Skip to main content
Sales Performance Management

Motivate your sales team

By March 13, 2018June 11th, 2024No Comments

Sales teams need motivated employees to succeed. This is an obvious truth about the industry, but going from theory to practice can be difficult. Not everyone is always at the top of his or her game – bad days happen, lack of energy happens and sometimes the workplace is set up in a discouraging way. Sales managers need to put in work to get their employees motivated rather than simply expecting them to show up ready to go every day. Here are a few ways to get started:

Make employees feel they have a stake in the business
According to Forbes, working to ensure employees feel responsibility for their jobs and over the organization itself can help improve motivation. When employees incorporate their work and their companies into how they see themselves as people, motivation to do well is naturally fostered.

Different types of people feel that important sensation of ownership in different ways, according to recent research from Qualtrics. People often need to feel autonomy and to see a task through to the end, and these strategies can help bridge the gap between generally positive and generally disengaged people. For sales teams, this might mean keeping people involved from gathering and nurturing leads through closing. It can also entail letting employees develop relationships with prospects on their own under some general guidelines, rather than having them do so following strict rules.

Try to foster team spirit
Another article in Forbes suggests looking at employees as teams of people rather than only and always as individuals. These teams include managers too – looking at what leadership can do to address performance issues or meet sales goals is just as important as seeing what individual salespeople could do. It is also useful to cultivate an attitude of cohesion in other ways. For example, employees who feel like they are letting down a whole team rather than just underperforming may be more easily motivated to address any issues they are having, according to Forbes.

Sales teams can be very competitive by nature, which makes it difficult for some managers to institute a team mindset. However, it’s possible to take steps in that direction in many ways, such as having people compete against their own personal best instead of each other. Rewards given for performance can also be created that are not competitive or only ever awarded to one person out of a team.

Leave a Reply

×
Ballast Point Ventures

Ballast Point Ventures is a later-stage venture capital fund established to provide expansion capital for rapidly growing, privately owned companies in diverse industries, with a particular emphasis on companies located in Florida, the Southeast, and Texas. The BPV partners have more than 70 years of combined experience investing in and building high-growth companies in a number of industries, including healthcare, business services, communications, technology, financial services, and consumer goods. BPV has $200 million under management and seeks to make equity investments ranging from $3 million to $10 million.

×
Harbert Management Corporation

Harbert Management Corporation seeks to generate superior returns for their investors by identifying and investing in the most promising early growth stage companies in the Southeastern U.S. HMC seeks to capitalize on what it believes are compelling regional dynamics, such as a strong and fast-growing economy, significant research and development activities, and an established entrepreneurial community. The HMC team combines substantial investment, advisory, and operating experience with capital and networking contacts to support great entrepreneurial teams in successfully executing their growth plans. With offices in Birmingham, Alabama; Richmond, Virginia; and Gainesville, Florida, it’s well positioned to partner with entrepreneurs throughout the Southeast.

×
KBH Ventures

KBH Ventures was an early investor in Iconixx Software. KBH's investment philosophy plays a significant role in the firm's successful track record. KBH believes in running businesses to be cashflow positive and profitable every month. Startups and companies in a startup mode, such as one that has been purchased in distress, are expected to generate revenue within the first six months and reach profitability within the first 12 to 18 months. KBH also only invests in or acquires companies that are in the startup phase or have less than $20 million in revenues. KBH targets technology companies that offer business-to-business services.

×
S3 Ventures

S3 Ventures is an early expansion and growth stage venture firm with $200 million under management. It’s focused on information technology solutions that solve large business problems. S3 also invests in medical devices that improve the human condition. S3 invests in category-defining opportunities. It partners with the team and help focus methodically on what it takes to build a successful company. S3 today helps talented entrepreneurs take their technology and market knowledge and form valuable businesses in a repeatable fashion. Investment sizes start at several million or more for Series A, B, and C financing.