Slumps in motivation is normal in sales and usually isn’t cause for much concern. However, long-term lack of motivation and enthusiasm can lead to reduced profits and major consequences for the company. While it is true that salespeople are always going to be faced with obstacles the fact is…no desire translates to no motivation. Salespeople need constant motivation in order to remain positive and enthusiastic about their job and if you want your sales team to succeed they must have a lot of enthusiasm. If you have noticed a lack of energy from your sales team, here a few things you can do to increase their energy and make them more enthusiastic employees.
Provide Helpful Feedback
Happy employees are confident in their work because they receive regular feedback from their superiors. It is important to offer advice to your sales reps and critique their performance. This allows them to make the necessary changes for improvement and ultimately sets them up for success. Likewise, it is equally as important to recognize great performance and let them know when they have done something well. Making time for your team lets them know that you value them and want to help them succeed.
Encourage Breaks
Salespeople typically make a high volume of calls each day which can be incredibly draining. With each call they are constantly expected to be ready to answer a slew of questions, prove the value of their product or service, and do so with a positive energy. That can be difficult even for the best sales reps. Encouraging your team to take breaks between calls or go for a walk if a call has gone bad can do so much for their morale. It allows them to be refreshed and ready to go for the next call.
Offer Incentives
Putting in place the right incentives and pay structures can mean the difference between your sales team hitting or missing their goals. Incentives are a great way to boost enthusiasm and really motivate your sales team to put forth their best performance. There are several ways to incentivize your sales team. You could implement commission tiers, whereas the higher the sales the higher the commission percentage. You can also attach bonuses for specific results. You could also encourage friendly competition by offering a reward to the sales rep with the highest numbers for the month. You want to promote motivation in your organization by rewarding your sales team for their hard work.
Foster Continuous Learning
When managing salespeople you need to constantly monitor their knowledge and do everything in your power to ensure that they are continually learning about your industry, products, and services. When you sales reps feel knowledgeable about what they are selling, they are much more likely to feel confident and enthusiastic about selling it.
Provide Opportunities for Growth
Every sales rep wants to know the path for advancement at the company and the most enthusiastic employees are the ones who are working to get a promotion. If the opportunity for growth is stagnant, your sales team will put less effort into their jobs. Therefore, you need to make sure there is a transparent plan for advancement in place. This will motivate your entire team because they will clearly see the benefits for their hard work.
