A Manager of a Sales Team was telling me about the challenges and frustrations that he is having with his sales team.  He made the reference to,  ”If a person’s job is to ‘dig a ditch’, then one must dig ditches”  and in relation to selling “If one’s job is to sell, then they must do selling activities to achieve those goals”.  His challenge was motivating his sales team to “do the actual physical activities” required to make a sale.

What are the activities that one needs to do on a daily basis to be successful in sales?   Salespeople need to “Get out there”, meet people, network with colleagues, talk to clients and former clients and shake things loose!  Sitting behind your desk and waiting for the phone to ring helps nobody, and especially does not help you to develop the confidence and skills needed to succeed!  Sales people need to establish their priorities, set a schedule and make some decisions on how to spend their day talking to potential clients.  It has been said many times that ‘a wrong decision is better than no decision at all’ and ‘indecision is toxic’ especially for the sales person who is unable to make the decision to act.

So the question arises – how do sales managers motivate their staff to sell, when the media and markets are saying that nobody is buying?  How do they get them off of facebook for personal use at work and engage them in their work roles?   I think that facebook can be a great tool for business, but it can also be an addictive ‘crutch’ that is used as an excuse not to do selling activities.

Sales managers need to let their people sell without standing over their shoulder, yet provide them with the tools, support and motivation required to keep them moving forward.  Every individual is different and each will need different levels of care and attention- and that is up to our sales managers to figure out.  Find that balance and you will find success. Sales Managers need to motivate – Sales Team Members need to sell.

Mathew Cey

Director of Business Development