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Terminal sales personnel are the mainstay of terminal sales, and the success or failure of terminal sales is directly related to them. Therefore, the management of sales personnel is very important. Currently, the terminal sales teams in enterprises are relatively unstable, with a very high turnover rate among sales staff, which is also one of the main reasons affecting terminal sales. So, what is the key to building and managing a stable terminal sales team? We know that sales personnel who have been selected and trained may not necessarily complete sales tasks or stay in the job steadily. Enterprises must also establish a reasonable compensation system and personnel management system. On this basis, continuous encouragement and communication with sales personnel are essential. Below, we introduce how to motivate and communicate with terminal sales personnel.
I. The Art of Praise
Continually praising sales personnel is one of the effective ways to motivate. Every salesperson hopes to be praised, but casually praising them may be misunderstood or looked down upon, leading them to think the leader has no principles. To praise employees, different methods should be adopted according to the time and the person. A successful leader knows the art of praise. Here are various ways to praise.
Praise naturally. Deliberate praise will make salespeople unhappy, so praise must be natural. It is important for supervisors to understand the expectations of sales personnel and praise them each time they meet those expectations.
Keep praise simple and concise. A simple "Great job!" is a concise way to praise. Some sales managers go into lengthy explanations of the reasons for praise, turning it into a lecture and blurring the point.
Seize the moment. Praise salespeople at the right time, immediately when results appear. For example, when a salesperson calls to report a successful sale, praise them on the spot, not wait until they return to the office.
Make a fuss over small achievements. You can also exaggerate praise. When a salesperson lacking confidence succeeds, the supervisor can exaggerate the praise. A shy supervisor may not be good at acting, but acting is also part of the supervisor's job.
Indirect praise. Praising a salesperson in front of others, so that it indirectly reaches the person, is also a method. Indirect praise can motivate employees more than direct praise from a superior.
Praise in front of all employees. Public commendation is a typical example, but there is another method: praising a salesperson's success at sales meetings, allowing them to share their achievements.
One-on-one praise. A supervisor praises an employee one-on-one, and the two share the joy. For example, when they succeed together, say, "This is all thanks to your efforts," and mutually acknowledge each other's contributions.
Treat them at your own expense. The supervisor treats subordinates to a meal at their own expense to celebrate their success. This differs from company interactions and is very effective in maintaining trust between superiors and subordinates.
Think deeply about the content of praise. When facing capable salespeople, praising their superficial results is a big taboo. Their strategic processes deserve admiration, so praise their work content.
II. The Art of Criticism
As a manager, always remember that the purpose of criticism is to better motivate. Criticism is motivation from the negative side. Some sales supervisors make a career of criticism, focusing on salespeople's shortcomings and mistakes. Criticism should correct shortcomings and improve sales ability, but blindly blaming may cause salespeople to feel inferior and dissatisfied, or even leave without notice.
The essence of criticism is to improve sales ability through reprimand, so salespeople should not be blamed casually. The method of criticism can be divided into five stages according to the content and the object.
- Stage 1: Hint. Use attitude hints, such as a stern look, an unfriendly attitude, or discussing failed cases.
- Stage 2: Advice. Use vague expressions to point out the problem, such as "Go back and think it over" or "Is there a problem?" to let subordinates think about what the supervisor means.
- Stage 3: Attract attention. Clearly point out specific parts and methods, such as "That approach won't work" or "The consideration is not thorough enough."
- Stage 4: Reprimand. Emotional scolding, such as "Idiot," "Do it again," or "Don't you have any drive?" (Supervisors often use this when they are at their wit's end).
- Stage 5: Sanction. Do not assign work, transfer responsible clients to others, assign other tasks, or reduce salary or bonuses.
These five methods of criticism should start from the first stage and proceed in order. If you suddenly jump to the fourth or fifth stage, it will only create resentment in subordinates. One point to note: it is not enough for the supervisor to criticize in stages; salespeople should know the order of reprimand, or learn from surrounding examples that the supervisor uses these five stages. Remember: (1) Do not create resentment. Once subordinates intend to improve, stop reprimanding. (2) Focus on one thing. Focus on one matter when reprimanding, and do not bring other issues into it. (3) Finally, provide clues. After criticism, provide correct methods and clues as a summary. (4) Have love. Let subordinates feel love during criticism.
