Motivation
Motivation has been the hot topic, as of late. I have had many conversations with sales managers related to this topic. Careers that offer an unlimited opportunity to be successful, have excellent income potential, and permit a fair amount of autonomy, seem to have a fair number of persons who fail to achieve the results that are possible. Surprising, isn’t it, that sales people who are highly qualified, well equipped, and well trained, miss the mark in achieving their potential? What’s missing, we wonder? Maybe they need more sales training or better products. Maybe, just maybe, they are not sufficiently motivated. Maybe a sales contest will get them going! Maybe some bonus plan will stir them up. On and on with the ideas!
Alas, in most sales teams, the leaders will be the winners over and over and those whose results are short of the mark continue to lag behind the leaders. What is the key to motivation? Is there anything the sales manager can do to improve or to motivate those who are underperforming? The sad truth is, probably not much. Motivation comes from within the individual and is driven by desire and ambition. Ambition can sound a little harsh but it is simply a strong desire to achieve. Everyone has some, but some of us have much more.
It seems that those of us with a strong purpose, an intense feeling or reason to accomplish something, provide our own motivation. Desire is rather provocative sounding, isn’t it? Its meaning is a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen. But, just wishing for improved results will not make it happen. So, here comes ambition. Ambition is a strong desire, together with an intense commitment to make it happen. If you want to help your sales people develop the inner motivation to excel, ask them what they really want. What is their purpose in life? What do they really want to make happen, that gets them going every morning? What feelings do they attach to their wants? When strong feelings (desire) and intense attachment to a purpose (ambition) are present, individuals achieve levels of performance never thought possible.
We cannot motivate others, but we can help them discover the source of their own motivation by asking them to think about what the really want. What drives their feelings about accomplishment? Where do they envision themselves being three years into the future? Conduct strategy sessions and planning sessions. Uncover their reasons and you will find the key to motivation, not yours but theirs. Then, offer to help them by providing the tools that change potential into realization.
It is also clear, that some people have no idea what they really want. For them, having “enough” is what the want. Perhaps, for those who want “just enough” having the potential to have it all is overwhelming. Could be, I suppose. But look, if the opportunity to achieve and to excel is there, why not give it all you have? Ah ha! Maybe we have identified the cause of under performance and lack of high achievement. Some people just don’t want to. End of story.
As a manager of sales teams, hire those who know what the want. Those with a burning desire to accomplish something that really matters to them for their own reasons. Help them identify it, qualify it, and quantify it. Show them the way and provide the tools that help them to fulfill their potential and achieve their objectives. If you discover that the candidate has no burning desire, no strong desire, no ambition, intense feelings that drive their behaviors, take a pass. You will never be able to motivate such a person.