Motivating Your Sales Team

Welcome to my first blog!

For many of us, these are difficult economic times that require us to tap into our own talents and resources, as well as those of our sales teams.

How do you as sales manager call forth the best from your people in times of crisis?

Remember, a salesperson doesn’t wake up every morning thinking of how to make money for the company; they think about their personal hopes, dreams and aspirations.

Let me share a story.

Matt seemed perfect for his position, but his performance had been mediocre. During his evaluation, I asked him what he’d do if there was an extra $30,000 on his W2 at the year end. He said he would build an addition to his house as they just had a baby and they wanted an extra room. However, he had no plans to make this extension a reality. I realize that this was an opportunity for us to build a connection between Matt’s personal and the company’s goals.

I asked Matt to draw up plans and cost estimates. He committed in writing when he would break ground, how much he would invest as a down payment, and how much he would finance. He was aligning his personal and professional goals. Matt knew what he wanted but because he had no specifics, no plan, he wasn’t going after it. His unconscious brain wasn’t helping him achieve his goals!

One of your roles as a sales manager is to align your salesperson’s personal and professional goals. Believe me, when you make this connection, you will see an increase in production.

By aligning both company and personal goals, you create a path to your business goals.

Some tools that can helpful in this process are the Dare to Dream eWorkbook and the Cookbook Planner.

So, do your salespeople have clear goals and dreams? If not, how can you help them achieve clarity? How can you align their goals to those of the company? What tools do you need to help you be more successful?

Motivating Your Sales Team

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