Last Updated on February 4, 2021
Want a motivated sales force?
Three words…
Help them win.
Why?
Because Winners NEED to win. They hate losing. They hate feeling like they aren’t living up to their potential. An article on Forbes.com reported that 70% of employees leave companies when they don’t feel valued or appreciated.
Does this mean you should say nice things to them? Tell them what a great job they’re doing? Value them as a human being and help them build stronger self-esteem?
That might work on people who just want to feel good at work. But if you want to motivate the champions, the self-motivated superstars who can produce 10x the results as everyone else on your team, you need more than a pep talk now and then.
Here’s why…
Winners Thrive on Winning
High achievers like to see themselves as winners. They seek out environments where they can make this happen. Places where they can be held accountable and where they can grow. If you create this kind of workplace, you won’t have to motivate your sales force. They’ll become their own source of motivation.
Think of every ambitious person you’ve ever met.
What do they all have in common?
- They’re highly competitive and HATE losing.
- They push themselves harder than you ever could.
- Above all, they want to please themselves.
Winners thrive on winning. If you give them the tools and training they need to win, they’ll become their OWN source of appreciation. Sure, everyone likes to hear that they’re doing a good job. But top achievers are, by nature, SELF-MOTIVATED and SELF-VALIDATING. When they’re losing, they’re harder on themselves than anyone else could ever be.
No one likes feeling this way, and if they find that their workplace is making them feel this way, they would leave, even if they’re being paid well. Of course, you might be thinking…
My Salesforce is Just Lazy
If you’ve given your sales force ALL the tools and the accountability and support they need and you STILL can’t get them motivated, you’ve got a hiring problem. Anyone who needs constant exterior motivation, lacks internal motivation. The best you can ever do with these people is pump them up for a few days, only to see them lose their momentum.
How do you know if you’re making good hiring decisions?
Most important, how do you know whether your sales force has the training and tools they need in order to succeed?
Get More Involved, Now
Start monitoring their calls. Listen for the weak links in their chain and help them correct them. Winners will appreciate this level of accountability. Anyone who objects to you getting more involved, is probably afraid you’ll uncover their lack of initiative. Or, maybe they want to feel comfortable at work and they don’t like someone pushing them out of their comfort zone.
Either way, getting involved will help you motivate your winners and weed out your losers faster. Remember, winners thrive on winning. Help them win, and they’ll find their motivation on their own.
Last Updated on February 4, 2021