When a rep has been struggling for a few months, the first conversation is usually the hardest.
By then the manager is often frustrated. And frustration tends to open the meeting: "I am disappointed in you."
From that sentence on, the rep is defending, not thinking.
The first step I take is quieter. Agree the facts, together, before anyone talks about feelings.
Gather the facts. Sell-out, coverage, frequency, and what I saw on double visits. Several months, not one bad one.
Check my own part. Did the rep have the territory, the stock, the samples and the coaching they needed? Sometimes the gap starts with me.
Share the facts first. The rep sees the same information before we meet. Nobody thinks clearly when they are surprised.
Ask for their view. "What do you see when you look at these months?" Then listen, fully, before I draw any conclusion.
Agree what it is. A skill gap, a will gap, or something outside their control. Only then do we decide the next step, together.
If a formal process does follow later, it starts from facts both of us already agree on. That is fairer for the rep, and it is how HR would expect it to be done.
“Start with what you can both see. Feelings are easier to talk about after that.”
Lesson 1 of 6 in Step 6: Managing performance, with the full guide and a checklist for this week.