III. Fifteen Specific Motivation Methods
Develop good products. Providing reliable products at reasonable prices is always the most motivating factor for salespeople. Hot-selling products are more exciting than challenging ones. On the other hand, salespeople like challenges—but they don't like hearing from customers that the products are poor, prices are too high, or delivery is never on time. They want to spend time selling, not explaining complaints to customers.
Trust. Salespeople work harder when they work for managers who trust them. Does the manager speak kindly? Are promises kept? Are high performers given enough trust to handle tasks their own way? Let salespeople know they are trusted, and they will work harder.
Peer pressure. The best salespeople in every company are true competitors. Their income is an important indicator of success. Equally important is the relationship between their income and that of other salespeople. They feel relative income is a better measure. The best salespeople want to compete in every possible way. Are their weekly sales visits more than others? Post a chart on the office wall listing each salesperson's number of visits. Create other activities that emphasize internal competition, and make sure monthly performance records are posted in a visible place. No one wants their name at the bottom of the list. Hold sales competitions with small prizes. Use every possible method to stimulate natural competition among top salespeople.
Recognition. One of the most important factors in motivating salespeople is recognition for what they do. Calling them into the office and shaking hands is not enough (remember peer pressure). Let high performers know their efforts are appreciated, and make sure every colleague knows. If the company has an internal publication or website, mention their efforts there, and give the best performers a chance to speak at company meetings. Salespeople's outstanding achievements need recognition.
Honor. Salespeople must know that when good things happen in their territory, they will receive appropriate honor from the company. Some new sales managers are worried about their performance with senior management and sometimes emphasize their own role in closing deals and signing orders, neglecting the salesperson's participation. This is a big mistake. Nothing is more demoralizing to salespeople than having their achievements stolen by their supervisor.
Rewards. Even a cheap plaque, when awarded to a high-performing salesperson at a briefing meeting, can boost morale. If the plaque is not hanging on the office wall, it's because the salesperson took it home to hang in their study. Give top salespeople pins to encourage them, and they will wear them proudly.
Competitions. The best competition reward is to include the spouse, such as a trip for two, which makes the salesperson a winner in the eyes of their spouse.
Realistic goals. Are sales quotas achievable? Or are they just increased according to management's desired rate? Do salespeople have a chance to give input on assigned quotas? If quotas prove too high, is management willing to adjust? If goals are impossible, why would salespeople work themselves to the bone?
Decision-making responsibility. A powerful motivator is to show trust by giving salespeople some leeway in negotiating with potential clients. If they have to fight management for price reductions, when they land a big contract, they know their ability and judgment are not respected. Of course, give them guidelines, but let them make certain decisions.
Unlimited income potential. Why is this listed here rather than under bonuses? Because setting an income limit is a particularly demoralizing factor. Salespeople must feel that every commission they earn goes into their own pocket. If they know that once they earn above a certain limit, the company will stop paying commissions, they will be as deflated as a balloon. Management is essentially telling them that earning that much is enough. If income limits are necessary, do it through quota assignment and bonus structures. If commissions are related to gross profit, what if a salesperson earns more than the manager or even the company president? That salesperson may have made a huge contribution to the company that year.
Achievement. The combination of all motivating factors is achievement. It brings satisfaction, knowing the task is completed and done well. To give subordinates the opportunity for achievement, first give them attainable goals.
Promotion. Everyone hopes for the opportunity to do better work and strive for future opportunities. That is why internal promotion is very important. Let employees know that the best performers will be rewarded for their efforts.
Reasonable and fair treatment. Are salespeople bullied? If they miss performance standards for a month, do they have to prepare to leave? Are they humiliated in public? Do supervisors keep the best territories and accounts for their favorites? Do supervisors think the best way to get the best performance is through constant intimidation? That's poor motivation—salespeople are motivated to walk out the door and find another job.
Training. Let subordinates know that the best way the company is planning for their future is to provide regular training courses to improve sales skills, product knowledge, time management, etc.
Variety. Doing the same thing year after year is tiring, especially if the only change is increasing sales quotas each year. Try to assign new tasks to veteran salespeople from time to time to keep them from getting bored.
