It’s no secret movie stars and celebrities aren’t perfect. Yet we are surprised when we hear of their legal problems or their bad behavior off-screen, as if their on-screen glamor somehow affects their moral character. Behaviorists call this the halo effect. 

In simple English, Halo Effect is our tendency to allow someone’s specific trait that positively influences our judgment of their other traits.

So we unconsciously assume that the world’s best tennis player is great at business or parenting or cooking.

The Halo Effect in Sales Teams

Sales managers are human too. The Halo effect plays on them also. Have you noticed that some managers tend to overlook some basic activities (like consistently updating their leads on the CRM for example) from high-performing reps since they’re expected to hit their targets. While the rest of the team gets told to focus on the process more often than not!

Our research shows that most sales managers overlook the middle of the curve reps – you know the ones – the consistent achievers with potentially the most promise.

The main reason managers overlook these reps is because, no one is looking at behaviors. How can managers even identify consistent performers when the only measure is month end target achievement?

How can managers overcome the Halo Effect

  • Look at the behavior data of your teams. Instead of sales achievement alone, look at the lead indicators – activities performed.
  • Look for the consistent ones. In cricket, Rahul Dravid has been one of the most consistent performers. Under-rated for his consistency, under-appreciated, but a superstar in our books for sure. Look for the Dravids in your team…
  • Celebrate consistency instead of output alone. Appreciate the consistent reps in your team. Takes little effort but the impact on output is immense. The data supports it.

worxogo’s behavior labs research shows when managers focus on the middle, the wins are incredible. In one customer, just by focusing on the middle but consistent performers, the team increased productivity and sales by almost 20%! (Read more here)

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End Note: Dravid is now the Indian Cricket coach. Maybe he does know something about Moneyball afterall.