It’s not hard to work yourself into a rut. You don’t have to exert any extra energy to do it. Just do the same thing over and over for 10 years and, wham, any rep can create quite a groove. Sometimes it’s tough to get out of it. Look closely at any sales team, and you’ll find a mix of new recruits and old-timers. These days an old-timer is not some fuddy-duddy sitting on a porch rocker but anyone who’s been selling for the same company 10 years or more. Those old-timers are more likely to be in a rut than newer recruits. This poses a challenge for sales managers: the standard carrots and sticks may have worn thin and lost their punch. Sales managers have to face the reality that seasoned reps may need more than money and trinkets to keep producing at ever-higher levels. Remember, reps aren’t the only ones who get into ruts.

“Sales managers get into the rut of thinking that the primary motivation of salespeople is income. But a veteran who’s been successful over a 10-year period may have different reinforcers,” explains Aubrey Daniels, Ph.D., chairman of Aubrey Daniels & Associates International, a management-consulting firm based in Atlanta. “The manager tries to throw more money at them, but the issue is, the reinforcers have changed and the manager hasn’t changed with them,” he says.

Daniels once consulted with the owner of a temporary placement company. Business was good but wasn’t growing the way she thought it should. “The staff would get up to a level and kind of quit at the end of the year. She was giving trips and bonuses to try to motivate them,” he recalls. But when Daniels met one-on-one with the account reps, he found out what they really wanted was more time off. “She hadn’t changed the reinforcement pattern as the reps matured.”

Can we talk?

Ideally, a manager will pick up on a drop in energy before results are in the tank. The rep is not making enough calls, or he’s missing deadlines, and reports are lagging. At the first sign of trouble, the manager should have a chat with the rep. “I sit down and have a conversation. We lose the ability through email and voice mail to convey true feelings, so sometimes just a face-to-face conversation is a way for the rep to state clearly what the problem is,” says Tom Hippensteel, product and market development manager for Sullivan Supply in Seattle, WA.

After 17 years as a sales manager, Mike Hansen, director of global sales and operations at IBM, is able to cut to the chase quickly. “I ask five to 10 pointed questions, and it becomes apparent what the issue is,” he explains. Queries like How do you like this customer?, Do you find their business interesting? and How do you feel our new product is being accepted in the market? help pinpoint the source of the malaise.

Underlying that conversation is a good relationship with the rep, one built on respect and trust. “There has to be an open, honest relationship. The sales rep has to be able to talk about problems with the manager and to push back to the manager. If the manager has an ‘it’s my way or the highway’ attitude, the rep won’t feel he can communicate openly,” advises Brent Filson, president of the Filson Leadership Group in Williamstown, MA, and author of Authority Is a Poor Excuse for Leadership: 325 Maxims on Action Leadership.

What makes them tick?

Part of the relationship also involves understanding what makes the rep tick. “You’ve got to pick up on signals and really get to know the person,” says Anthony Pappas, product and sales manager for Advanced Instruments in Norwood, MA. “You’ve got to find out what turned the rep on to sales in the first place and tap into that challenge.” IBM’s Hansen looks for flames of passion – for competition and winning, for the business and product represented, and for customers. “The best sellers have energy and are excited about what they’re doing, but client fatigue happens. If you’ve been with the same company for many years, or in the same territory or representing the same product, you can loose energy.”

At one time, a rep Hansen worked with who sold solutions wasn’t performing up to snuff. He didn’t have a tangible product to offer when he first met with clients and had to collaborate with them to find the right combination of products and services. “He was not doing a good job of identifying opportunities, so I talked with him and found out what he liked and didn’t like about his current position. We discovered he was more motivated by the customer relationship and selling products and being involved in their implementation rather than finding solutions,” he recalls. The rep transferred to a product line and became a top performer.

Don’t dismiss the importance of kudos. “Salespeople are suckers for social reinforcement. They love taking time to relive accomplishments and talk about difficult sales. A good sales manager is constantly on the alert for a way to capture milestones and do things that create memories,” advises Daniels. One way that Pappas routinely taps into that energy is by making sales reps feel special, particularly on the days when they’re at headquarters attending sales meetings. “We treat them almost like customers. There’s a breakfast buffet outside the conference room, and everyone knows the reps are in the office. The reps know they’re highly spoken of, and I try to be their champion and make sure they shine,” he reports.

