Motivation is the key to improved performance in any field. A Basketball or Football coach knows this so does a sales manager. From the 50s to the 70s the biggest motivation sales managers offered was, "perform or else"…Sales managers later realized that bonuses, perks, paid vacations, and gifts work as good motivators and they used the phrase "perform or else" sparingly and only in extreme situations. But even the best of monetary incentives fail to motivate sales professionals at times. Throwing money at a motivational issue cannot solve all the motivational problems.

It is the responsibility of the sales managers to keep their sales team motivated all the time. The situation can get tricky when the sales manager finds it tough to keep himself motivated. Sales professionals can lack motivation due to a number of reasons including tough market conditions such as a recessive economy. Nearly seventy percent of the sales managers have no experience of steering the sales force in a recessive economy. How can they lead the sales team in such a situation? It would be like the blind leading the blind. It is then they should consider motivational sales training by a professional trainer.

Motivational sales training by an experienced and effective trainer can lead the sales team towards better sales results. There are several ways of achieving this and the motivational sales trainers will be employing the following methods:

1. A seasoned and insightful motivational sales trainer will be able to lift the sagging morale of the members of the sales team by pointing them their strengths. The sales team may not have sold in a downward moving economy. But it might have handled stiff competitions in the past. It might have excelled despite restrictive government policies. The motivational sales trainer will point out to such achievements and prod the sales team to perform better.

2. The natural thing for sales people lacking motivation is to sit at the office and commiserate with colleagues about the tough situation and falling sales. But this is when they should be working more. An extra few cold calls as against the regular quota, a little more enthusiasm in sales presentation, more attention to customer needs etc. will dramatically boost sales.

3. The incentive and commission structure may have to be tweaked a bit to keep the interest of the sales team. When sales professionals work hard in tough situations they will expect adequate compensation. A little higher commission or incentive can act as good motivating factors.

4.When the sales professionals realize that increasing monetary compensation may not be possible in every situation they will settle for recognition and appreciation of their achievements. Motivation gets eroded when these free commodities become short in supply. Motivational sales trainers will encourage the sales managers to lavish praise and recognition where they are genuinely due.

5. Giving a platform for sales persons to voice their grievances with regard to efforts at selling will act as cathartic tool and keep them motivated. Their voice should be heard and grievances addressed.

By offering solutions that can range from the ordinary to the creative, motivational sales trainers lift up the spirits of sales people. Motivational sales training will facilitate an ideal condition for sales people to operate with renewed vigor and unwavering focus.

Source: M. Dvorak link