It is essential that the sales team is not left behind. However, it happens quite often that despite setting goals, the goals are not achieved. The most common reason sales team members are not motivated enough is too low a base salary.

While base pay is a portion of the employee’s compensation, it does not represent total compensation; nor is it the only motivating factor. The bottom line is that motivating the sales team is crucial to business success.

motivation – concept

Motivation is the internal condition that activates behavior and gives it direction; and energizes and directs goal-oriented behavior. Motivation can be intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation refers to the type of motivation that comes from within an individual, rather than from any external reward. Extrinsic motivation refers to the type of motivation that comes from outside the individual. Motivating factors are outside the individual, embodied in rewards such as money.

Lack of motivation can be driven by the existence of unmet needs, so it is helpful for managers to understand which needs are most important to the individual. Abraham Maslow developed a motivational model in the form of a hierarchical pyramid, in which he suggested that some needs (low-level needs) should be satisfied before others (high-level needs).

Physiological needs are those required for the sustainability of life, such as food and drink. Safety needs are related to feeling safe from the threat of physical or emotional harm and may include health insurance, living in a safe area, or job security.

Social needs refer to interaction with other people and may include the need for friends, belonging, or the need to give/receive love.

Esteem needs can be both internal and external. Internal esteem needs refer to self-esteem and may be related to respect or personal fulfillment, while external esteem needs are external to the individual and may be related to recognition or social status. These needs include self-esteem, achievement, recognition, reputation, and attention.

Self-actualization needs are connected to the individual reaching their full potential as a person. These types of needs are hardly fully satisfied since there are always more opportunities to grow. These needs include justice, truth, wisdom, and meaning.

How to motivate your sales team

Since the sales force is the lifeblood of the business, motivation is crucial to business success and sometimes even survival. Considering that business revenue/profit is positively correlated with sales team motivation, it’s worth understanding what motivates team members. A good way to motivate them is to create a good incentive program. This can become a challenging task as each individual is unique and motivated by a different set of factors.

A good incentive program is understandable, measurable and achievable. Any program that does not have these features can become confusing and therefore unproductive. The business owner or team manager has the responsibility to put the sales incentive program in clear terms and write it down. It might be helpful to hold a meeting to make sure team members fully understand.

The incentive program must include a series of objectives and the reward must be proportional to the extent to which those objectives are met. When designing goals, the business owner or team manager should focus on measurable monetary results, such as profit (eg, gross profit). A good team leader finds out the interests of each team member and then uses the information to design rewards.

A good sales team incentive program should include:

• Set attainable goals. Having achievable goals is key to motivating the sales team. Conversely, setting goals that are too high and cannot be achieved can cause the motivation of the sales team to plummet instantly, with disastrous consequences for the business.

• Competitive benefits. Sales team members need support and recognition for their job performance. A competitive benefits package that includes health insurance, a good retirement plan, sick leave, and even a generous vacation can be a strong sign of appreciation from management.

• Proper training. A company that invests in the professional growth of the employee invests in its own business. For this reason, it is essential to provide the sales team with adequate training and encourage members to work on their professional development.

• Base salary of one hundred. Forcing salespeople to work only on commission can be very stressful for them. Therefore, whenever possible, companies should consider paying them a decent base salary, which is a balanced approach to retaining real talent. However, finding the right balance between base salary and commission can be challenging. For example, if the base salary is low or nonexistent, salespeople are likely to focus more on finding strong leads that generate a high rate of sales, whereas if the base salary is high, they may engage in activities that may not necessarily be profitable. generate the same high sales. rate, but they make it possible for the manager to keep a closer eye on how they spend their time at work.

• Maintain an open door policy. Sellers must feel comfortable communicating what they are not satisfied with; otherwise, their morale may be lowered. A good manager takes the time to share concerns or give/receive constructive feedback from his subordinates.