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IIJHeN I wa,s 15, I joined a baseV V ball team, playing what would be my last year of organized ball. Because I signed up late, all the teams in my age division were full, so I agreed to play in the 16-18 league.

I've since forgotten the name of my team. but not the chaos that ensued that season. Imagine a Farrelly Brothers remake of The Bad News Bears. Most of my teammates were talented with behavioral issues. They smoked during batting practice, arrived hung over on game day, and cursed at the coach.

They were talented, though. They may have been incapable of showing up for practice or passing a drug test, but on Saturday they hit home runs and won games. I say they because I did not see a lot of playing time that season. If there was an award for effort, attendance and attitude, it would have been mine. Despite being disrespected in countless ways, my coach did the pragmatic thing and played the best players. Although I practiced tenaciously, the lion's share of playing time went to kids who were physically or mentally absent during the week. To my teenage psyche, that seemed wrong. What I realize now is that my teammates excelled in the one area that mattered most: performing on game day.

In the upper echelons of sales departments across the country, many well compensated sales professionals are resented by co-workers for thc same reasons that I resented my delinquent teammates. Do any of these water cooler rants sound familiar?

Lucky Laurie has her nerve. Someone gave her the Vanderdoody account five years ago and all she does is sit around collecting commission checks while we're working 241'l to make her look good.

Arrogant Aaron never follows up on the leads that he's supposed to. He never fills out his call reports and always comes in late to meetings.

Lazy Louise always has her phone off. She's supposed to be working in the field, but we can never reach her before 10 a.m. She makes all her money from one account and never opens new ones.

Incompetent Ian is barely functional. Customers are calling us in the office because they can't reach him. If we weren't constantly cleaning up his messes. he'd have no accounts.

Anyone who relates to those sentiments should understand this: Laurie, Aaron, Louise and Ian all have at least one skill set that trumps their character flaws. Their flaws arc obvious. Their strengths are in areas that may not be immediately apparent. Punctuality is easy to measure. You either arrive at 7 a.m. or you're late. Earning the business of a large account is more involved. It can take a combination of timing, luck, strategy, psychology and presentation. Aniving on a prospect's doorstep three times a week at 7 a.m. shows tenacity, but it may also reveal desperation or stupidity.

Could these negative traits actually be contributing to the reps' success? Let's take a contrarian perspective.

Luck - Successful people tend to make their own luck-endearins themselves to a new boss, becoming a widget expert just in time for the current widget expcr'l's retirenrent party. staying close by while another rep is badly botching a good account. Were things like this happening before this person's lucky break?

Even if someone is blcssed with serendipity, it rarely sustains if the person is incapable of handling it. As a sales manager, I have assigned prime accounts to reps who could not handle them. An account can be transferred, but if the client does not bond with the rep-for whatever reason-the relationship will not last. Being in the right place at the right time can help establish an account, but it takes work to sustain it. I've never encountered a situation where a client tolerates an incompetent rep for an extended period of time out of convenience. A bluechip account that churns out large commissions through no effort of the rep is the business equivalent of a Chupacabra. Urban legends abound, but I've never seen one.

Arrogance - Successful reps can come across as arrogant. It takes a certain type of person to embrace big accounts and engage in the kind of weighty deals that can significantly impact a company's bottom line. Reps open to these challenges tend to see themselves as elite. Paperwork, meetings, non-sales-related issues, and even small accounts are beneath them. They have more important things to accomplish. Their words, actions and body language convey their mindset to everyone around them.

Certain clients are drawn to egotistical reps because it feeds into their own ego. Years ago, I was in a situation where a key account requested a new rep. The customer felt his operation was high volume but low maintenance. His rep was slow to respond, bad with paperwork, and often went MIA when problems occurred. We stood to double our business by putting someone responsive on the account. Taking the customer at his word, we reassigned the account to a junior rep who was disciplined and agreed to devote significant time to the account. The switch resulted in no new sales and the account ultimately went back to the original rep. This customer saw himself as an A-list account. What he really wanted was the time and attention of his senior level rep. Psychologically, I believe he wanted to punish the rep whose attention he sought and came to look at the new rep as a demotion in his status/value, even though it's exactly what he asked for.

