If your sales team isn’t motivated to perform, will incentives really help?
They can.
To a point.
The incentives companies offer a struggling salesperson run the gamut of everything from cash bonuses and vacations to special gifts and other perks.
However, these external ways of recognizing your salespeople may not work over the long run because they don’t necessarily change attitudes.
Standard sales performance incentives barely scratch the surface
There are two sides of the motivation coin you need to consider.
An intrinsically motivated person is interested in doing something because of their personal drive/interest, joy or mastery aspirations, while an extrinsically motivated person is compelled to go for the carrot stick such as more money, and materialistic things.
While both camps can be persuaded to work toward achieving a common sales reward, it’s actually far more advantageous to ensure these individuals are getting real job satisfaction and meaningful experiences from doing their work. Translation? Help them feel more fulfilled as individuals.
How does company culture help motivate people?
Organizations need to tap their people to bring out their highest potential and value. That’s not to say it’s a bad thing to offer incentives but it can’t be the be-all and end-all of measuring performance.
In today’s workplace, employees across all levels of organizations are hungry to be valued for their contributions and to feel like they matter. When you roll out the red carpet and really engage your salesforce beyond typical rewards, you could see a much higher productivity rate and return on investment.
But first, take stock…are you making their jobs easier by:
- Ensuring your salespeople have access to enough information and training so they can comfortably carry out their work
- Setting realistic sales goals
- Re-evaluating your commission sales structure so it aligns with the times to reflect market changes
- Recognizing them when they hit milestones and sharing their success with the rest of your company in a meaningful way
Change things up – stop using the old one-size-fits-all solution. You need to get to know your salespeople; what’s important to them at work and at home so you can help them succeed.
One of the best resources for understanding human motivation comes from author Daniel Pink. In his book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, he reveals the science behind why dangling the carrot stick is not necessarily what motivates people to go for the prize.
It’s time to rethink how organizations support salespeople to do their best work.
Are you ready to crush your 2019 sales goals? If so, schedule a free consultation by clicking here: https://ryanjamesmiller.com/book-a-consult