Figuring out how to create and preserve sales motivation can be tricky. Even the most committed and experienced sales professionals experience a dip in the drive from time to time. This is particularly true when professionals are frequently faced with difficult customers, rejections, and other issues.
However, if leaders can learn how to motivate the sales team consistently, the results can be phenomenal. After all, motivated employees are more productive and profitable. Plus, they’re more likely to stay committed to the business, while other team members seek out new roles.
So, how do you effectively drive selling motivation?
What is Sales Motivation? Defining Motivation in Sales Teams
First, let’s examine what it really means to have the motivation to sell. Most sales teams are already inherently motivated to close deals and earn revenue because it means they can earn a consistent income (as well as commissions in some cases). But there’s a difference between a sales professional who works solely to earn money, and one invested in the growth of the business.
True sales motivation comes from a deep underlying sense of passion and drive. The most effective sales professionals are those who feel a strong connection to the business they work with, and a sense of ownership over their roles. In order to drive this level of motivation, companies need to actively work on consistently engaging their employees.
Motivation to Sell: How to Increase Motivation in Sales Teams
Different professionals are inspired by different types of sales motivators. While some professionals are genuinely engaged by the values and vision of the business, others are motivated by opportunities for growth, regular recognition and feedback.
Here are some of the top strategies companies can use to increase motivation to sell.
1. Set Clear Goals
Goals are incredibly valuable in any business landscape. They not only provide direction for sales teams, but they can also help to boost engagement levels. When setting goals for your sales teams, it’s worth thinking about both the short-term, and the long-term.
Daily goals are a great way to keep individual sales reps and professionals on-task. They can help to push team members to ignore small failures, and focus on achieving bigger wins. Weekly and monthly goals help to ensure sales teams have a way of monitoring their progress over time. They can also be combined with rewards and gamification efforts, to help boost positive competition in the workplace, and improve overall engagement.
2. Ask How Professionals Want to Be Managed
Few things are more damaging to sales motivation levels than bad leadership and management. Even the best reps need guidance and support from their leaders and supervisors to ensure they can get the most out of their strategies, and generate the right results. Some team members may even benefit from “high performance” coaching sessions, which are designed to unlock their true potential.
The best way to ensure every employee is getting the guidance and support they need, is to question what kind of management style works best for them. Based on the feedback you receive; you can provide your team leaders with guidance on how to keep their staff inspired and engaged throughout each sales cycle. This strategy can also help to reduce turnover among high-performance teams.
3. Discuss the Personal Goals of Each Professional
Many business leaders and managers get so focused on the goals of their business; they forget about the personal targets each of their employees might have. One of the best ways to increase selling motivation, is to match the goals of the business, to the ambitions of your professional.
Business leaders should regularly sit down with their employees to find out what’s actually driving them to do their best work in the moment. Some employees could be trying to achieve a personal best with their sales numbers, while others might be working towards a promotion. Understanding the goals of your employees will help you to create an environment that feels nurturing and productive to them.
4. Let Teams Choose their Own Rewards
Rewards and recognition are often a core part of maintaining high levels of sales motivation in any business. People in all companies want to feel as though their hard work is appreciated. However, the kind of rewards people appreciate most can vary. Some people might appreciate being sent a private “thank you” from a manager when they do a good job, while others may like a public announcement.
If you have a tiered reward strategy, it’s worth providing your sales team with the option to choose how they can benefit from doing great work. For instance, you might offer your employees the option to choose between a bonus or free gift, or a paid day off. Giving your team members a set idea of the budget you have to work with for rewards will help to ensure they don’t ask for something unreasonable.
5. Communicate Constantly
It’s impossible to learn how to motivate a sales team effectively unless you already have a good foundation of excellent communication. Solid and consistent communication is crucial to establishing a relationship between employees and managers. It helps to build trust among employees, improve engagement, and ensure everyone in your workforce is operating on the same page.
How you invest in communication will depend on your team. For some business leaders, the best results will come from having weekly, regular stand-up meetings. For others, the best strategy may revolve around mini check-ins and regular face-to-face conversations with individuals.
Maintaining Selling Motivation
While most sales professionals will already have an inherent motivation to sell, it’s up to you as a business owner to ensure you preserve it. Consistently giving your staff members a reason to want to continue pushing forward, overcome challenges, and achieve new goals is crucial to your success as a growing business.
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