Motivation is the key to a successful sales team. If you want to learn how to manage them effectively, then you need to study how to motivate them. While managing a sales team is difficult, it can be a breeze if you know what to look out for. You can influence your sales team by focusing on their particular skill set and their motivation. Here are some strategies to increase those motivation levels, as told by Joseph Vessecchia. 

Focus on Results

You need to become a results-driven manager. That includes hiring people who have drive and passion. It’s important to create an organization that’s focused on key sales metrics. When you build a competitive team of people in a transparent environment, it can motivate the entire organization. You want to emphasize the outcomes so you can prevent confusion with activity and productivity. 

Build Trust With Your Sales Team

The core of motivating your sales team is building trust with them. If your team doesn’t trust you, then it’ll be hard for them to feel driven and motivated by their own work. When they’re feeling unmotivated, it’ll be hard to get them going, unless you have an open and honest conversation with them. Don’t be afraid to ask them about their challenges and goals. 

You should establish trust with your sales team by engaging them on a consistent basis. One of the best ways to build trust is to have a transparent conversation about trust. Ask them how you can build trust with them. It shows your team that you’re working on building a relationship with them, rather than managing them. 

Customize Your Management Style

Every member of your sales team has a different personality and will feel motivated in different forms. Some people prefer reinforcement while others prefer a hands-off approach. Engage with your sales team and ask them how they like to be managed. Then you can tailor that approach to each member of your team. Since you don’t treat every customer the same way, why would you manage your entire team the same way? 

Find Out About Their Lifestyle Habits

A salesperson’s motivation decreases the moment they’re not taking care of themselves. It’s important for your team to eat a healthy diet and drink plenty of water. They should also be getting plenty of sleep and exercise. Whenever you notice someone is disconnected from the rest of the team, you can ask them what they need. 

If they suggest food, then take them out to lunch. If it’s more sleep that they need, then allow them to take a nap or perhaps a day off. If it’s exercise, suggest that they take a walk. Some organizations are great about having this in their building. While you don’t have to be this excessive, emphasizing the importance of a work-life balance will certainly help increase your sales team’s motivation levels. 

Build Their Habits 

The reason why most sales teams succeed is that they form effective habits. Since sales is a competitive field, using the right habits is key to their success. Determine which behaviors are needed for your sales team to succeed. 

Do they need help with finding more prospects? Or, do they need help with closing a sale? Work alongside your team to build and strengthen these habits until they become a part of their daily behavior. 

Manage Their Expectations

You want your sales team to be passionate about what they do and the products they sell. You want to offer the best support possible. While it’s important to have an overperforming sales team, you should set goals that are both responsible and realistic. If your entire team is only hitting 60% of their target, the target might not be reasonable. While you want to manage their expectations, you want to set them accordingly so they’re not too high out of their reach.

Understand Their Goals

Again, you can’t motivate your sales team unless you know their personal and professional goals. This not only proves to them that you’re a caring manager, but it also provides insight into what motivates them the most. Once you get to know their goals, find out ways to help motivate them in the short-term and the long-term. 

What it comes down to is finding the thing(s) that motivates your team to go the extra mile. For example, your sales team won’t produce top performers if you cap their commissions. Find the one thing that gives them drive, and those who have the passion and drive will shine.

Joseph Vessecchia is extremely dedicated to his sales career. After building a successful sales career, he decided to grow an online community he could motivate and inspire. When Joseph is not working, he’s leading prayer groups and volunteering at local organizations.