Sales motivation can be a challenging issue to address within a company, especially a large one with multiple teams. In any company that treats their sales staff as more than an after thought, management knows that motivation is critical to keep everyone at the top of their game.
In a large company many managers find themselves with two teams that need to stay motivated, but have two completely make-ups as far as people and style. So how should they bridge the gap?
Look At Individual Teams & Managers
One of the best steps is to look at motivation at a team or individual level. Teams tend to develop their own styles or personalities, often similar to that of the person who is supervising them. Some teams will be really aggressive and fired up at the thought of bonuses and contests. These are teams that can watch Alex Baldwin’s classic speech from “Glengarry Glen Ross” and get fired up from that.
Another team might have mostly female sales people who tackle the “kill them with kindness” strategy and can make that work. In this situation, a focus on huge customer success stories they helped make possible will be a great motivator.
Each team is going to have its own style, and a company doesn’t want to make the mistake of matching the wrong motivational message. Depending on the message, that could backfire and have the opposite of the hoped for results.
Create Custom Messages That Are Motivating
This practice might not always be possible, but it can be incredibly powerful. A supervisor who knows his or her team should be able to sit down and be able to fire up each person on their team with a message that has the right tone, the right type of words, and sets the mood that is going to help each of those employees to get excited and hit the sales floor harder than ever.
Managers Have Their Sales Staff Create Their Own
No one is going to be able to create a great sales motivation better than each individual employee. Is a single mother working for her three children? Does a young twenty-something dream of retiring at thirty? Is an older employee looking to stash away enough money for a house in a warmer climate for retirement?
Taking the time to have each person reflect on what excites them the most, what they want the most, isn’t wasted time. That’s an index card that can stay by the work space and is there to keep them fired up on good days, and at a glance it can remind them what they’re working for and keep them grinding through a bad day. That is powerful motivation for any sales job.
Having goals, dreams, and clear cut desires is actually one of the easiest ways to find motivation. Someone who clearly knows what they are working for is going to work harder, try harder, and fight harder than someone who doesn’t. Motivation matters when it comes to sales.