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Let your Salespeople Have It....Their Way (Part 1 of 3)
Written by Danita Bye When managers complain that their staff doesn’t have the special fire that keeps them continuously reaching for the brass ring, they are really admitting that they don’t know how to motivate their people. When the flame of unconditional commitment that drives performance is waning, it’s important to understand how to stoke it. There are no one-size-fits-all cures, because differences among people cause them to respond differently to the environment, problems and challenges, as well as rules and procedures established by others. In other words, they will respond differently to different modes of motivation. <br /> <br /> The following ideas will help you get a handle on what makes your sales people tick, so you can answer the million-dollar question: How do I motivate my sales people? In Part 1, we talk about helping them fulfill their dreams. In the next section, we look at the importance of talking their language and helping them strengthen their belief system. Finally, in Part 3, we address the need to understand their values and to establish minimum performance expectations. |
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Help Them Fulfill Their Dreams First, identify the dreams and aspirations of each employee and help that person develop a game plan to achieve specific goals. Understand that no one wakes up and asks how he or she can help the company make record profits this year. Rather, people are more interested in financing college educations, paying bills, buying a vacation home, planning a vacation. These are some of the real reasons they play the high-rejection game of dispensing hearing instruments. First, identify the dreams and aspirations of each employee and help that person develop a game plan to achieve specific goals. Understand that no one wakes up and asks how he or she can help the company make record profits this year. Rather, people are more interested in financing college educations, paying bills, buying a vacation home, planning a vacation. These are some of the real reasons they play the high-rejection game of dispensing hearing instruments. When a regional manager of my clients was performing below his proven ability, I asked the manager where he wanted to be and what he wanted to be doing in five years. After I did some probing, he finally admitted that he wanted to retire to a new cabin in the Appalachian Mountains. Although he was passionate about this goal, he hadn’t invested the time to draw up plans or select a lot. Consequently, he had absolutely no idea of the financial requirements needed to fulfill his goal! Based on our conversation, we devised an action plan to learn what it would take financially to make his dream come true. Three months later, our manager was on track. Why? Because he discovered that his ideal lot was $75,000, and he needed a down payment. Now he’s working enthusiastically to achieve his dream. Along, the way he’s grew sales over 38% after having been flat for four years. It’s critical for managers to recall Dale Carnegie’s wise advice: You can get everything you want in life by helping others get what they want. I once asked a recent college graduate during a job interview what she wanted to do when she turned 30. When she told me that she wanted to her own business, I committed to her that if she joined my team, I would help her achieve her dreams. During our monthly planning and quarterly review sessions, I frequently asked her about her progress toward her goal and how I could help her master what she thought she needed in order to be successful at her own business. And after one year, she was the top performing rep….and stayed there for the entire five years she was with the company. She is currently general manager of a medical device company, well on her way to owning her own business. So don’t delay discussing with each hearing instrument professional what personal goals, dreams, and passions make them leap out of bed in the morning. Should you learn that they don’t have any long-term goals, this may be a red flag indicating lack of desire for success or lack of commitment to do the necessary behaviors to be successful. They may not have the needed incentive to tackle new assignments or learn new behaviors that will help them excel. If this is the case, begin to help your people build and document their “need to excel” through a progression of discussions with them: • Identify their gifts, talents, passions, etc. • Identify where they want to be in 3-5 years and 5-10 years • Identify annual goals that will help them achieve their vision • Break those annual goals into 30, 90 and 180 day goals • Translate goals into monthly, weekly and daily game plans If an employee has difficulty formulating their long-term personal goals and dreams, you’ll need to determine what short-term motivators you can tap. For instance, does the individual have a strong need for personal and/or team recognition? Are they motivated by results, team accomplishments or amount of work accomplished? Motivation helps keep the momentum flowing. No matter what motivator(s) you focus on make sure your management system supports activity and behavior levels that deliver desired results. Copyright: 2008. Danita Bye. All Rights Reserved. |
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