I was thinking about small businesses the other day. There are many cliche statements, and one of them is that small businesses are “more nimble” and can beat the big boys.

If you think about the business world at large, it is almost like going to war. Hence, Sun Tze’s Art of War have been seen to apply quite well. Projecting this thought, and taking the small business cliche to be true, I now understand why “Rambo” is able to take on an entire army all on his own lonesome self – and Arnie, and Bruce Willis, and…

When you are working in a large company, you don’t worry about the lights going off because someone forgot to pay the electricity bills. The air-con is cold enough, the heater is warm enough; and of course, there are staples for the stapler. Try taking those for granted in a small business.

Then think about the attack plan. Market research comes up with the basis and the justifications, marketing puts together the targe segment and makes really pretty charts. Then you have the pre-sales team poring over every single detail to make sure all technical aspects and requirements are met. The sales team then goes in and gives a brilliant presentation, because that is what they do best.

Me? I am still trying to change the light bulb and figuring out how to un-jam the photo-copier machine.

If you are an entrepreneur, you might be a small start up with you, yourself and no one else; or you might have a few people working with/for you.

We are about to explore a very sensitive topic. Don’t read on if you have a weak stomach. This is a topic that we need to talk about, unfortunately.

Most entrepreneurs hire people only when they desperately need help. This is the right thing to do. Some small business owners fail to hire when they need to and end up suffering for it. But if your business is not doing well, will you just sit there and shake your head and blame the world; or will you take action?

You need to know what is going wrong. And once you have identified it, you then need to know how to fix it. Now, what if your sales people are not doing their jobs well enough? Assuming that you are doing something about fixing your business, eventually, you will be faced with this. After you have dealt with operations, logistics, finance and so on, you will have to face the reality of your sales figures.

There is an “urban legend” that most people in sales and marketing would have heard. It goes something like this:

“My friend who works at [name your favourite multinational] told me, that he can get fired if he does not meet his numbers. Like, a warning the first month plus a session with “the man”; and then an official letter in the second month, and then if no improvement, there is a nice pink slip on the third month.”

Sounds harsh. Might not be real. Might be. The fact is, sales people are one of the most vigorously monitored people in the company. Many feel stressed because of the expectations and quotas. But if they succeed, they are rewarded hansomely.

As a small business, you might feel that since you do not pay the “star” salaries, you cannot demand “star” performance. Think about this for a minute. Are you also saying that your services are not “star” quality and hence you should not be paid as much? I am sure you strive to provide even more value to your customers compared to your competitors.

Be aware that you might not be paying your sales persons as much, but the pressure and stress are also correspondingly lower. There will not be 200 sales people vying for the top spot of the month, no cut off for the bottom 10 and so on.

You must set clear targets for your sales team. You must be sure that these targets are reasonable, measurable and in line with the market. Then, if they are not meeting it, you need to understand why. However, understanding stops where performance ends. Your customers will not come back to you if you consistently provide poor service or products. Why then should you accept anything below the mark from your team?

It might be hard to fire the nephew of your third cousin’s aunt. But remember, you are a business, not a charity.