Winning a game or race isn’t solely about athletic ability – sports are a mental game too. Even the greatest athletes get knocked down a time or two, and it takes a certain mentality and grit to get back up and keep going after a setback.
Your team is built of great sales athletes. And while they may have great skills, they may be lacking in the motivation and perseverance they need to stay competitive in today’s market.
The best coaches inspire their team to get back up and compete again even after a tough loss. As a sales team manager, it’s important to have the tools it takes to motivate your team to build their confidence to go back and try to land a sale even after being shot down.
Kent Oglesby, the New Media Development Manager at KY3-TV, knows a thing or two about energizing his sales team. Your team follows your lead – If you don’t treat promotions and interactive content as a priority, neither will they.
Kent’s adamant about motivating his team in all aspects of the sales process. It’s not just about rewarding someone for making a sale; it’s about motivating them for taking all the right steps on the way to making the sale.
While they have standing weekly team meetings, there are a lot of ways you can promote excitement within your team and have a little fun with it too – from making a big deal about a team member enrolling and graduating from sales training courses to team lunches watching webinars on sales tips.
Kent Oglesby on motivating your staff: “promotions are fun, so we like to have fun with them.” #secondstreetsummit
— Sarah Sinclair (@sarahsin) June 6, 2016
One aspect that often taken for granted is sales education. It’s important to ensure that every member of your team has the training and skill set to make them the best they can be. For Kent, this includes training in strategies for preparing for CNA (consumer needs analysis) meetings and understanding all the tools and resources available for your sales team.
Kent is also adamant that you need to reward and praise your team members when they achieve their goals. But this isn’t all about cash rewards (but those are nice too!)
Gongs? Cow Bells? Sirens? Horns? Yelling? How does your team celebrate a sale. #secondstreetsummit #breakquestion #answerandyougetabreak
— Second Street (@secondstreet) June 6, 2016
Have fun with your team – maybe you have a bell that team members ring when they make a sale, maybe it’s a team adventure of mini golf or go karting. Whatever you do, celebrate your victories.
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Liz is the Senior Director of Customer Success and has an extensive background in media. She is a huge advocate of the power of promotions for every department within an organization, including sales, marketing, audience development, and editorial.