Salespeople are seldom given a second chance in a company -- unlike people in other roles. A developer, for example, may get behind on the latest software tools and languages but is never fired on the spot for lack of knowledge.

Today, companies often provide the opportunity to further employee education, even paying for classes to advance their careers. A company looking to give a current project manager a bigger role in the company may send that person to leadership development training. But, if a salesperson isn't performing, we automatically consider that individual a bad salesperson. There are no classes, no development training programs, and no second chances. If you don’t make your quota, you will likely be considered incapable or a bad fit and be asked to leave.

A company’s sales department is crucial to its growth and resilience in any market, so why aren't we trying to develop better salespeople?

A common technique in manufacturing, the "five whys," is a method for understanding the underlying issues of any problem. For sales managers, the five whys can be a great technique for finding the root of the problem in the sales process. In sales, it is quite common for a sales manager to hear their sales representatives are receiving pushback from prospective clients. But if phrases such as, “It was bad timing,” or “I think we are too expensive,” are becoming too familiar, sales managers need to start asking, “Do I have a bad sales team, or is there a deeper issue?” These five whys can help you answer that question:

  • Why did Salesperson ‘A’ lose Customer ‘Z’?
  • The customer said it wasn’t the right time to purchase the product.
  • Why wasn’t it the right time for Customer ‘Z’?
  • Customer ‘Z’ didn’t consider the product a high enough priority.
  • Why isn’t it a high priority for Customer ‘Z’?
  • Customer ‘Z’ didn’t understand the value of the product to the business.
  • Why didn’t Customer ‘Z’ understand the value?
  • Salesperson ‘A’ didn’t know the needs of Customer ‘Z’, even though the lead was already qualified by a development representative before Customer ‘Z’ was transferred to Salesperson ‘A.’
  • Why didn’t Salesperson ‘A’ know Customer ‘Z’s’ needs from the sales development representative?
  • The sales development representative had not noted Customer ‘Z’s’ issues anywhere in the company’s CRM database.
With the five whys, a sales manager not only has insight into the specific reason for a given lost sale, but also any possible long-term communication concern that could be detrimental to future sales if internal issues are not resolved. A further internal look into how the company’s CRM system is run wouldn’t hurt; however, in this case, the missed sales opportunity is not the result of a “bad salesperson.” Rather, it’s the result of an internal sales process that isn’t promoting effective communication between sales development representatives and salespeople. Asking the five whys allows a sales manager to get to the root of the problem, which is often easily fixed with a little sales education.

In its simplest form, sales is a process that needs to be constantly reassessed, refined, and developed. Doing so enables the people who rely on it to do their job to the best of their ability. There will be times when the root issue is human, but by asking why and focusing on the problem, you’ll find many times it’s a lack of process, information, or structure that leads to a breakdown.

Hampus Jakobsson is CEO of Brisk, a Salesforce compatible sales productivity software provider with customers such as Evernote, Say Media, and Intercom. Prior to founding Brisk, he cofounded TAT, which was acquired by Blackberry for $150 million in 2010. He also avidly invests in several different startups.