Today in our continuing series I look at 2 closely linked motivators for yourself, and to share with your fellow sales team members in different circumstances:
- Praise the group publicly
This can be either done by your Sales Manager – or – you can do it yourself – you don’t need permission to act like a leader if your leadership are not doing the right thing – trust me on this – I have done it and you get a great response from your fellow staff members.
A simple one on one congratulations on a job well done when securing that interview with a hard sought after prospective client is a great start – even better option is to give them Small-Win recognition. I have done this in the form of silly items such as a child’s toy Star Wand, a Certificate saying congratulations, all types of things that fill peoples desks – knick-knacks and dust gatherers that are silly, yet motivating.
Believe it or not but these small things are actually very powerful objects – they build a positive feeling in the person accepting the award, but also to the person giving it.
I found that when these silly things that aren’t coming from a management perspective are especially motivational when they come from a fellow staff member. Also, people keep them – I have team members that I work with now that still have awards from 8 years ago on their desks!
Remember that some salespeople aren’t comfortable with public praise – and, yes, some are.
So giving them something at the end of the day when the sales team are gathered around their desks filing in paperwork is fun.
If you choose to do it in a meeting, talk to the person running the meeting first and ask that you do something at the end of the meeting.
Doing this type of motivational reward that is unofficial also gives a great double dose of morale for everyone. How?
Your praise in a meeting or a shout-out in the office when everyone is around is the first dose.
Colleagues talking about the win and congratulating each other is the second dose.
If you want to know more, I suggest you read: Mark Sanborn’s “You Don’t Need A Title To Be A Leader“, the FISH PHILOSOPHY books, and also The Carrot Principle books.
9. Build the team
Team-building activities generally generate more eye rolling and groans from everyone involved (except the extraverts… BUT the key to team building when you are a member of that team, is interactivity.
Show other team members that you get how much of a drag the “stand up and tell everyone something about yourself in a sentence” type thing is – and instead, have fun with it you can show your creative side too. For example, not many people know that I build “Cosplay props and costumes in what little spare time I have” or “I believe in leaving a legacy for the radio copywriters coming up, including those not even in the industry yet” which is both different, and creative.
Personally I hate these things and choose instead to drop the formal team building, and go for informal. So I’d suggest skipping the awkward games or sharing of emotions, and just get down to business.
That’s why, if you ever attend a workshop of mine you will find I don’t stand up and give a breakdown of my history, who I am, where I am from, blah, blah, blah – no one cares – instead I will talk about my network, my clients and their success stories.
Next week we look at How To Stay Positive and Motivate Yourself.
Until then, keep on selling!
