Salespeople are the folks that open doors and close sales. They are responsible for generating the lifeblood of your business: revenue. However, your salespeople are also your frontline, and oftentimes the only touchpoint customers have with your company. In their role, they act as ambassadors of your brand. To ensure that your team remains highly motivated and represents your company in the best way possible, try these five tactics to inspire your salespeople:
Turn stars into leaders
Take the “employee of the month” concept to the next level by giving your best performing salespeople the opportunity to provide leadership to others and spread ideas that are working. This turns the recognition and respect you show for one salesperson into a benefit for all salespeople at the company.
Related: Tips for Closing More Sales
Make it matter
Add meaning by drawing into focus your company’s impact on your customers or community. Share true stories about the change that your company is making in people’s lives. When you make the work important, you’ll see a whole new level of passion, gutsiness and results. As they say, “You can’t sell it if you don’t believe it.”
Cultivate competence and confidence
Instead of barking commands to go out and perform, give them command of the subject matter. Further your salespeople’s education and training in key aspects of your industry sector, your product or service, and the latest sales techniques to continuously stimulate and challenge your salesforce and grow their knowledge.
Be out front
Give your salesforce state of the art toys, tools and gadgets to help them be (and significantly, appear to be) ahead of the curve. The more you set your sales team members apart, the more excited they will be about respecting themselves, and in turn, engendering respect from their customers. Encourage their use of social media for professional purposes such as writing opinion pieces, sharing trends, encouraging discourse and accessibility among customers.
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Blur the lines
Break from the “all work, no play” paradigm by making your business a fun and exhilarating place to spend long hours. Liven up your workplace with dedicated areas for work, creativity, breaks and maybe some ping pong. Create off-site events and activities that build team rapport and company loyalty that allow for the exchange of ideas between salespeople. Unstructured environments can foster fresh thinking and big ideas.
This article originally appeared in the August 2016 edition of The Costco Connection.
