COVID-19 has stopped many business activities. However, one activity that has not stopped is attracting talented salespeople. In good times and bad, talented salespeople are always in demand.
Sales Manager: After your next Zoom sales meeting, think about what to do to avoid your salespeople being dragged away by your competitors.
Let me record. Incentives won't work if you're grossly underpaid for your salespeople. After all, your salespeople have to support themselves and their families. Keeping an employee means more than just money, provided you pay enough. Employees stick around when there are rewards that they think make sense and that they like.
Do you know what motivates your salespeople? Do you know how to be rewarded? If you don't, you'd better ask them. Different people value different things. Some like material objects; others prefer intangibles.
I once worked for a sales manager whom I would never have left. This manager knew I liked art and he recognized me as a top seller with a special price for a beautiful sculpture. While the second and third place winners each received smaller sculptures, mine was larger and more magnificent, and I will always remember this special treatment. I also won a trip, but it was this particular sculpture that I can still see every day and it's the boss that I remember fondly. I would never have left the company while I was working for him.
Consider intangible rewards for sellers who may not like artwork. Have you ever told a top performer to take a day off because they deserve it? Time is always valued as we don't have much of it. Do you write notes to thank your high achievers when they do their job well? I still have a handwritten note from a company vice president who appreciated my work. A good salary is not necessarily a good enough incentive for someone to stay with a company.
Other items from AllBusiness.com:
Do Your Top Sellers Make A Lot Of Money? I really hope so. I worked with a very successful client whose top salesperson was making nearly $ 500,000 a year and the products they were selling were under $ 5 a gallon. The company owner paid his sellers on commission; They made 17% commission on what was sold. The company owner didn't just say, "I want all of my salespeople to make $ 500,000." He remarked very wisely: "If my salespeople earn 17%, I earn 83%."
Compare his view of the remuneration of his salespeople with another business owner who kept changing the commission structure. This business owner said to me, "I didn't want my salespeople to make too much money." I asked him why he thought that. He replied, "Well, you might get too sure of yourself."
Say what? I've never argued with that crazy logic. His salespeople were nowhere near the salespeople of my other clients. This owner has never been as successful as my other customer.
If you want to keep your best sellers, ask yourself if you are doing everything you can to help them make more money. Remember, if you make more money, you will make more money.
The job of a trainer is to motivate others to perform at their best. As a manager, there are several ways you can get the most out of your salespeople. One way is to provide feedback. You will get the best performance from your employees when you notice this and provide positive feedback on behaviors that are working. In contrast, having adequate negative feedback is useful in stopping behaviors that can lead to lost sales.
One constructive way to provide negative feedback is to point out the behavior you've noticed and then ask the seller what they think of its effectiveness. If the salesperson still thinks the unsuccessful behavior is working, you can ask, “Why didn't your customer do this (the behavior you expected)?” In a non-threatening manner, challenge certain behaviors that lead to Sales success should lead
Another way salespeople can get their best performance is for managers to remove obstacles. Do you know what your sellers think are their barriers? Did you ask? Not only do you need to know what motivates your team, you also need to know what is preventing it from being successful. You may find that a simple process change can help a salesperson dramatically improve productivity.
For example, a manager found that simply changing a contractor's job role helped a salesperson get better results. The contractor's assignment has been expanded to confirm the seller's appointments. This resulted in the salesperson having more time to set up more appointments and fewer customers to cancel or miss appointments as all appointments were now confirmed.
Good salespeople stay seated when competitors call because they receive more than one paycheck from their employers. Are you providing more than one paycheck to your salespeople?
RELATED: 5 Steps to Hiring (and Retaining) the Best People for Your Small Business
