Ask Joe
“How do I make my salespeople
‘want’ to work?”
Sales management is the art of getting your salespeople to do their job better, and getting them to want to do it successfully.
The key word is successfully. You can make people come to work, you can make them talk to prospects, and make them follow-up, but until you learn how to get them to want to come to work, want to talk to people and want to do their follow-up, they’ll drop the activity as soon as they think you aren’t looking.
Your job isn’t bossing people. Your job is to hire motivated salespeople, to create an atmosphere where they want to succeed and grow, and then guide them in the right direction to achieve your goals.
Speaking Of Motivation…
I know some of you think you’re kidding around when you talk down to, or about a salesperson or make them the butt of a joke. You know, if you introduce three salespeople and say, “This is Sue, one of our top salespeople, this is John who’s #2, and oh, this is Bill, the one who can’t close the door, much less a sale.”
Everything you say to your salespeople either motivates or demotivates them. If you demean them and hurt their feelings, they won’t trust or respect you and it could cost you sales, gross profit and somewhere down the line, more turnover.
