Sales Motivation!

Most of the time when I sit down to write something it’s because I’m wrestling with challenges in my own business environment. My team currently operates in a high paced, aggressive sales environment. There is constant pressure for them to perform and conditions on the ground are not always ideal to get the performance that is expected.

Sales is one of the more stressful jobs within any business. This particular job category is more likely to make you money but it’s also most likely to make you stressed.

Managing a sales team is an art that requires a delicate touch. Sales people need to be given just the right measure of control on one hand and freedom on the other to make sure that they consistently perform.

All of these factors can affect your sales operations as a whole – especially business-to-business sales – demoralizing employees, making them less efficient and at worst prompting them to jump ship. So how do you keep the team motivated? How do you keep them selling when conditions are not always conducive to keeping them knocking on doors or making the calls?

 

1. Send fewer emails. Make fewer calls. Strive for quality, not quantity.

When sales teams are hitting a slump, some reach a point of desperation where they begin smiling, dialing and spamming. This may seem like a good idea, if you don’t think about it; hopefully, one of those hundreds of emails may hit home, but you won’t create great clients out of them. Halve the number of sales emails or calls you’re making and get the team focused on researching targets to a minute level. It’s the sales equivalent of “less haste, more speed.”

2.  Keep them motivated – beyond money.

Money’s a great way to encourage people to work harder, especially in a commission-based job. It’s critical however that you have to appeal to the emotional part of a person. I’ve always tried really hard to understand what drives and motivates my team beyond money. Find that one thing that makes the person tick. Is it public recognition, or more regular formal evaluations?

3. Be the field general when the going gets tough.

 

Leading from the front. This has been a great tool for me to use when there’s a slump in sales. I can remember a day when I walked into a branch and there was very little sales activity going on – I grabbed a white-board and set it up in front of the sales desk. I challenged the team to see who could make the most appointments in an hour – I sat down and started working the phones with them. The team seeing a C -Position Exec rolling up his sleeves and getting stuck in had an amazing knock on effect and rippled across the entire organisation.

Employees need to know that the people making the decisions, setting the targets and calling the shots have had the experience and know how when it comes to executing the work.