What Motivates your Sales People?

Todd Cohen.com Sales Community,

As a sales leader we have firmly established your most important role is to develop, coach and mentor your sales team.  Right?  Right.  You will succeed by having well trained and developed sales professionals who deliver revenue.   

Now, the question I want you to think about is this –  do you know what motivates your people? Have you taken the time and really thought about each of your sales people and what is each individuals motivation to be at your company and be successful?  Is it money?  Is it challenge or the opportunity to work for a solid company?  Is it for future advancement?  Do you know what actually gets your people up each and every day, brings them to work and motivates them to be successful?  If you do not know, then I want to suggest to you that you  are accountable  to know that.  This is not a separate thing you have to do or another initiative you have to add to your plate!  

Understanding your peoples motivation and coaching to that motivational force is a central responsibility you own as a sales leader.  It comes from excellent coaching and mentoring-your ongoing responsibility.  For example if a rep is money motivated have you taken the time to ask them “how much money do you want to make”?  Once you get the answer (and using the compensation plan) show them how the numbers actually break out and create the roadmap for attaining that income.  Keep that exercise front and center for the duration.  Or if your rep is motivated by being promoted, have you created a plan that you both agree on are the things they need to do to be considered for promotion?  

Final point-if you dont know, just ASK.  Make that conversation part of your ongoing dialog with your people.  You will earn a greater level of trust and respect. 

Great sales leaders KNOW what motivates each member of their team and they coach to that.  Your results increase over time and your people feel better and more motivated to give it everything if they know you care about what is important to them.  That is sales culture.

Good Coaching!

-Todd

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One Response to “What Motivates your Sales People?”

1. Lori says:

   1, September 3, 2008 at 10:32 am

   Hi, Todd. Good topic. In fact, I just read your article “Everyone is in Sales” and I would like to add a few comments along that vein. From my perspective as a non-sales salesperson, I believe it’s important for us to approach potential clients with the attitude that we have value to add to their product or service. We have to believe in our own value in order to sell others on our services. As a writer, I’ve come to see that one of the benefits most of my clients are looking for is my skill set and my experience that are applied to their projects. They’re buying not just the words, but my knowledge of my craft and my years of helping others like them bring their projects to life.