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Keeping Your Sales Team Motivated From Frank Rumbauskas
Sales managers frequently approach me for advice on how to keep salespeople motivated, especially when sales reps get into a rut - and seem to keep slipping deeper into it. Telling managers what not to do usually solves the problem. Most managers do things to de-motivate salespeople without even knowing it.
Let's take the idea of funnels and forecasts, for instance. Funnels and forecasts are important aspects of running any sales operation. Both salespeople and managers need to know where they stand in terms of potential opportunities, and funnels serve to track those opportunities. No successful business can operate and properly plan for the future without accurate forecasting. In theory, these are absolutely essential to the success of any operation. In reality, however, few words strike terror in the hearts of salespeople like "funnel" and "forecast."
Micromanagement, performance , review and probation are what most people this of in funnel reviews. When a salesperson hears those words they turn from positive to negative. They do not know why they lose their liveliness. Performance decreases as managers increase these reviews. This will cause performance to decrease even further, nobody wins in the end. Salespeople lose self confidence and limit their beliefs when continuous funnel reviews take place.
Similar problems happen because of forecasts but it happens in a different way. Few people can forecast accurately. They exaggerate and make the numbers come out to where they should be instead of where they are because no one wants to fall short on their forecast. The result is people expect these numbers, and salespeople are miserable around managers because they know they cannot meet the expectations. Some salespeople, like me, do the exact opposite. I hate it when managers ask When is this one or that one going to close?. Intentionally, I leave my good deals off of my forecast. It may have gotten rid of the constant questions, it created different problems having to contend with a funnel being short of the goals.
Another word that instantly de-motivates salespeople is "activity." Unfortunately, in the absence of any other viable advice, most managers simply blurt out, "You need to increase your activity" to anyone who isn't at quota. This accomplishes nothing other than setting up the rep to believe that a series of funnel reviews and performance improvement plans are soon to follow.
To keep sales people motivated: *Trust your sales people *Dont be overbearing but offer help *Dont overuse the words funnel, activity and forecast
Stick to these guidelines and you will do a better job of helping those who are struggling. You will also see an increase in motivation on your sales team.
About the Author Frank Rumbauskas is the author of Cold Calling Is a Waste of Time: Sales Success in the info Age. He is the founder of FJR Advisors LLC, which publishes training materials on prospecting business without cold calling. He also has a nationwide insurance agency. For more information, please go to http:// http://www.nevercoldcallagain.com
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