Being a great sales manager means being able to hire well, coach effectively and (unfortunately) fire someone respectfully when it’s the best move for the team.
Letting someone from your team go is often the least enjoyable of those three responsibilities. A poorly handled dismissal can also leave lingering effects on the morale of your entire sales team.
Luckily, there are ways you can end someone’s employment gently.
In this article, you’ll learn when to fire someone, the issues you’ll face and how to make the dismissal process as painless as possible for yourself, the person being let go and the rest of your sales team.
How to fire someone: key takeaways
Firing someone means formally ending their employment and should be handled professionally and respectfully.
It’s time to consider termination when performance issues, misconduct or attendance problems persist despite support.
Best practices for firing someone include documenting issues, planning the conversation, involving HR and communicating openly with the team.
Pipedrive gives you the data you need to make tough decisions with confidence – try it free for 14 days.
How to know when to fire someone
Knowing when you have to let an employee go will stop you from making poor management decisions and help you avoid facing legal issues for wrongful termination.
With that in mind, here are some scenarios when employee termination might be necessary.
Poor performance
Hanging on to people who aren’t pulling their weight after multiple chances to improve will hold your company back and drain your resources.
If you’ve provided plenty of support and guidance (e.g., a performance improvement plan) and an employee still consistently shows performance issues or fails to hit their sales goals, letting go is the only real option.
In sales, a customer relationship management (CRM) tool allows you to inform performance reviews with data so you can address issues early and reduce staff turnover.
For example, Pipedrive’s customizable reports and dashboards help you track each rep’s activity, conversion rates and pipeline value at a glance.
You can also log notes from one-on-one meetings directly on deals or contacts, keeping everything in one place.
Pipedrive in action: Marketing agency CreativeRace needed a way to track sales team performance to keep prospects moving through the pipeline effectively.
Pipedrive’s activities and insights and reporting functions help CreativeRace’s sales director monitor team performance, ensuring reps hit their targets and leads never go cold. Read the full case study.
Serious misconduct
Serious violations of company policies, ethical standards or codes of conduct are often best addressed with termination.
Repeated warnings can lose their effectiveness. Set a positive tone for your business by following through with actions when someone abuses the code of conduct.
Misconduct is a broad term and your employee handbook will dictate what’s unacceptable. However, common forms include:
Defacing or theft of company property
Bullying
Misuse of social media
Ignoring health and safety procedures
Some misconduct can warrant further legal action, such as sexual harassment, stealing and selling client information.
If misconduct affects customers or deals, keeping detailed activity logs and email histories in your CRM can help you reconstruct what happened and reassign accounts smoothly.
In Pipedrive, for example, you can view all contextual details related to a deal in one place, including notes, sales activities and emails.
Attendance problems
Chronic absenteeism, frequent lateness and unauthorized absences can disrupt workflows, affect team morale and damage productivity.
Of course, it’s important to give team members personal time off (PTO) when needed (e.g., for genuine sickness, bereavement and vacations). However, if someone repeatedly takes advantage of your good nature by breaching company policies, it’s time to book a termination meeting.
Organizational restructuring (redundancy)
In cases where a company goes through restructuring, downsizing or shifting business priorities, some positions may become redundant.
You won’t have to fire anyone in a redundancy situation, as the person or people in question won’t have done anything wrong to warrant dismissal. However, the process for layoffs is similar and still requires plenty of care.
In these instances, it’s important that you’re clear about your reasons. Otherwise, you could spark some resentment from the dismissed employee and your remaining team.
In a face-to-face meeting, explain that your decision isn’t tied to the employee’s performance and that you’ll do what you can to make the transition to their next job as smooth as possible.
The problems you’ll face when firing a salesperson
Even with valid reasons, letting an employee go can be difficult, especially when you’ve spent lots of time training, mentoring and guiding them.
However, your job as a sales manager is to get the best out of your team and serve the company’s needs. You can’t afford to carry a team member who doesn’t perform or is destroying the sales force’s morale.
Firing someone can present challenges to navigate, including the following.
Emotional discomfort | Many managers struggle with the natural desire to avoid unpleasant or confrontational situations. |
Highly emotional reactions | The sales professional may respond angrily, look for someone to blame or lash out at others. They may also criticize business owners or management while emotions are high. |
Avoidance of conflict | Some managers let issues fester because they don’t feel confident addressing them directly, which often makes the situation worse over time. |
Fear of wasted investment | Firing someone you’ve coached and invested in can feel like a loss, but keeping a consistently underperforming or disruptive rep is far more damaging to the team. |
You can mitigate all of these issues through preparation, planning and professionalism.
