I Need Motivation Theories

Managing the Sales Team

Set the Sales Targets & KPI's. Set the periodic sales targets for individuals, teams and the company. These could be daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, half year and annual. They should be stretch targets but achievable. Not too easy not too hard.

Autonomy. Having interviewed many sales people, the most common frustration they have is being micro-managed. Below I outline how to approach internal sales meetings which are pivotal to getting the most out of the sales function. Beyond that, let them have ownership and accountability of their sales area. Be there to support and guide but don't get in their way.

Understand the Motivation behind Sales People. Sales people are typically very driven and singularly focused individuals. They get a massive kick out of the "thrill of the chase" and "closing the deal". They are generally motivated by sales turnover and their earning capacity including commission. Understand this in motivating and driving them.

Pay Structure. This would be the number 2 frustration of sales people. Agree on their base pay, superannuation, benefits, bonus scheme or commission structure at the start. Then measure, monitor and make good on all of these to the letter. Make sure payments are on time within predetermined lead times. If you can't explain the bonus or commission structure in a few minutes on 1 page, revisit the basis of calculation. This is absolutely critical.

Let Them Sell. Sales people are there to sell. Don't burden them with financial or administrative tasks unless they are Sales Managers leading a team. Outside of the internal sales meetings which are critical, let them do what you employed them to do.

Weekly Sales Meetings. Weekly Sales Meetings should be laser focused, short, sharp and direct. Use an agenda. No waffle. Discuss current leads, open order status, business development opportunities and other current prospect/customer status. If weekly sales data is available, report it quickly against pro-rata budget. Keep product, training and HR/admin issues for the Monthly Sales Meeting. A good productive meeting may only run for 20 minutes or less.
Monthly Sales Meetings. Monthly Sales Meetings include a review of prior month's individual, team and group sales performance against budget targets. Use an agenda. A monthly spreadsheet detailing sales turnover and key performance indicators against budget should be tabled and analysed. Report the news. Relevant product/service updates, training and general business administration issues should also be tabled. Commissions and other performance criteria should be reviewed and resultant follow up actions noted.

Quarterly Sales Meetings. Quarterly Sales Meetings are to review the prior quarter's performance at an individual, team and group level. Break your year into four quarters and report Q1, Q2, Q3 & Q4 results. They should be quantitative and qualitative. Customer data and feedback should be included as well as sales team needs and gap analysis. This may also include marketing and business development initiatives. What went well and what went badly in the prior quarter? What can we do in the next quarter to be even better?
Annual Sales Meeting. This is the big macro review to conduct each year. This includes a full detailed review of prior year. It includes setting or tabling of the following financial year's sales targets and marketing plans. This meeting is often done off site with a structured agenda.
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