A long time client of mine had their sales targets set by the board of directors in isolation of a market assessment or a discussion with the sales leaders. They announced the targets to the street before any discussion. The expected growth is unattainable but it’s too late…the expectations have been set.
It’s half way through the year and one region is meeting target, until a production problem reduces quality to such a low level that customers are returning product faster than they are buying it. In this market, where the selling season is finite and the number of customers are static, making up the lost revenue is impossible. To the team, the sales year is over.
The only ones financially affected by this debacle is the sales team as they will not receive their bonuses. And now we discover that their jobs are literally on the line if targets are not achieved.
I ask you this, when is it ever an ethical business practice to dock the pay and fire an employee while they have met expectations and only because another team has obviously messed up?
I predict that this client will lose many excellent sellers this year who will leave in protest of this stupid-ass board room decision. As a result, their sales (and ultimately their business) will continue to suffer.