Firing someone will never be pleasant, but following our guidelines will make it as painless as possible and help the rest of the team realize you’ve made the right decision for all parties.
How to fire someone professionally: 7 best practices
When you’re figuring out how to fire an employee, it’s important to remember there are right and wrong ways to do it.
You might recall hearing about the CEO who fired 900 people on a Zoom call in 2021 – the negative press this received suggests it wasn’t the best decision.
However, if you do it carefully, with respect for the terminated employee and the team they’re leaving behind, you’ll minimize disruption to your small business.
Here are seven best practices to remember when letting an employee go.
1. Build a transparent process that begins well before termination
When you reach the point of having to fire someone, they should be fully aware of what is happening and why.
It can be tempting to rush through the process when letting an employee go. You probably want to get this difficult task out of the way.
While rushing may be easy on the person doing the firing, it will damage morale for the rest of your team (not to mention your former employee). The feeling that they could also be asked to leave without warning won’t sit well.
The person being terminated should receive written warnings, be placed on review or probation and be given support to rectify the problem before dismissal is considered.
Here’s an example of what a written warning might look like in practice:
Hi [Name],
As discussed in today’s meeting, your current performance hasn’t met the expectations for your role. We’ve identified key areas for improvement and agreed on weekly check-ins to support you.
This email serves as a formal written warning. If we don’t see progress within the next 30 days, further disciplinary action, including possible termination, may be taken.
Let me know if you have any questions.
[Manager Name]
Most of all, the person involved should be made aware that dismissal is a likely outcome if no change occurs.
If you’ve followed processes correctly, most employees will agree to leave by mutual consent rather than forcing you to terminate. In effect, their shortcomings will do the firing for you.
2. Handle any administrative issues early
Dismissing someone involves a lot of admin, so staying organized from the start will help you avoid costly slip-ups, such as late final payments and confusion over benefits.
When building your checklist of admin tasks, think about the questions you’re likely to face from the person leaving during offboarding. At the very least, ensure you’re thoroughly prepared to answer all of the following questions:
What is their notice period?
How and when will they get their final pay (or severance pay)?
What happens to their leave allowance?
What happens to their pension, health insurance and other benefits?
Most countries and states also have clearly defined labor and employment laws dictating how and why you can fire someone. Follow these laws at every step of the process so your company doesn’t end up with financial penalties.
If a written letter of dismissal is necessary, have it ready and signed.
Here’s a termination letter you can use as a template:
Dear [Name],
This letter confirms the decision to end your employment with [Company Name], effective [last working day].
As discussed in our meeting on [date], this decision follows ongoing performance concerns that were addressed through previous warnings, coaching sessions and a formal improvement plan. Unfortunately, the required improvement was not achieved.
Your final paycheck, including payment for any unused leave (if applicable), will be issued on [date]. Any company equipment, such as laptops and access cards, must be returned by your last working day.
Your health benefits will remain active until [date], and HR can assist you with any questions about coverage, your severance package (if applicable) or next steps.
Please reach out if you need clarification on any of these details.
Sincerely,
[Manager Name]
If you’re required to give multiple written warnings before you can dismiss someone, make sure these are documented, filed and accessible.
3. Get help from HR or the legal team
If your company has a human resources (HR) manager or team, involving them helps you follow the right steps and protects both sides throughout the termination process.
HR representatives will understand the specifics of relevant labor laws and the paperwork needed to protect all parties involved. They can also serve as mediators, ensuring fairness prevails over any emotional reactions you might be driven toward.
Tip: Outsourcing HR can be effective if you don’t have in-house expertise. An HR consultant can provide legal advice and expert help for individual cases, or you may want to employ an HR firm continuously. Many HR partners can handle payroll and compliance duties, too.
HR professionals need context to make fair decisions, so having your performance data ready can help. With a CRM like Pipedrive, you can share relevant sales reports, allowing HR to quickly understand performance and account history without needing to dig through emails.
4. Keep the meeting clear and direct
A straightforward in-person conversation helps the employee grasp the decision quickly and avoids unnecessary back-and-forth.
Dismissing someone will be an emotionally challenging experience for both parties. If you’ve prepared for the moment and managed the process well, you can (and should) keep your dismissal statement short and to the point.
Your language and message must be totally clear. Otherwise, the employee in question may feel the decision is open to discussion, which could drag the process out and cause more disruption.
