In our last session, we explored Enthusiastic New Reps who have high motivation but limited sales skills. Now let's look at what often happens next: the Disillusioned Rep stage.
This person has developed some sales competence but their motivation has dropped significantly. The reality of sales has hit hard.
Engagement Message
Think of a rep whose excitement faded after facing rejection—what early warning sign did you notice?
Disillusioned Reps are often the trickiest to spot. They've moved beyond rookie mistakes but haven't yet mastered the sales process. Most importantly, they've lost their initial enthusiasm.
They know enough now to realize how challenging sales really is.
Engagement Message
Why might partial sales knowledge sometimes feel more discouraging than being a complete beginner?
Here's how this stage typically unfolds: the Enthusiastic New Rep starts selling, makes some progress, then hits unexpected objections, longer sales cycles, or multiple rejections.
Suddenly prospecting feels harder than anticipated. Their confidence drops even though their skills have actually improved.
Engagement Message
Recall a time you saw a rep hit the "sales reality wall"—how did it affect their confidence?
What do Disillusioned Reps typically say? "This is harder than I thought" or "Maybe I'm not cut out for sales" or "I used to be excited about these prospects."
Notice the contrast with their earlier enthusiasm - now they express doubt and frustration about the sales process.
Engagement Message
How does this sound different from the Enthusiastic New Rep's optimistic questions about quotas?
The danger with Disillusioned Reps is they might quit or disengage right when they're making real sales progress. They can't see their own improvement because they're focused on remaining gaps.
This stage has the highest turnover risk in sales teams.