IV. Methods to Motivate Problem Salespeople
Any sales supervisor will face some problematic salespeople, and these problematic salespeople often need the supervisor's assistance and supervision to correct bad habits and overcome difficulties. Common characteristics of problem teams include fear of rejection, lack of drive, starting strong but finishing weak, wasting time, forced selling, troublemaking, resentment, and arrogance.
Sales supervisors should study the causes and solutions for these phenomena in their work. Below are some guidance methods for different types of problem members:
Fear of rejection. Methods include: help them build confidence and eliminate fear; affirm their strengths, point out their problems, and provide solutions; accompany them in sales and train them to act calmly, starting from easy tasks and gradually moving to harder ones; train them in product knowledge and sales skills.
Starting strong but finishing weak. Methods include: lead or accompany them in sales; require them to participate in sales rehearsals or data collection and organization; conduct segmented assessments; provide more psychological support; set sales targets for each time period and each operational area.
Forced selling. Methods include: point out the disadvantages of forced selling and the benefits of a gradual approach; strengthen education on service concepts and teach more business skills; change the commission-only compensation method and carry out multi-project, multi-level competitions.
Lack of drive. Methods include: point out the disadvantages of lack of drive; use both external and internal motivation; accompany them in sales and provide coaching; change their sales territory; increase sales quotas; offer salary increases or prizes as special challenges; give short vacations to rest their nerves.
Wasting time. Methods include: reason with them, telling them time is money and efficiency is life; appeal to emotions, help them create a schedule and route for customer visits, analyze the number of visits and the minimum time for explaining to customers; strictly require them to create a work schedule and time allocation plan.
Troublemaking. Methods include: point out the harm of rumors to individuals and the group; trace the origin and purpose of rumors, isolate the rumor-monger, and educate them; avoid careless jokes as much as possible.
Resentment. Methods include: give guidance and comfort, put yourself in their shoes; guide them to participate more in group activities and express their opinions fully; use facts to speak, compare sales performance, and make them sincerely convinced; check whether the company's system has unreasonable points and correct them if so; if the team member is completely unreasonable, it must be stopped, and try to turn conflict into understanding to maintain the relationship; if all methods fail and it becomes intolerable, dismissal may be necessary.
Arrogance. Main methods include: tell them there is always a higher mountain, a sky beyond the sky, and a stronger person; they should not be like a frog at the bottom of a well or be self-important; use examples to show that arrogance leads to defeat; increase sales quotas and improve management systems; affirm their achievements, and more work means more reward; do not grant special privileges.
V. Methods to Motivate Top Salespeople
Managing top salespeople is often the most headache-inducing problem for supervisors. To motivate these sales experts, first understand their characteristics. Top salespeople generally fall into the following categories: those skilled at closing deals, those specializing in consultative selling, customer relationship types, and presentation skills types. Regardless of their specialty, these individuals also have common tendencies and characteristics. Someone once conducted surveys and research on thousands of sales experts across various industries and found seven factors that most motivate star salespeople:
Top salespeople usually seek status. They need others to give them power and authority, and they are very concerned about their image and prestige.
They enjoy being with people and are keen on influencing others. As for whether others like them, honestly, they don't care. This trait makes them often use emotion to persuade others, but they are not easily swayed by emotion themselves.
They need the respect of others. They want others to see them as experts who do things well and correctly. They believe they are well-intentioned and enjoy helping or guiding others.
They want routine. Top salespeople mostly like to follow established practices and hate being interrupted. They are more proactive and dislike a passive attitude of just thinking without doing.
They pursue achievement. Initially, they seek material satisfaction and comfort. Once they earn enough money, they continuously take on challenges to pursue "impossible sales records" to maintain their enthusiasm for sales work.
They seek stimulation. Top salespeople usually have more energy than average people, so they welcome external stimulation and challenges to vent their vitality appropriately and gain satisfaction.
They hope for sincerity. Sales experts often have high confidence in the products they sell. If the company's product quality loses credibility or they doubt the company's new products, they may switch jobs. But they are not complete moralists; experience teaches them to accept imperfection.
Supervisors with top salespeople, after understanding the above seven factors that most motivate them, if they can empathize and interact sincerely, will surely make them willingly accept leadership.
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