By Michael Pedone, SalesBuzz.com

As a one-time owner of a successful online marketing company, I know what it’s like to manage a sales staff and try to help them achieve their sales quota.

And now as the CEO of SalesBuzz.com, I get a firsthand view of all kinds of companies as they try to deal with many of those same issues. The names may change, but the challenges remain the same.

Here’s a common scenario. Let’s say a “B” or “C-level” salesperson is missing his quota. (B’s have average and C’s have below-average sales skills. A’s of course are your top dogs.) This is how that B or C salesperson explains his situation to his sales manager:

“I don’t know why I am not hitting my quota … I’m saying the same thing as the other top salespeople … I’m saying everything I’m supposed to say, I’m saying it the same way those other guys are saying it.”

At this point the sales manager tries, in the kindest way possible (or not), to let that B- or C-level sales person know that, well, perhaps he’s not saying everything, and certainly not in the same way. At which point the salesperson digs his heels in even further and becomes even more adamant about his point.

Inevitably, here’s what the B or C says next: “The only difference is they are getting the good leads and I am not. It isn’t fair!”

I’ve seen this scenario hundreds of times and in every case – yes, every case – the B or C salesperson was not saying everything the way the top salespeople were. He wasn’t saying it word for word nor was he saying it with the same inflection or tone of voice.

Sure, in some cases it was close – but in phone sales, you have to be razor sharp on the phone 100% of the time if you want to succeed on that call. Being 70%, 80% or even 90% isn’t going to cut it in today’s age of selling.

To become an A, you need to be 100% on the ball. And if you have a proven working sales process within your company, the fastest way to achieve the level of success the other top sales pros have achieved within your organization is to do what they are doing and match it to a “T”. And if you’re a sales manager, quite frankly, you don’t have time to deal with B- or C-level salespeople who resist your attempts to help them become an A player.

So I have a quick solution that both salespeople and sales managers will love. I’ve used it often myself. It puts all doubt to rest and gives both parties a clear direction of what needs to happen to get sales back on track. Ready to jumpstart your telesales success and breed an “A” dog?

Then here’s what you need to do: record your sales calls!

It’s that simple. For less than $29 you can get a setup from Radio Shack that will plug into your phone and record your calls.

Once you’ve recorded some calls, go back and listen to yourself. Chances are you won’t even need your sales manager’s help for correction – you’ll hear it for yourself!

And if you do want your sales manager’s input, you can play the recording and he’ll be able to pinpoint each area that needs work. Then all you have to do is role-play those areas until you get them right, then hit the phones again. Just like that, your sales numbers are going to start moving up and up. Believe it.

Don’t just record the bad sales calls. Record the good ones too!

Then listen to those good calls from time to time while you’re at your desk eating lunch. Or better still, have your sales manager play them in a morning meeting as an example of how it’s done!

Before you know it, you’ll be that A level salesperson getting asked how you do it from the folks on the B and C list.