Isaac Adewumi

Tue, 13 May 2025 16:32:00 GMT

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How to Turn Underperforming Sales Agents Into Top Performers

Let’s be honest, not every field agent you bring on will shine from day one.

Some look the part. Some sound confident. Some show up with polished CVs and bold claims like “I can sell water to someone under the rain.” But after a few days in the field, it's excuses, low numbers, and disappearing acts.

So, what actually separates an underperforming field sales agent with real potential from someone who’s just not built for this work? And more importantly, how do you take someone from “barely hitting sales targets” to “leading the scoreboard”?

I had an honest conversation with Idris, our Sales and Account Manager at Hustlebean, who’s a field sales grandmaster and veteran sales agents runner. Here’s the breakdown.

1. Find the sales agents’ problem: Is it skill, motivation, or campaign fit?

One of the biggest mistakes managers make is assuming every underperforming sales agents is lazy or inexperienced. But according to Idris, that’s rarely the full story.

“It’s usually not a skill issue. Most of our sales agents have done field sales before. The bigger problem is campaign fit.”

That’s it. Most low-performing agents aren’t clueless, they’re just in the wrong situation. When we dug deeper, he explained it like this:

• A skill issue shows up when someone struggles with product knowledge or can’t handle objections.
• A motivation issue is when the agent knows exactly what to do but can’t bring themselves to do it consistently.
• A fit issue is harder to spot, it’s when someone shows up, tries their best, but still doesn’t connect with the product, the people, or the pitch style.

And let’s be real, CVs won’t tell you this. Someone might have worked on five campaigns through multiple market penetration executions before, but if they don’t match your customers or your sales process, they’ll still flop.

“Coachability beats previous sales background any day,” Idris said. And he’s right.

2. Don't ignore the red flags

If you’ve been in the sales game for a while, you’ve heard the stories:

• “I closed 50 customers in one month.”
• “I’m a natural-born seller.”
• “My last company just didn’t know how to use me.”

These lines sound impressive on paper. But on the field, they often come from sales reps who peak during onboarding, and ghost during campaign week.

According to Idris, the real red flags aren’t just what they say, it’s how they behave:

• They can’t give specifics when asked how they closed deals.
• They talk more than they listen, even during training.
• They blame everyone else for their past failures.
• They resist feedback, or worse, they nod and never implement it.

And the surprising part? It’s often the quiet ones, the ones who ask questions and listen more, that end up thriving once they get support.

“Pretenders resist feedback. Coachables ask, learn, and grow.”

That’s why at Hustlebean, we don’t just take your word for it. We run pitch simulations, throw you real-life scenarios, and watch how you adapt, before you ever step into the field.

3. Don’t just complain about underperformers, coach them.

When sales agents are underperforming, most sales managers start with pressure, more targets, more calls, more threats. But you don’t fix bad performance with vibes and deadlines, you fix it with coaching. And that’s something a lot of people still underestimate.

Here’s how we do it:

• Micro-coaching in real time: We don’t wait till Friday to tell you what went wrong on Monday. You get feedback immediately, on your pitch, your posture, even your tone.
• Daily check-ins and peer accountability: It’s hard to sell when you’re overwhelmed. Sometimes, just knowing someone’s in your corner helps.
• Clear performance scorecards: Not just “try harder,” but “Here’s where you missed it, and here’s how to adjust.”
• Mentorship over micromanagement: Our team leads aren’t just there to clock attendance, they’re in the trenches, sharing strategy and support.

“Managing people is like growing a tree, if you don’t prune it early, it’ll grow into your window,” Idris said.

Translation, if let small problems within your sales and marketing team slide today, and you’ll be chasing bigger issues tomorrow.

4. Not every agent works for every sales campaign

One mistake we see brands make again and again is treating all campaigns, and all agents, the same.

But here’s what we’ve learned, the same reliable sales agent who struggled selling fintech products might crush it on a skincare campaign. It’s about matching people to what suits them.

“We had this one agent who couldn’t close a single deal in two weeks. We were ready to cut her, but something told me to try her on another campaign. Next thing, she was doing 20 sales in a week.”

Some field sales agents thrive with cold pitching on the street. Others need structured events or mall activations. Some prefer team-based selling, while others love the solo hustle.

So now, at Hustlebean, we look beyond experience. We ask:

• What kind of customers has this agent sold to before?
• What kind of selling style energizes them?
• Do they do better with urgency-based products or trust-based ones?

We’re not guessing, we’re matching agents to campaigns that fit their personality, experience and skill level.

5. The middle sales performers are your secret weapon

Most people focus only on the top 10 percent or the bottom 10 percent. Top agents get all the praise. Low agents get all the pressure. But what about the huge average group in the middle, the ones who are almost there?

“That’s where the magic is,” Idris said.

These agents don’t need a full overhaul. They just need structure, recognition, and a small push. Here’s what we do:

• Leaderboards and challenges: Gamify it your sales process. Let people see their sales rank, and fight for a reward - the reward could be airtime or data or company merchandise.
• Stretch roles: Let someone who’s improving handle a product demo, or train a newer agent. That confidence boost goes a long way.
• Skill clinics: You don’t need to organize a three-hour sales training session. A focused 20-minute sales training session on how to pitch better or handle rejections can work magic.

You don’t have to rebuild them, you just have to nudge them forward.

6. The Hustlebean way: structure over luck

At Hustlebean, we’ve learned that the best agents are made, not discovered. And that starts with how we build our system. Here’s what our sales agent success and performance process looks like:

• We screen for attitude, not just credentials. If you’re open to learning, you’re already ahead.
• We test before we trust, through simulations and mock pitches.
• We track everything, from daily activity to emotional red flags.
• We switch things up, because sometimes, the agent isn’t the problem, the campaign is.

“Sometimes people are just going through stuff. If someone suddenly drops in performance, it could be personal. Family, relationships, mental stress,” Idris added.

And that’s why our team leads checks constantly. Not just to push numbers, but to understand the people behind the pitch.

TLDR

If you’re building a field sales team, or you’re managing one right now, remember this: Most agents don’t fail because they’re bad.

They fail because they’re in the wrong system. The solution is to match better, train smarter, coach deeper. Sometimes, just check in with them and be human.

It’s not about hiring “born sellers.” It’s about creating an environment where anyone with drive can win.

Because in this sales game, top performance isn’t just talent, it’s teamwork, timing, and tight support systems.

Thinking about your next field sales push?

We’d love to help you plan smarter, hire better, and stay on budget.

Book a free call with Hustlebean now to get started