MightyRecruiterSome employees are just selling machines. They love hearing the sound of their mental cash register each time it rings up a sale. But others take a little more coaxing. Maybe they are less comfortable with pressuring strangers or asking repeatedly for the sale. That doesn’t mean they can’t become good, confident salespeople. They just need a little sales motivation. There a many types of incentive that employers can use to generate more drive in their salespeople, and we’ve compiled a list of several ideas.
Money is Important
All right, we all know money is the primary sales motivation for most people. We need it to live, and when we get more of it, we can live better. But studies have shown that for the long-term, money doesn’t continue to give salespeople the same rush they might get from other incentives. Once they get a lot of money, they don’t want to work so hard to get more. Money as sales motivation truly follows the law of diminishing returns. Plus, there are some places in which increasing payouts is not allowed due to company policy or legal restrictions.
Important Goals
If more money is off the table, many sales staff members will look to other motivations to encourage brisk sales and revenue growth. Because a common trait among salespeople is a personal desire to be held accountable for one’s own success, you can motivate them toward strong sales by tapping into this goal. Let them know that the power to meet revenue challenges is within their reach. Let them share with peers their experiences and best practices for making solid deals. They will be thrilled that the company is doing well and that they played a part in its success.
Continued Training
Another trait of salespeople is that they like to be continuously learning and improving personally. You can give them opportunities to gain skills using e-learning courses, off-site training sessions or coaching with a mentor. These chances to expand their skills might not be very costly to you, the owner, but you can reap the benefits of a newly energized and motived sales force. New gadgets and other cool software could be additional sales motivation tools for your salespeople if it’s in the budget to supply them.
Prestige Awards
Of course, there are plenty of no-cost methods for rewarding staff members who meet sales goals. You can host a peer recognition program at the office in which coworkers nominate outstanding salespeople for in-house accolades. This can be as minor as a plaque or as prestigious as a lunch date with the CEO. You can let your sales department come up with an award that they would really like to strive for that doesn’t involve a monetary award. On the other hand, if they don’t work on commission, a small dollar award might be a great sales motivation. Even something as simple as giving the salesperson of the month access to the most optimally located parking spot for the building can be a major incentive when used in the right way.
Promotions
Finally, salespeople usually are looking to move up in their department and company. Again, because they are goal-oriented, they likely have set a plan for advancement in their own minds since they joined the company. A move up could mean a new title or a corner office, but it doesn’t necessarily have to. In some cases, your top sales staff members might really want to move to a position as a trainer so they can share their expertise with others. In that position, they will be seen as an authority on the topic of sales and earn the admiration of their coworkers, two important kinds of sales motivation. Even if you can’t promote a worker to a new position, you might be able to bestow an important area of responsibility that will seem like a step up to the salesperson. Clearly, money is not the only sales motivation to be found in the workplace. Strong salespeople might be just as happy to receive additional training, peer recognition or new responsibilities as they would be to receive some extra cash. Money does talk, but it doesn’t say much in the long term. By allowing your sales staff to work toward goals of their own making with designated rewards, you can keep them happily generating revenue for years to come. In addition to learning how to explore sales motivation options, you can learn how to make solid hiring decisions and improve your companies using the resources at Mighty Recruiter as a guide.