It’s not enough to simply have the best product or the best service in today’s marketplace. You also need to have the best people starting with your company’s sales representatives. I have spent over a dozen years as a small business owner and consultant to some of the country’s greatest entrepreneurial minds, and in my history I have found that nothing stifles the growth and effectiveness of a company as much as a stagnant sales force. Your sales department is the lifeline of your company. Without an energized and compelling sales staff no business concept, no matter how innovative, can survive. The bottom line is if you want your business to succeed you have to have motivated sales people.
So, how do you motivate your sales department? Higher commissions? Plaques, awards or some other form of Employee Recognition? Team building retreats or trips to exotic locations? The truth is there is no one universal answer. Every individual is unique and as a result every member of your sales team is probably motivated by different factors. Some are looking for praise and accolades from management, and some for peer approval. Some are obsessed with winning, and some want the climb the corporate ladder into management. Regardless of the various factors that might influence your sales staff’s performance, always remember they’re in it for the money first.
It’s a point that stands repeating. No matter what other factors might effect a sales professional’s motivation, each and every person on your sales floor decided to work at your company primarily due to the financial benefits you offer. Does this mean the best way to improve morale and increase sales is to simply increase salary or commissions? The answer is no. The only way I have found to get the maximum effort from your employees is to combine a balanced compensation plan with rewarding Incentive Programs. Here is why:
One problem I’ve found in numerous organizations I’ve worked with is that no matter what the compensation plan offered amounts to, in the eyes of the sales team it’s never enough. Increasing salary, or worse yet commission percentages, rarely helps a company get more out of their sales people. In fact, often times it accomplishes the opposite. Take a sales representative who has determined he requires $50,000 annual income. If his salary is set at $50,000, all the incentive to meet sales goals is simply to justify his position within the company. More often than not you will get minimum effort.
On the other side, if you eliminate salaries altogether or structure compensation plans so that almost all of a reps annual income is commission based, you generally reduce the quality of sales persons you attract. Most experienced and successful sales executives do not work for straight commission. By attempting to motivate simply by commission driven tactics, sales managers often lose out on the best talent in their industry.
Today’s sales force is not motivated by seeing their name engraved on a “Sales Employee of the Month” plaque. For sales incentive programs to work, companies must recognize and reward their top-performers, giving them the power of choice. The most effective way for a sales manager to acknowledge individual efforts and increase motivation is simply put, Rewards Program.
Today, there are a variety of rewards programs available to companies of all sizes. From prepaid credit and debit cards, to vacation getaways and merchandise offers, customizing a package that is best for your company is simple and convenient. By taking the time to invest in an incentive program for your sales team you are in not only giving back to your employees, you are investing in your company’s future financial success.