This is a very common question that business owners type into Google, and for some reason, or because of some quirk of keywords, they often end up on our blog. So I’ll take the opportunity to talk about it. To begin with, the question itself is badly framed. First you have to understand why a person decides to go into sales.
I’ve always heard that anyone can be a salesperson or a waiter. FALSE! This false belief is what fills bars, restaurants and pubs with mediocre waiters, and fills companies with salespeople who do nothing but give their companies, and the sales profession, a bad name. I often hear that salespeople are hard-living, brothel-goers, gambling addicts, liars and so on…
If that is your idea of them, you should take a look at who your company hires and who is in charge of selecting your salespeople. I have never had people like that on my teams.
My first jobs were in sales, and I ended up in sales because it promised to be a profession where I would set my own salary according to my effort and selling talent. “Do more, earn more.” That was my motivation to work long hours and give the best of my sales talent.
A salesperson chooses this profession because they don’t want to be a civil servant or an office worker who clocks in at eight in the morning and clocks out at eight in the evening. A salesperson is an intrapreneur within the company, and probably one of its fundamental pillars. Failing to value and respect the role of the salesperson is what puts many companies’ turnover at risk, especially when a competent salesperson ends up working for a competitor. Of course, not everything is about money, although we are already taking it for granted that financial motivation is the basic principle of motivation for salespeople.
1. If you have 10 salespeople, they can never all earn the same.
Salespeople should start with a base salary plus unlimited sales commissions. For some reason, companies in Spain find it hard to part with money for their salespeople’s commissions. In other countries, companies can’t wait to make their salespeople rich with commissions, premiums and bonuses. That encourages the salesperson to keep making the effort and to keep making the company bigger.
If I work 14 hours a day and sell 100,000 euros, I can’t earn the same as another salesperson who sits scratching his… knees with both hands and sells 50,000 euros. In time I’d end up scratching my knees too, or changing companies. And nothing motivates the 50,000-euro salesperson to make an effort and try to outsell me.
This also avoids disputes over pay within the company: if we are paid according to sales targets, the salesperson who sells the most becomes an inspiration for the rest and shows that it is possible to earn much more money if we make the effort.
(Read: 15 habits of successful salespeople)
2. Don’t tell me I’ve done a good job, prove it.
Some people like a pat on the back from their bosses. Personally, if the pats on the back don’t come with more money, I don’t usually like them. I work for money, not for words of thanks or pats on the back. So pay me on commission, and much more when I’ve comfortably exceeded my targets. That way, every month, instead of being more worn out, I’ll be more and more motivated. Remember that ambition has no limits. Your salespeople’s ambition is good for your company. Complacency isn’t.
3. Salespeople must grow professionally.
A good salesperson can’t spend 5 or 10 years doing the same thing. Your company must offer real promotion opportunities for its best salespeople.
I have even heard business owners and managers say that people with a talent for selling always want to sell and don’t want to move up in the company. People only say this because nobody charges them every time they come out with such utter garbage.
In any profession you need to grow, not only financially but professionally too. A big mistake companies make is bringing in managers from outside instead of making use of the abilities of the capable professionals they already have. Besides, letting the rest of the workforce know that there are real chances of promotion within the company becomes an added motivation to do more and do it better.
The main reason why some salespeople who were once very good now lack motivation is simply that their own company burned them out professionally through a lack of incentives. Don’t look for any other explanation (although there may be exceptions).
To sum up: although there may be many ways to motivate salespeople, from a good working environment to ongoing training and so on, the biggest motivation for any salesperson is money.
Further reading
Featured image: Houstonhomesmo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