Having your CRM dashboards and notes prepared beforehand helps you streamline your meetings.
For instance, with Pipedrive’s performance insights data at your fingertips, you can confidently explain what you’ve already tried, what was agreed and why you’ve reached this decision, without getting sidetracked in the emotion of the moment.
It’s fine to feel sympathetic for your employees as they process the bad news, but try to help them see it as an opportunity to find a better position.
If you’ve given this person every opportunity to turn their situation around and things still haven’t worked out, you’re probably helping them in the long run.
5. Show that you care and be considerate
Leading with empathy makes a difficult moment easier and demonstrates to your team that you handle tough situations thoughtfully.
Don’t make it any more painful than necessary for the salesperson you’re letting go. They may not be suitable for the job, but you must remind yourself how difficult this experience can be.
If things have not worked out due to a team culture or skills issue, you may want to help them transition into their next role. Look at what they did well and offer to write a reference to support their job search.
You can use this sample reference letter as a template:
To whom it may concern,
I’m happy to recommend [Name], who worked with us at [Company Name] as a [Position]. During their time here, they consistently showed strength in [specific skills – e.g., communication, customer relationships, organization]. They were well-liked by the team and always willing to help where needed.
[Name] contributed to [1–2 responsibilities or achievements], and I believe they’ll thrive in a role that aligns closely with their strengths and work style. They’re reliable, positive and bring great energy to the workplace.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at [email/phone].
Sincerely,
[Manager Name]
The timing of the meeting is also important. Ideally, you want to do this at the very end of the day so they can leave immediately rather than deal with a whole day’s work and small talk afterward.
If your company allows some flexibility, try and make the exit as easy and painless as possible. For instance, can you waive their notice period? Is it possible for them to work remotely until their last day?
Even in cases where a team member has been disruptive, be professional. The rest of your team will pay close attention to how you manage the situation.
6. Talk to the rest of your team
Being open with the team about the change maintains trust and prevents rumors from filling the gaps.
Dismissals impact more than just the fired person. They may be a very popular person among their colleagues and well-liked in the office. Their colleagues may also not have been aware of any issues.
Be fully prepared to handle the questions and concerns of your entire team.
Be honest and straightforward to nip any potential gossip in the bud, bearing in mind that you also owe the fired person any confidentiality they are entitled to.
Stay professional and courteous when talking about the dismissal in front of the rest of your team. Every employee will be imagining themselves on the other side of the conversation. The way you handle it will reflect on your leadership skills and affect employee well-being.
Simple questions you’ll need to answer include:
Who takes over the departing member’s clients?
Whose job is it to let the clients know of the change and what is the message?
Is there a clearly defined handover process in place?
Here’s an example of how you might communicate a departure to the rest of your team:
Hi team,
I wanted to let you know that [Name] is leaving the company effective today. After careful consideration, we’ve decided this is the best direction for the team and the business.
[Rep Name]’s accounts will be reassigned to [New Owner]. If you have concerns or would like to discuss this privately, I’m available for one-on-one conversations.
Please join me in wishing them the best as they move forward.
The right CRM can make the client handover process even smoother. For example, Pipedrive’s shared pipelines and contact records help you see exactly which deals need attention, reassign ownership, add internal notes and schedule follow-ups so no customer feels abandoned.
It also pays to let team members have one-on-one discussions with you. People are often reluctant to voice their fears or concerns in front of colleagues.
7. Take time to reflect and learn before rehiring
Pausing to review what went wrong helps you avoid repeating mistakes and make a stronger hiring decision next time.
For instance, you’ll likely need to replace the dismissed employee.
Go over what didn’t go well so that you can avoid the same mistakes. Make sure you know how to spot the must-have qualities for your next salesperson (and the characteristics you’ve learned to avoid).
You can also use this as an opportunity to improve the overall balance of your sales team by hiring to fill skills gaps and revisit your onboarding and training processes.
Note: If you have an HR team and the situation allows, build a template for an exit interview. The departing staff member may have some good insights into why they failed, and this information could prove valuable in the future.
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5-step plan to help you minimize the impact of firing a salesperson
Final thoughts
Firing people is unlikely to be enjoyable, but if you manage the process correctly, you’ll generate respect and acceptance from all stakeholders. You’ll be able to move on quickly and continue growing your business.
When it’s your job to make tough calls, having the right data makes all the difference. Pipedrive offers an easy way to track performance, document activity and keep your team aligned. Try it free for 14 days – no credit card required.
