How to Boost Sales Staff Morale
By Brian Norris,©2000, 2007
414-899-1905
Reinforce your organization's purpose in the marketplace. With so many things to sell, the key question that a sales person consciously or subconsciously asks is "Why?". "Why do I do what I do? Sell what I sell? Does the outcome justify the effort?"
Although financial compensation is important, there are lots of ways to make money and lots of company to work for. Give your staff an ongoing reason to be proud of what they do. How is your product contributing to society? Making the world a happier, healthier, saner, safer, more accessible and productive place to live? Use your weekly sales meetings to reinforce the organization's or division's purpose.
Post success stories via email, voicemail, in-house newsletters. These can be stories of how Jane or John salesperson cracked their quota for the month to smithereens. Better still, encourage your sales staff to solicit success stories from people who are using the product or service.
Consider connecting the organization by hosting monthly lunches of multiple departments, especially if these departments don't generally see each other face to face. It's very powerful to be able to associate a face with a name and reaffirms that the sales team is not alone.
Sales managers need to go to bat for their people. Take personal responsibility when earnings aren't met, rather than blaming it all on the sales force.
Are forecasts realistic? Are your people getting proper and ongoing training? Are sales and marketing tools current and strong? Is the rest of the organization (marketing and PR, order fulfillment and distribution, clerical, accounting) supporting the sales staff?
If not, the sales manager should become a catalyst for change and make things happen. Show your staff that you support them. Be a coach and mentor. Accountability starts at the top and works its way down.
Respect your team's need for personal time. With wireless communications and the Internet, we're becoming too accessible. The line between work time and home time is dangerously blurred. Although we never stop representing the companies we work for, there must be a clear demarcation. That might mean having a policy in place that says beepers, emails and cell phone numbers are not given out unless approved by the salesperson. One that says when you punch out at 6:00, you're done for the day.
Encourage your sales team to get a life! Nothing nurtures the soul, boosts morale and keeps stress to a minimum like being able to spend time with friends and loved ones or engaging in activities that have nothing to do with work.
Treat your sales staff equitably. Avoid the temptation to give your star salesperson preferential treatment, unless it's a spelled out benefit that is accessible to anyone who performs at a certain level. If you have deadlines, they apply to everyone. The same applies for procedures and policies. Consider streamlining certain policies that prevent your sales team from being effective or closing the deal.
Brian Norris is a touch therapist, professional speaker and author of Escape Life Sucks Syndrome. You can reach Brian by emailing info@BrianNorris.com or calling 414-899-1905.