How to Clone Success

Do you ever wish you could clone your top performers so that you could have an entire team of them? Well, until medical science makes that possible, you’ll have to deal with all the diverse people on your sales team. While you can’t clone your superstars, you can use them in other ways. As mentors and trainers, they have much to offer new or junior reps. But it’s not as easy as it sounds. Used the wrong way, top performers will make the other reps feel more insecure and less motivated than ever before. At the same time, your once-productive sales stars will begin to slip because they are spending all their time training.

Annette Bradley, southeast regional manager, specialties, for The Dow Chemical Company, uses her top performers as consultants and trainers but tries to keep them involved in their normal work. Each week, 10 to15 percent of Bradley’s top reps are recognized as “Pinnacle.” Pinnacle reps participate both in business-team and sales-team meetings. At business-team meetings, they describe how they work with customers. During sales-team meetings, they share their successful approaches and techniques in negotiating and value-added selling. A valuable contribution from top performers is sharing best practices that have worked for them in contract negotiation, global contracting and working effectively with people from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Since Bradley’s team members don’t work in traditional sales offices, providing opportunities for everyone to see top performers in action can be a challenge. She uses periodic staff meetings and such team-building recreational activities as white-water rafting, group dinners and golf to get team members together face-to-face.

Many top performers have valuable skills that are not obvious to others. One of Bradley’s reps achieved Pinnacle status for her inside-sales performance, but Bradley also gave team members an opportunity to see how the Pinnacle inside-sales rep uses a customer relationship management software tool to make her more effective with customers. At a group meeting, the rep demonstrated the software system and showed how it could be a valuable resource for other team members.

Top performers can be effective teachers and trainers. Dow Chemical has a “job shadow” program in which trainees spend time with top performers. Trainees are assigned to Pinnacle reps. They follow the reps during a training period, seeing what they do and how they do it. This technique provides effective models for new employees.

However, don’t go overboard. “Don’t overuse your top performers. Otherwise, your other team members may become discouraged or de-motivated by seeing the same people getting all the recognition,” Bradley cautions other managers. “Every member of your team has special qualities that could benefit others. Try to identify and spotlight each person’s special skills that can benefit everyone.”

Phil Mosca, director, branch sales for Elite Technical, a technical consulting firm that provides information technology, networking and engineering consultants for Fortune 1000 companies, goes even further than Bradley in using his top performers as mentors. His superstars become mentors, always accompanied by a junior person wherever they go when on the job.

“New employees are considered ‘mentees’ until they learn how to do things the Elite Technical way,” Mosca explains. “Our top performers have already met our goals. As mentors, they share their experience with their trainees. Each mentor is responsible for the success of a new team member and qualifies for benefits such as a day off with pay, based on the trainee’s performance.”

Mosca also uses his top performers to build client relations. Trainees come along to see their mentors in action at meetings and lunches with clients and are encouraged to participate in conference calls with them.

Elite’s mentoring program allows top performers to continue to do the work they enjoy while duplicating their success by sharing skills with new employees. But not all top performers should be mentors. “Be sure an individual has the right people skills, personality, technical skills and patience to be an effective mentor,” advises Mosca. “Remember that mentors not only have to keep up with their own work, but also need to be responsible for the success of the team as a whole. Don’t make mentoring a new assignment that is required of top performers. Instead offer it as an option, and encourage those who are fully qualified and interested to come to you.”

Bradley adds, “Don’t get your top performers so involved in coaching and being role models that you take them away from the work they love and do well. Role modeling should occur naturally, not be forced. Role models are most effective when they can be used in their natural surroundings – not forced into being onstage all the time.”