Stop firing salespeople without warning. 

If a salesperson is surprised they're being fired, it's a massive leadership failure. 

By "warning" I don't mean telling someone they're going to be fired, that usually doesn't help the situation. 

I do mean there's been significant momentum and attention drawn to their performance and great efforts have been made to improve the situation.

Then if/when the conversation needs to take place, they're not completely surprised and blindsided by the decision. 

By "surprised" I don't mean there's no shock factor, there often is, but the news shouldn't be difficult to comprehend. 

Startups are amazing and fun but one major downside is extremely junior leadership who often have zero professional training or experience.

CEO's it's good to be honest with yourself if you and your leadership team have no real experience hiring/firing and solve for that problem ASAP. 

The way your company invites and exits employees has a lot to do with the quality employees you'll retain and gain in the coming years. 

Hire help if you need to, but don't just wing it.

Both good and bad employees deserve better in this regard.

Please do better.

I've always found it best to have very clear employment guidelines posted in the Sales Playbook and covered in the first week of training.

This provides reps a clear understanding for what % to quota they need to average and how many months they are able to miss quota while remaining eligible for employment.

Keep it simple with a few short bullets and make sure to mention that these are merely guidelines and they are always open to management's discretion.

Use this document as a talking point in your 1:1 coaching sessions as one of many tools to help guide the rep toward success while ensuring they have a clear understanding of what's expected.

Happy Selling,