I’ve sat in many meetings listening to senior executive discussing “how can we motivate the sales team”. The goal might be for the sales team to be motivated to add new accounts, hit a particular sales goal, stop selling the “easy” and sell the “difficult”, the list goes on. The point that they are missing is you can’t motivate anyone to do anything. You can inspire them to motivate themselves….but being motivated must come from an internal place. Motivation requires action and the action must come from the individual.
I’ve often found that educating the individual on the “why” helps inspire. Rather than just ramming sales goals, new products to sell or asking them to hunt rather than just account manage without the “why” will fail to motivate. If they understand selling more of the higher profit items leads to job security and increased commissions will inspire them to be motivated to sell those items. Hitting sales goals helps ensure that the company is profitable and will allow us to branch into other desirable areas, invest in the “new” they would like to sell and more. The discussion needs to be around why I need you to motivate yourself towards the desired behavior.
Leaders can help by providing inspiration. Leaders must come from a place of authenticity. Listening to the sales team’s concerns so they feel supported. Setting realistic goals and ensuring that the bonus/pay structure does not drive unintended behaviors. Next time someone wants to talk about how we motivate an individual or a team remember our role, inspire them to motivate themselves.