Laziness - The 80/20 rule states that 8O7o of revenue comes from 2O7o of your accounts. Is it bad to focus exclusively on the 2OVo? One could make the case that it's irresponsible to do anything else. Providing a C-list account with the customer service experience of a lifetime may wann your heart, but should you do it? Reps who appear inattentive to accounts outside of their 207o circle are protecting their limited time and focusing their efforts where the results will be maximized.

Incompetence - Reps who can't seem to figure out how to complete administrative tasks are often de facto delegating. The way they approach it may not be ideal, but the intended result is achieved. With their inside support staff clamoring to send samples, generate paperwork, and provide information, the rep can focus solely on sales.

Companies rarely fire high-performing sales reps just to teach the rest of the group a lesson in etiquette. Ideally, all reps would be gracious, diplomatic, empathetic, disciplined, effective team players. If forced to select only one of those attributes, I'd pick the one that starts with "e" and doesn't end with "pathetic." The downside of harboring reps who produce well but behave shoddily is that they generate a lot of unnecessary drama and negative energy. Angry co-workers quietly rooting for someone's comeuppance don't contribute much toward optimal productivity.

If you have a star rep with behavioral issues, consider these steps:

. Don't preach about why their behavior is detrimental to office morale. Appeal to their own self-interest. People who aren't angry with you are less likely to internally sabotage your sales efforts. It would be nice if reps behaved properly because it's the right thing to do, but...

. Forget the MBA courses and executive sales programs, send the offending parties to a Dale Carnegie class (How to Win Friends and Influence People). There is a reason why these courses have been around since the early 1900s and are still wildly popular today.

Remind them that small gestures of appreciation can go a long way. Voicing a simple "Thank you" or showing up with a $7 box of doughnuts can quickly undo feelings of animosity. I've seen it happen.

. Talk frankly with your employees who are upset. If a star rep is being cut more slack than other people in the Building-Products.com organization, it's better to acknowledge it than deny it. Coach Jimmy Johnson led the Dallas Cowboys renaissance of the 1990s. When he assumed the coaching position, the Cowboys were a pitiful organization. From 1986-1989, their win/loss record was l8-45. Johnson quickly cleal\ed house. He was unapologetically biased in his treatment of players. Former lineman Kevin Gogan explained to the los Angeles Times, "I remember once when Michael Irvin came in late to a meeting... Jimmy looked back at him and said, 'That's okay, Michael, because you're up here (holding his hand high).' With Jimmy, you've got guys up there, and guys way down." Johnson unceremoniously cut future Hall of Famers Randy White and Ed Jones. Both were about a decade removed from being "up there." Cultivating high performers should be a priority for coaches, business owners, and sales managers.

Monitor their progress on substantial new business (the reason you're putting up with their BS, right?). It's easy for reps to get in the habit of nursing one or two established accounts when those accounts are driving a lot of sales. There is a fine line between protecting your valuable time and coasting. It's important to identify when that line has been crossed. Let's say two accounts are generating $20000/month in commissions for Arrogant Aaron.

You: "Aaron, you haven't opened any new accounts lately, what's up?"

Aaron (indignantly): "I'm making $20,000/month on these two accounts and you want me to waste my time prospecting for another $200-$300? Not worth it."

You: "Agreed. You're one of a select few reps capable of finding and opening sizable accounts. I'd prefer you don't engage with the small accounts. Now that you mention it, the last account you did open was a small one. What were you thinking? You're our Reggie Jackson. Knock it out of the park or miss wildly, but don't lay down a bunt. What kind of significant new business have you been working on?"

When accounts get busy, reps should be intelligently accelerating their efforts, not coasting. In the same way poker becomes easier when you take the chip lead, adding good accounts becomes easier when you're flush with business. Counterproductive emotions like fear and desperation fade; confidence and optimism grow. It's the ideal time to cultivate better sales.

. Make them aware that by taking a self-centered approach, they're really working without a net. It's easy to tolerate boorish behavior from someone with the Midas sales touch. It almost adds to their renegade sales cowboy mystique. Eliminate their impressive sales numbers and the behavior becomes decidedly less endearing. If they hit a sales slump, their toxic behavior will certainly come back to haunt them.

Insufferable high-earning reps succeed in spite of their boorishness, not because of it. Successful reps do not need to create havoc. The best sales professionals delegate, prioritize, manage their time, and seize opportunities without alienating and offending the people around them.

By f ames Olsen