5 Types of Difficult Salespeople and How To Deal With Them [Guest Post]

Every sales organization is bound to have a few team members that can only be described as difficult. While everyone on the team may have their own unique personality and attitude, it may take a lot of adjustment and patience to deal with certain people on any given day.

As a sales manager, it’s important to know that just because one of your top sales representatives is consistently closing business doesn’t mean that they are untouchable. This person has to be a good employee, with a great attitude and loyalty to the organization.

Some managers would rather turn a blind eye to a salesperson’s bad behavior because they are doing well, but in the end, ignoring unseemly behavior may not only cost your team but even the entire organization.

How to Manage Difficult Personalities 

While you don’t have to kick out a salesperson right away for their actions, there are things that you can do to manage a difficult employee that will benefit that person and your whole team.

To get started, you’ll have to identify what type of employee you’re dealing with. By pinpointing the negative behavior, you can find solutions on how to deal with it and act accordingly.

Five Types of Difficult Salespeople and Tips on How to Manage Them

1. The Negative

The Negative person may always be closing, but they also have a habit of bad-mouthing higher-ups, the company and their teammates.

This person also tends to predict various “doomsday” scenarios regarding the organization and will take it upon herself to tell everyone that the business has hit a dead end.

Instead of encouraging a struggling teammate, they will tell that person that their efforts are for nothing and that it may be better for them to move on.

The Solution:

Being around a negative person can be toxic for the whole organization.

To manage this type of salesperson, have a one-on-one with them and point out specific moments when their attitude or statements have become a cause for concern.

Ask them why they feel this way toward the company. You can also ask them to provide constructive solutions to every negative thing that they bring up.

Also, you may want to check if this person is saying bad things about the company because they are keen to move on to another organization. If this is the case, it may be in the company’s best interest to let them go.

As a sales manager, it’s only natural to be concerned about your team’s performance after they are gone. But keep in mind that according to a Harvard Business School research, rooting out a toxic employee delivers twice the value to a company than hiring a superstar performer does.

2. The Bad Influence

This person is also known for being the most happy-go-lucky member of your team.

He’s the one who takes long lunches and is always inviting their teammates for a night out on the town. He is often late to client and office meetings, yet he somehow manages to get away with it. He makes references to drug use or alcohol abuse and people may have noticed that he may or may not be sober on certain days of the week.

The problem with being a bad influence is that this behavior can rub off on other members of the team.

Moreover, the actions of this person can negatively impact your sales team’s performance.

In a survey done by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, 40% of employees report at least one negative consequence associated with co-worker substance abuse. The consequences include job stress, job withdrawal, health problems, absences and work accidents.

The Solution:

Before meeting with Mr. Bad Influence, gather any documentation of performance or conduct problems and think about what items to discuss with him.

If you feel that their drinking has gotten out of hand and is causing performance problems, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management suggests that you should take responsibility in dealing with the performance or conduct problem and hold the employee responsible for their actions.

Also, it would be best to refer the salesperson to your organization’s Employee Assistance Program so he can have some short-term counseling.

3. The Victim

This salesperson is convinced that their success is being sabotaged by everybody.

They blame their co-workers if they weren’t able to close a sale and may even accuse others of taking the sale away from her. They may also blame the client and claim that they took too long to make a decision.

They may have even indirectly blamed you at one point, insinuating that your lack of support/encouragement/help is the reason why they’re not making more sales.

Salespeople with “victim syndrome” will always complain about everything in their lives. They will often choose to blame problems on other people rather than taking ownership of the situation.

What’s worse is they love to talk about being victimized and will gladly tell anyone who’s within earshot of all the ways that they’ve been mistreated.

The Solution:

It’s best to deal with the Victim by not encouraging their negativity.

When they start to talk only about the bad things that have befallen her, you may want to steer the conversation towards a more positive direction by coaxing their to name the things that are going well for her. It can be anything, from closing a recent sale or just about anything good that has taken place in their life.

When they start to blame someone in your organization for something, ask them if there’s something that they could have done differently to correct the matter.

You may also want to tell them their contributions are valued and appreciated. Oftentimes, The Victim feels that they are not being recognized, so taking the time to do so may encourage them to be more positive in the future.

4. The Narcissist

While some salespeople may need to work on their confidence, the Narcissist is on the other end of the spectrum, as they can be too confident of their skills.

He talks louder than anyone at meetings and may often undermine their teammates.

When you offer advice on how to close a particularly difficult account, they brush you off and may even remind you that they’ve been doing this for years.

They can also be manipulative and may do anything to get ahead.

They may even refuse to work with new team members and see themselves as special. Moreover, they will only associate with people that they consider to be on their level.

The Solution:

A salesperson with a narcissistic personality may be hard to change, but you can manage him by creating a strong sense of team cohesion.

According to the Harvard Business Review, a group setting makes the narcissistic behavior more noticeable, more discussable and less acceptable.

You can also encourage your sales team to provide peer feedback, as narcissists may perceive a co-worker’s feedback as less threatening compared to comments coming from a manager.

It will also be helpful to create a safe and playful space where a salesperson with a narcissistic personality can learn to develop trust and accept feedback.

5. The Insecure

This type of salesperson constantly asks for other people’s help in closing sales, regardless if he has done the same thing several times.

They always asks their sales manager to be there during client presentations as he fears that he may not do a good job during their pitch and may need you to step in for him.

He constantly compares himself to others and fears that he may not be doing a good job.

The Insecure salesperson’s neediness can be annoying to some of their teammates, and the fact that he constantly asks for assistance can hinder the productivity of some of your salespeople.

While he aims to please and do a good job, their lack of confidence can hurt the team, especially when you’re trying to meet your quota.

The Solution:

Insecure or needy salespeople often need empowerment, so give them a pep talk to raise their confidence.

You can also coach them to become more independent because there will be times when no one on the team may be available to help out.

Provide training if they need it, and allow them to have the freedom to develop their closing skills.

Moreover, you can also listen more closely to what they’re saying in order to understand what they’re trying to tell you. Sales managers can become very focused on the end game, but it’s imperative to listen closely to your team in order to help them improve.

It may be a challenge to deal with difficult salespeople, especially if they’re meeting their sales goals yet their attitudes are getting in the way.

Remember that there are different ways to approach a problem and that you can help your salespeople become even better without hurting their feelings or causing conflict within the organization.

By tailoring your managing style to fit their personalities, you can have a stronger and better sales team that will be able to meet goal after goal.

About the Author

Now working as a writer, Jackie started her career in finance and banking, but after becoming a mom refocused and decided to spend more time with her family. When she’s not writing, she volunteers for a number of local mental health charities and also has a menagerie of pets to look after.