There comes a point in every business, especially for a sales team, where the company needs to make a change – and that change may not be accepted by everyone on the team.

The change could be necessary as a result of the market, competition, customer preferences and tolerances, or business needs (usually revenue related) that are not being met.

Recognizing the Signs of Change

Maybe things used to be running well, producing the desired level of new customers and revenue. And then something happened – either sudden or slowly over time. Could be a faucet with a slow drip where you don’t realize it until you get your next water bill, or it’s the pipe that bursts and is an immediate crisis.

When this realization occurs by leadership – you have two paths to take when it comes to change management: evolution or revolution.

As I shared in the Selling Effectiveness Blog this week [LINK] – evolution is the slow changes that lead to the success of a system, process, individual or species. Change is hard, but evolution is exciting. Evolution has a component that is about success – short and long term. Think of Darwin’s focus – survival of the fittest. That survival means success for the gene pool and the species.

The Challenge of Change

Change, on the other hand, is typically seen as something you have to do that you don’t necessarily want to. Lose your job, get a new one = change that you hadn’t planned. End a relationship because they break up with you = change that means you’re now single, and maybe not excited about that.

Of course, change can be seen as a positive, but that is usually reserved for people who have a growth mindset. Where their outlook on themselves and life in general is about opportunities for growth and the understanding that there is no such thing as ‘stability.’

But generally, unless you have an ultra-strong company culture, change is not met with open arms.

Resistance to Change

This leads back to the opening portion – what to do if you need to institute a change that the team may not like? And what if they are going to hate it and resist it? What if it’s ultimately a good thing for the business and for the right team members who want to succeed (in a way that’s beneficial for the company and the customers, not just themselves)?

Then you need to decide – will this be an evolution or lead to a revolution?

The Nature of Revolution

Revolution is the sudden change that leads to something completely different. Usually the result of one force, group, or factor overpowering and/or overthrowing another.

Sometimes in business you need to trigger a revolution – where the change needs to be done, there is no soft/gentle way to do it, where a portion of the team will resist and revolt. They could try to trigger a mutiny or a coup – to get their power and previous status/process back. They could think about going on ‘strike’ – to not perform, even after the change is done (“I will do your new ______ process, but I will show you it won’t work so that you change your mind and put things back the way the were.”).

Assessing the Level and Impact of Change

Before you roll out any change – play out the level of change, and the category (when you mess with people’s money, especially in sales – and especially if it will lead to them earning less or having to work harder to make the same – expect a revolution), and the speed of change needed. This will help you determine if the change management initiative and efforts will lead to a revolution, or the team will evolve with the change.

Lastly, with the change that needs to be made – if it’s a sudden and dramatic level of change – are you okay with a revolution? Are you understanding the level of loss that will happen from the team?

If so – go for your revolution. If not – focus on evolution.

[By the way, the way you know a revolution will be triggered…is when you roll out something the responses you will hear use the words: wreckage, collateral damage, mass quitting, etc. If you are okay with those potential outcomes – you are on the right path.]