Poison me this

How much poison is the right amount? Seems like a silly question, but organizations ask themselves some version of the question every single day. The poison to which I am referring is the high-performing seller who abuses everyone around him - the other sellers, the support departments, administration, HR and management.

I once worked as the sales manager of a team that had a well-known poison arrow. This seller was legendary in the market for his tremendous billing and his step-on-your-neck ways inside the building. Here's what happens when you allow a poison arrow to exist in your sales organization:

1) Recruiting sellers becomes very difficult. Sellers who might otherwise love to work for your organization because of your well-known product or position in the market will stay away in fear that the poison arrow actually runs the sales department.

2) Sales management spends too much time cleaning up broken relationships inside the building. The poison arrow runs roughshod over support personnel. He doesn't bother to apologize or try to make amends because he feels as if the support personnel are there to do his bidding. Productivity always suffers when support personnel can't stop crying or they have to go home early because they feel "sick" after an encounter with the poison arrow.

3) Other sellers begin to understand that the best way to get what they want is to act more like the poison arrow.

4) Accounts will begin to request that they work with the poison arrow because the market learns that the poison arrow has the clout to get special rates, terms and conditions.

The only solution to the problem of a poison arrow is to cut it out. Yes, it's painful and there will be a recovery time. However, the inevitable is that your organization will die if the poison arrow remains in place.

Tips for sales managers who inherit a poison arrow:

1) Get rid of him at the earliest possible opportunity. Be sure to get buy-in from above and have a specific plan for what to do with the accounts and the fall out. Prepare for pain.

2) If you can't get buy-in from above, start looking for another job. The poison arrow might be willing to co-exist with you but if he finds out you are the enemy there will be a cataclysmic confrontation and you will lose.