September 3rd, 2014 by Elma Jane
Sales reps stand at the front lines of operations and keeping them motivated is key to any business’s success. To effectively motivate sales teams, business owners and sales managers need to create a fun, goal-oriented culture that both encourages friendly competition and recognizes how reps want to be rewarded.
If you think financial incentives are the way to go, you couldn’t be more wrong. Small business and startups don’t have a ton of money throw around in the first place. Second, when it comes to motivating sales teams, money simply isn’t everything.
Running sales contests in the past, using various software and tools. There was a single goal and the reps who achieved that goal were rewarded, usually with money. As a result, only a certain number of sales reps actually participated in these incentive programs. Those who knew they couldn’t reach that one goal didn’t bother to join, which meant the same reps would always get the cash. This was hardly the work of a cohesive, driven team with shared goals.
Rather than engage sales reps by establishing goals and metrics across the sales teams, such a financially driven contest missed its mark. Business should think outside the box.
So start creating amusing ways to motivate your sales teams.
Don’t forget to celebrate the good times – When the wins come, celebrate them. It can be as simple as a shout-out on the sales floor, an email message to the whole company to recognize the efforts.
Play Games – Organize daily contests and games based on different key performance indicators (KPI). A break that involves a quick game creates a sense of excitement for the entire team. It gives everyone something to chant for.
Public recognition –When sales reps have an exceptional week publicly recognizing their accomplishments in front of their peers is that extra little morale boost to keep pushing. Make sure the entire office is aware of the accomplishments of reps. It keeps their motivation high.
Reward rejections – Best thing for motivating sales was rewarding them for the no’s. Might sound crazy, but the more no’s you get, the closer you are to getting a yes. The prize of getting a yes is way larger than the reward rejections, so you still wanted to get yes.
Posted in Small Business Improvement Tagged with: business, operations, sales, tools
