If you meet sales managers, you’ll see just how extreme some of them will go to keep their team motivated. Big commissions, fired-up meetings, company trips – people regularly pull out all the stops.
However, while this may boost morale in the short run, it won’t cut the mustard most of the time. Motivation is a multifaceted concept and is not just one size fits all.
Every day a salesperson works, they are met with a multitude of external factors that affect their motivation.
They might be facing rejection from a customer or struggling because of poor market prospects. There could even be some disaster that will affect their ability to sell.
Should a salesperson want to sell well, they need to be in the right mood and raring to go at any time of the day. If you don’t have the motivation and push to keep you going, you won’t make a lasting impression on your prospective client or your current team.
As a result, your productivity will fall, and you won’t be able to meet your targets. But don’t worry, we’re here to help. If you want your sales departments to soar, motivation should be your key focus. We’re going to tell you how to boost it in your team. Ready? Let’s get going!
1. Set Some Goals
It may seem like an obvious point, but salespeople need to have goals to work towards. Without them, they won’t know what can aspire them to reach success.
The perfect goal should be achievable, but not too easy – people should need to reach for their goals, feeling like they have earned them. We like what Joe Vitale once posted on his Facebook page, saying that “a goal should scare you a little and excite you a lot.
Think BIG. And then think bigger than THAT.” this encapsulates the point.
Goals aren’t only about meeting quotas – people are complex and have a variety of different things that will motivate them. Sure, a lot of people live for the quota in their sales job, but ancillary motivation can come in other forms, from contests to leaderboards.
The key is to hold regular meetings with your team and be prepared with a list of questions in mind to ask to gauge what will work best and motivate everybody both individually and as a team.
2. A Purpose-Driven Focus
People who enjoy what they do will perform better than those who are simply watching the time go by at work. According to a recent Gallup poll, companies that have less engaged employees experience an average of 18% lower productivity.
Managers need to keep their staff engaged and must always be there for them, offering support to achieve the company or team’s goals. You may find it helpful to explain what your mission is to each salesperson and explain that individual’s crucial role.
This will help people feel valued and know what to do in their day-to-day routine.
Recent data from a survey by accounting firm Deloitte found that 60% of millennial’s state a “sense of purpose” as being the main reason why they choose to work for their organization.
Do your best to give your team a reason to work with a real purpose-proven focus. When you do this, it will inspire them to work harder, bring in more revenue and stay loyal to the organization.
3. Connect Sales Reps and Staff
It’s only human nature to pass the buck when something goes wrong, and it happens all too often in the world of sales.
You only need to watch the first few minutes of the award-winning film about property salesmen, Glengarry Glen Ross, to hear the characters complaining day in and day out about marketing not giving them quality leads.
There is some truth to this drama, but most of the time, people are only doing their job and to the best possible standard. It’s not possible to blame other people again and again.
To reduce the likelihood of such complaints, it’s important to break down the barriers between departments within your company. Get everyone together – marketing, sales, engineering, customer support, and everyone in between.
When you are all one happy family, you can truly start to see growth.
When everyone is in the same boat, the number of hurdles decreases with an increase in productivity as a result. Your team of salespeople will feel like they’re involved in what’s happening, being kept in the loop.
They will get better at collaborating, and they can adjust the work approach to bring about results.
4. Trust Is Everything
Dan Tyre, the executive of the tech-savvy organization HubSpot, has written extensively on motivation and trust.
He says that the foundation of motivation is trust, and if a team doesn’t trust in you for believing that you have their interests at heart, they will not feel inspired or driven to do their work.
It’s a great point, and to be an effective sales manager, you need to have your employees trust you implicitly. A rule of thumb is never to try and cover up mistakes – be honest and straightforward as you can be.
People like to know what’s happening without beating around the bush. If there is something that could bother the team, you should let them know.
Always offer a helping hand as the leader of the team. While it may be tempting to take your frustrations out on others, be kind, don’t push people around, and be respectful.
Help your sales reps improve, learn and grow. You’ll want everything to feel as comfortable as possible at work to be appreciated by your staff.
5. Recognition
Commission, albeit important, isn’t everything! Sometimes it takes more than commission to motivate a salesperson. You will need to go beyond commission in your strategy to motivate the team.
A common tactic for managers is to provide a special bonus or gift for the person that does something great other than hitting their quota. Get creative and have some fun with your team, looking for new ways to recognize them.
This will create a team-oriented mindset within your sales department. Everyone will want to work towards something special and to be recognized and praised in front of the whole team.
Perhaps you can provide incentives for people to do tasks that they dislike, such as cold calling? Perhaps the promise of a trip or day off would sweeten the mood?
Even something as wacky as pledging to shave your head bold if goals are met can get your team excited!
Don’t be afraid to also ask your team members to see what would motivate them the most. You may be pleasantly surprised by their answers and will learn a lot from them.
Conclusion
We hope that you’ll get good use out of these five tips. With the right motivation, a sales rep can develop their computer skills, soft skills, communication, product knowledge, and whatever else they need to get the job done.
The following advice we’ve given will be bound to transform your team and lead them onto a path of success.
In your opinion, what keeps the sales team motivated? We’d love to hear more from you – get in touch with us to share your thoughts and opinions.
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