Sales Force Training: The New Motivational Strategies

Keeping a team motivated and happy can be incredibly challenging for most current day managers. Tough economic times mean that teams are smaller, budgets for external rewards for employees are tighter, and employees can feel overworked or disinterested in the ultimate goal of their company. Managers, too, can be overworked and have less time to dedicate to individual staff members to keep them motivated. Yet, as AchieveGlobal notes, none of these obstacles are insurmountable, if we begin to view motivation in a different way. Research indicates that rather than aiming to motivate employees through external motivation (i.e. the reward or penalty system), they need to focus on what really makes employees tick: internal motivation.

Current-day internal motivation theory can be traced back to the findings of Abraham Maslow et al, who (in the 1960s), espoused that while external rewards could improve performance in the short-term, for long-term success, people reacted far more strongly to internal motivation. Currently, the leading authors in internal motivation are Edward Deci and Richard Ryan. These authors devised the Self-Determination Theory, which they define as “a theory of motivation… concerned with supporting our natural or intrinsic tendencies to behave in effective and healthy ways.” Deci and Ryan argue that external rewards wrest an employee’s creativity and ability to solve complex problems and aim to reward a worker for something he/she already enjoys doing.

Internal motivation results when a person is performing a job they find inherently satisfying, or when they perform their job to satisfy another inherent need (there are three basic needs employees possess: the need to show their competence, the need to relate to others in a team and the need to exercise autonomy in their job).

Good leaders need to create the right environment in which employees can fulfil these needs for themselves. This can be done by communicating efficiently with employees, adopting their point of view, creating opportunities for them to make wise choices and providing sales force training to those selling the company’s products or services. In the case of sales staff, receiving cutting edge sales training is particularly important, since these employees need to remain highly motivated, even in the face of rejection.

Leaders should give feedback to employees in a non-judgemental manner, clarifying any procedures or roles the employee may not understand and relying on the employee to find a solution to a current problem or issue. Leaders also need to recognise talent in employees, matching workers’ interests needs to the company’s needs and creating a plan to help the employee shine in their chosen area. Finally, positive contributions made by staff should be acknowledged, by showing how their actions have had a positive impact on the team.

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Team Leadership: How To Achieve Success

When successful Managers are interviewed about their greatest professional achievements, they often place the establishment of a successful team at the top of the list. An organised team, one in which each is aware of the company’s goal, their specific roles and the procedures to be followed, is a critical aspect of success. Tightly knit teams respond to crises well, they react to situations in a unified and consistent manner and they always have the long-term aims of the company in mind. Teams can comprise employees, or employees and outsiders. They can be located within the same department or work across departments, located within the same office or online; teams can be permanent or ad-hoc; large or small. Regardless of their nature, their success depends on a number of specific factors:

• Efficiency: Each team member needs to possess the level of expertise required by their role, so that managers can rely on their knowledge and experience.

• Shared goals: Team members should know the ultimate aim they are working together to achieve.

• Correct size: Successful teams should not be subject to inordinate pressure to achieve their goals in a set amount of time. Managers should ensure that there are enough members of the team to complete required processes within a reasonable amount of time.

• Communication: Team members should feel free to communicate with others to request information, keep updated on new developments in projects and request changes in faulty procedures. A non-defensive atmosphere should be fostered, in which ideas and feedback are received and considered with the company goal in mind.

• Motivation: Leaders should not only lend their enthusiasm to team members; they should also give due importance to internal motivation – i.e. keeping the team enthused about their work by allowing them to shine in their areas of interest, listening to their feedback and showing appreciation, rather than simply providing external rewards (such as promotions or salary increases). All Managers should receive team leadership training, to learn how to work closely with all team members, empowering and supporting them so they can make their own decisions and feel free to take risks with confidence.

• Coaching and Training: Teams need to receive the coaching and training they need to stay motivated and feel that they are on the cutting edge of their respective fields, but leadership training for those managing others should be given equal importance.

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