Dear Todd Cohen.com Sales Community,
As a sales leader, you know that your most important role is to develop, coach and mentor your sales team. Right? Right. You will succeed by having well-trained and developed sales professionals who deliver revenue.
Now, the question I want you to think about is this: Do you know what motivates your people? Have you taken the time and really thought about each of your sales people and what is each individual’s motivation to be at your company and be successful? Is it money? Is it challenge or the opportunity to work for a solid company? Is it for future advancement?
Do you know what actually gets your people up each and every day, brings them to work, and motivates them to be successful? If you don’t know, then I want to suggest to you that you are accountable to know that. This is not a separate thing you have to do or another initiative you have to add to your plate!
Understanding your people’s motivation and coaching to that motivational force is a central responsibility you own as a sales leader. It comes from excellent coaching and mentoring – your ongoing responsibility. For example, if a rep is motivated by money, have you taken the time to ask him “How much money do you want to make?” Once you get the answer (and using the compensation plan), show him how the numbers actually break out and create the roadmap for attaining that income. Keep that exercise front and center for the duration. Or, if your rep is motivated by being promoted, have you created a plan that you both agree on are the things that he needs to do to be considered for promotion?
Final point – if you don’t know, just ASK. Make that conversation part of your ongoing dialog with your people. You will earn a greater level of trust and respect.
Great sales leaders KNOW what motivates each member of their team and they coach to that. Your results increase over time, and your people feel better and more motivated to give it everything if they know you care about what is important to them. That is sales culture.
Good Coaching!
-Todd
Hi, Todd. Good topic. In fact, I just read your article “Everyone is in Sales” and I would like to add a few comments along that vein. From my perspective as a non-sales salesperson, I believe it’s important for us to approach potential clients with the attitude that we have value to add to their product or service. We have to believe in our own value in order to sell others on our services. As a writer, I’ve come to see that one of the benefits most of my clients are looking for is my skill set and my experience that are applied to their projects. They’re buying not just the words, but my knowledge of my craft and my years of helping others like them bring their projects to life.