7 easy to implement ways to motivate your sales force that you can put into action today.
Make no mistakes sales is a battle and the team you put together determines if you are going to win or lose. In this article, you will learn how to motivate your team to ignite so they close more accounts and do it will higher margins.
Since the dawn of recorded history generals have known that passion, drive, and motivation was the number one determining factor that predicted whether they won or lost. The same is true for your sales team. You can have the best strategy, a ton of resources and a weak team will ensure both are squandered. In military colleges, they still tell stories of smaller armies that had a Never-Quit attitude that allowed them to defeat a larger, better-equipped adversary.
1. Trust
The cornerstone of any relationship is trust. It doesn’t matter how much you motivate your sales team if there is low trust the motivation will not help.
When your team trusts you they will do whatever needs doing to get the job done. There are three things to keep in mind when you build a foundation of trust:
- Walk your talk. Do what you say all the time
- Set crystal clear expectations for your sales team
- Be open to feedback so your sales team feels heard
2. The Platinum Rule
The Platinum Rule says do not treat people like you want to be treated. Figure out what works best for them and interact with them in that fashion. As a sales leader, you need to know each team member as an individual. You need to know what inspires them and what causes them dread. Here are three things to keep in mind when deploying the Platinum Rule with your team:
- Learn what motivates (the carrot) them (cash or recognition or something completely different)
- Are they driven (internal compulsion) by accomplishment, recognition, avoiding disgrace or something else
- Figure out how they like to be coached
3. Transparency
Human beings need to feel like they are in control. As a sales leader, you can share your strategies and concerns with your team. This way salespeople know where they fit in. They know when they are succeeding and when course correction is needed. Here are three things to keep in mind when you amp up your transparency:
- Set crystal clear expectations. What can the team expect from you
- Outline the consequences of falling short or wildly succeeding
- Don’t just share your ideas, Let them know the thought process behind the idea
4. Personal And Professional Goals
Way too many sales leaders are only concerned about a salesperson’s professional goals. The reality is we are three-dimensional beings with full lives. Highly effective sales leaders know the personal and professional goals for each team member. Here are three strategies to uncover your team’s goals:
- Simply ask your team members what their personal and professional goals are
- Then go deeper by asking why is this goal important to them
- Ask them how you can help them stay on track so they accomplish all of their goals
5. Are you an away from or are towards person
People fall into two categories. A, those who want to avoid the negative consequences are away from people. And B, those who want to accomplish a goal are towards people. As a sales leader, you need to know where each individual member of your team falls. Here are three ways to uncover how your salespeople are wired:
- Ask a team member to tell you a story about a professional accomplishment
- Then ask them to tell you a story about a personal accomplishment
- By their answers, you will uncover whether they are towards a person or an away from person
6. The Power Of Incentives
There is a ton of data out there that shows that cash incentives lose their appeal very quickly. The same holds true for negative incentives, “hit the goal or you’re fired.” Nevertheless, incentives are an important part of sales. Here are three ways to use incentives in a more effective manner that boosts team performance:
- People crave experiences so offer a prize that allows a salesperson to take three of his or her friends on a trip
- Offer a chance to sit down for a power lunch with the company’s CEO
- Build a better sales culture
7. One For All And All For One
Teams that have synergy outperform their counterparts. Not only do you have to get your sales team on the same page. You have to get the entire organization to embrace the sales team and their efforts. Here are three strategies to make that happen:
- Share how a lead turns into a customer with the entire organization so they realize closing an account takes hard work
- Once a month have a sales movie night where all the salespeople can bond over popcorn and take a lighter look at their profession
- Problem-solving sales meetings where salespeople can help each other out-think the problem
Conclusion
Your success as a leader depends on how your sales team performs. The way I see it, A sales manager’s job is to get his or her team to let go of any fears or limitation that prevent them from boldly executing their duties. To do this, sales managers have to become masters of trust and influence.
Learn the skill outlined in this article and you will build a stronger sales team that will walk over broken glass to accomplish the goals you set out for them.
