles or demoralizes others.

Truly confident people do not need to compare themselves to others or put others down. Their actions and results will show through.  Arrogant people never take responsibility for their own shortcomings.

Be confident.

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Lori Hanken has been in sales and marketing for over 30 years. She is passionate about service and providing value to her vendors, prospects and clients. Lori is currently co-owner of Total Displays with her husband David. They help people look great at events, trade shows, in retail, museums and develop long partnerships with customers and suppliers. If you would like to learn more, email her at lori@totaldisplays.com. She is an open networker, connect with her on LinkedIn here.

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