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100 Ways to Motivate Your Sales Team (Part 1)…

With a quick Google search, you can learn 101 uses for a dead cat!

And 50 ways to leave your lover…

But it’s not likely that a single one of those ideas will help you motivate your sales team or, at least we don’t think they will – unless you have some REALLY strange employees!

So when work frustrates your sales and service people, what kinds of things can you do to prevent burnout and keep your staff motivated?

You will not find any sarcastic Dilbert cartoons in this post; just 100 fresh ideas to fire up the troops from 100 business owners, managers and sales professionals like yourself.  As you go through the list, take note of how many you’ve tried and/or may like to implement:

1. Celebrate every success, no matter how small. Interject as much positive energy as you can into each workday. For example, try holding a surprise appreciation day, where each staff member brings in something little to show appreciation for a designated sales or service person.

2. Be flexible with time-off requests, granting them whenever possible.

3. Hire a massage therapist one afternoon to reward your staff.

4. Have “fun” sessions at staff meetings to do non-business related stuff, just for fun!

5. Get employees more involved in your public relations efforts.

6. Hold contests for creating warm leads for your sales team to pursue. Communicate a clear vision, and provide multiple ways to measure success.

7. Share success stories in your company or industry.

8. Provide staff lunches or gift incentives such as extended weekend stays at a resort.

9. Turn an account that you’ve sold yourself, over to a deserving sales person for commissions and service.

10. Give bonuses and extra paid days off for attaining certain goals.

11. Allow all company employees to help determine goals for the entire company, including benefits, bonuses and extras.

12. Encourage your team to talk about their frustrations, but then remind them of the bigger, long-term issues. Reiterate the importance of believing in your company’s plan (as well as yourselves) and staying the course you’ve laid.

13. Switch up your contests. Do anything you can to make this week feel different from the last!

14. Engage in team activities like lunches, dinners, concerts, parties, conventions, training/educational seminars, time off, bonuses and more.

15. Maintain a positive attitude. Always laugh.

16. Keep your employees focused on future opportunities.

17. Hold “Fun Fridays”, where each week someone is responsible for planning a 15-30 minute fun activity for Friday afternoon. Ideas include Pictionary, charades, pumpkin decorating at Halloween, etc. Each week the person tries to outdo the event from the week before.

18. Customize incentives, so that they appeal to the participants individually – as opposed to mass programs with one common incentive that may appeal to only a select few.

19. Involve your team in planning. Listen and ask questions all the time. Plan “fun,” away-from-work-type events. Find the good and praise them for the effort. Be a resource for venting or brainstorming issues. Respect autonomy, focus on results. Spend time with them one-on-one.

20. Improve your work environment and culture by increasing “soft” benefits like extra days off and better holiday schedules.

 

Check back soon for the next 20 responses in our countdown.

 

In the meantime – Want to drive your sales team’s performance?

BARQAR can help you keep your sales team’s fires fueled (and their motivation soaring!) by working to help you create high quality, inbound leads. Give us a call to learn more about our digital and inbound marketing solutions that include:

• Website development

• Social media management

• Blogging

• Search engine optimization

• Reputation management

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2 Responses

  1. I think this post is a great start to motivating a sales team. I especially love the idea of celebrating all successes. There is much to be said about fostering a positive work environment where everyone feels welcome and comfortable. I also love the idea of allowing your sales team to discuss their ideas and frustrations. Feeling recognized and heard can make a salesperson feel more confident in the team as a whole and encourage them to work even harder. Thanks for sharing!

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