Look in the mirror

Without realizing it, the sales manager often is the cause of a rep’s funk, according to Daniels. “Managers think the problem lies with the salesperson, but they really shouldn’t blame the person for doing what they’ve been reinforced for doing,” he claims. A pattern of seasoned reps falling off in sales is a sure-fire signal of manager-as-instigator. Managerial and sales styles also may be out of sync. “Sales managers may want a salesperson just like themselves, so they choke down on autonomy. That’s when you see an experienced rep shut down and loose motivation,” advises Kevin Madden, vice president of global sales for ACS-Service at Honeywell. Other no-noes: splitting territories or pulling back the products or services represented without giving something in return. “Those are bad practices. They’re some of the biggest ways salespeople become demotivated,” says Daniels.

Even in less contentious circumstances, the rep may not be comfortable telling the boss he’s doing something unhelpful. Hippensteel finesses the situation by asking if there’s anything he can do in the future. “It gives the rep a way of saying, without saying it directly, ‘You dropped the ball’ or ‘You screwed up,’” he explains.

Given the nuances of the manager-rep relationship, it may take more than a conversation to diagnose a drop in productivity. At Honeywell, a manager would dissect the rep’s performance vis-à-vis the company’s five-step sales process, according to Madden. “It tells us where we need to educate and coach,” he explains. It also gives a picture of how comfortable and confident the rep is, two keys to maintaining sales performance. Role-playing exercises are a good way to get a fix on both a rep’s confidence and understanding of desired sales methods, he says.

Seeing reps in action can also flush out the problem. “If you watch them, you can see their eyes light up and they get into the moment. You can see what turns them on in the sales process,” explains Pappas. “One advantage I have as the product manager is that I can assess their sales skills – maybe they’re great, but they just need some more technical training on the product.”

Motivating versus ordering

Whatever the source of the slump, simply telling the rep to get over it is a nonstarter. “Great things happen when we get people to want to do something versus just ordering them to do it,” advises Filson. To effect such a change, he recommends creating an emotional link with the person. Forging that link involves what Filson calls a leadership talk, in which the sales manager makes clear how taking a certain action that is important to the sales manager will also meet the sales rep’s needs. “The salesperson must choose to be motivated, so you want to get that person to believe in you and want to take action for your cause,” he explains. From there, the sales manager gives the sales rep power to develop and implement actions designed to accomplish the end goal. “When the sales manager challenges the rep to take leadership, it creates a difference in commitment,” he contends.

Here’s how it works: maybe a veteran has slacked off because she no longer feels she’s making an important contribution to the company. The sales manager ultimately wants her to increase activities that result in more sales. To get there, however, he may ask the rep to lead a mentoring effort that teams novices with veterans for advice and informal support. The added responsibility and esteem meet the rep’s underlying need and reinvigorate her to get back on track.

When a person’s out in the wilderness, any positive stroke is a good one, even if it means the manager has to lower his expectations for a while. “You can never go wrong reinforcing improvements, but you may have to set smaller goals and start where you are, not where you want to be,” explains Daniels. For example, if a rep should be making five calls a day but is making only two, set a smaller target and reward. As performance improves and the rep gains confidence, adjust the target and rewards upward.

Another way to rev up motivation is to temporarily take over part of a rep’s responsibilities until he’s firmly back on his feet. “It’s the law of psychological reciprocity. If you do something nice for someone, they’ll do something nice for you,” explains Hippensteel. “If someone needs to get through a rough spot and the territory can’t withstand it, we’ll hop in and help.”

Cutting ties

Despite best efforts, sometimes nothing works. The rep is simply in a rut that you can’t help him or her out of. Daniels recommends making at least two formal efforts to set and track concrete goals and reward progress. For Hippensteel, the point of no return is when, “after repeated complaints from customers, you’ve made suggestions on how to deal with problems that aren’t taken to heart, and the sales rep’s alternatives don’t solve the problem.” Hansen throws in the towel when the rep stops building his or her knowledge base and skills. “Especially in our business, which changes so rapidly, sellers have to continually invest in industry knowledge. When they’ve stopped, it’s a sure indicator that they’ve reached a level where they’re not doing what needs to be done.”

In some instances, the type of goals and challenges reps propose for themselves are a sign the situation can’t be repaired. “The quality of actions salespeople plan to take will tell you whether they’re excited or stale from the job,” says Filson. While the decision to continue working with a rep or to encourage that person to move on should be based on objective performance targets, “ultimately, it’s an instinctive feel the sales manager has for the situation and the person,” he contends.

To avoid having to push a rep on to greener pastures, stay alert, intervene early, and above all, keep communications flowing. As Hippensteel puts it, “Open dialogue has always served me well.”