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.
We should talk about funnels and forecasts because funnels and forecasts are very important to the sales operation. Funnels will tract potential opportunities that both managers and salespeople. Forecasting is something that needs proper planning in the future because your business cannot operate successfully without it. It is often thought these are necessary to succeed with any operation. Few words frighten salespeople more than 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.
Forecasts create a similar problem, however in differing ways. There are very few people that can forecast accurately. Nobody wants to come short on their forecast, so they exaggerate and make the numbers come out to where they should be instead of where they are. This results in people expecting these numbers, and sales people feeling uncomfortable around managers because they know they arent going to meet expectations. Then there are salespeople like me who do the exact opposite. I didnt like it when managers would constantly ask When is this one or that one going to close?. I intentionally left my best deals off of my forecast. While it did get rid of the constant questions. It did create different problems having to contend with a funnel coming short of 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 a struggling salesperson motivated: *Keep the talk of funnels, forecasts and activity to a minimum. *Offer help without being overbearing. *Put your trust and confidence in that salesperson.
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.