With OJ Simpson on trial once again, I am reminded of his epic trial last century.  While intrigue was high on many days, it seems to me that the momentum shifted forever on that fateful day (May 15, 1995) when Christopher Dardin and crew asked OJ to put on the gloves found at the scene of the crime.

The gloves appeared not to fit and Johnnie Cochran came up with the most famous line of the trial when he declared, "If the gloves don't fit, you must acquit."

Of course, the jury ultimately did acquit and OJ began the second half of his life in which he dedicated himself to finding "the real killers".  A quest that inexplicably took him to golf courses throughout the country.

But, I digress.

What I really wanted to talk about was clothing that describes itself as "one size fits all".  We all know that this is most definitely not true.  A friend of mine has a pumpkin-sized head and he just can't wear a hat unless it is a custom fitted version.  If a hat can't be "one-size fits all" then there really isn't clothing that fits that description.

Yet, when it comes to managing sales people I can't help but notice that most sales managers behave as if sales people react in lock-step to compensation, incentives, admonishments, etc.  They take a one-size fits all approach to something that calls for customization.

The other day a couple of us were discussing the best way to recognize an employee who had achieved something of significance.

Sales Manager A said that his opinion was that most of the accomplishments of sales people fit the description of "doing their job" and didn't require or call for additional acknowledgement of any kind.

Sales Manager B said that in her opinion the team of sellers benefitted from hearing about any kind of "win" and that identifying those wins and their association with a specific seller was always the best way to motivate everyone.

Sales Manager A retorted that when we recognized one seller in a public setting we were setting ourselves up for what would eventually be a bunch of disappointed sellers who weren't recognized in the future for doing something similar.  His philosophy was to always recognize sellers in private and only then when they did something extraordinary.

Sales Manager B came back with her belief that sellers love public praise and to resist the practice simply because someone might feel slighted in the future was to deny ourselves the benefit of shining the light on our top performers..

So, who is right?

When it comes to human behavior, most predictions are right at least some of the time.  For example, most people will flee a burning building. 

The problem isn't so much that the typical human response to stimuli isn't predictable, the problem is that you can't predict what any individual human might do.  For while it's true that most people will flee a burning building, there are those who will rush into it.

Generalizations about sales people are just as likely to fail at the individual level.  While most are motivated by money and most aren't detail-oriented and most love the spotlight; we all know successful sellers that are more motivated by the flexibility of making their own schedule, have a spotless desk and would just as soon not go to the annual awards banquet.

For the simple reason that one size only fits some, the savvy sales manager learns the nuances of his individual sellers and customizes a management approach that motivates each to perform at a high level. 

Ultimately, this is necessary because for a top notch seller if the job doesn't fit, they are very likely to quit.