You've been poached. What can you do?

If another rep poaches a sale from you and management doesn't seem to care, your options are limited at best. Be careful -- you're surrounded by landmines.

Follow @ITCatalysts Dear Bob ...

I'm writing this at 3am. I'm totally unable to focus or sleep.

My question: What can I do when another sales rep, knowingly
sells a job that you have already quoted, and management tries to cover it up?

Can I sue the employee for interfering with my livelihood? Or for interfering with an ongoing sales process, or for malicious interference with my ability to earn an income?

- Poached

Dear Boiled ...

Before anything else, let's take the idea of legal remedies off the table. I don't know employment law, nor the quality of your evidence well enough to judge whether you have a case. Imagine you do. Unless you think you can win a settlement big enough to retire on, you'll lose more than you win, even if you win.

Who would hire someone who sued because he was on the wrong end of some dirty office politics? That's how an average sales manager would interpret your lawsuit, regardless of the justice of the situation.

Here are your alternatives. None are particularly good; some are better than others:

• Have a heart-to-heart talk with your manager; maybe with your manager and your manager's manager. The subject: Clearly, you missed a step in the company's procedures. What do you need to do differently next time to make sure you get proper credit for sales you've generated?
  
  It isn't particularly subtle. That doesn't matter. What matters is that it introduces the subject in a way that blames no one else and is forward-looking rather than complaining. If either denies the facts of the situation, show them your documentation and say, "When I asked for this meeting I guessed there might be some uncertainty as to what actually happened. Here's the documentation. It clearly shows I quoted the job days before someone else took credit for the sale. Now … let's get back to the question, if you don't mind. What do I need to do differently next time?"

• File a formal complaint with Human Resources. HR organizations vary widely in how they approach this sort of thing. Some are by-the-book, enforce-the-policies departments. These will investigate your claim objectively and reach a fair result. Others are more political, and exist to keep troublemakers like you from rocking the boat. If yours is the former, it's probably worth a try. If it's the latter, going to HR is probably a career-limiting move.

• Spread dirt about the rep who stole your sale to anyone and everyone who will listen. The outcome: You'll look like a whiny idiot, while the thief will emerge unscathed.