??When you align your team’s goals with the company’s objectives, you’ll boost motivation and build stronger, more invested employees. ??Give a prize to whoever makes the most?cold calls?in a month rather than whoever closes the most deals. Less experienced employees will be motivated by the chance to compete with the top performers and win!

To ensure the team's motivation in the event of a drop in performance in direct sales, I would first call a team meeting to analyse the causes together and gather new ideas. We could come up with creative solutions and give everyone a voice in order to strengthen the team dynamic. A workcation could help us to gain distance and recharge our batteries and inspiration in a relaxed atmosphere. I could also offer small incentives such as bonus Fridays to encourage short-term motivation. By providing regular feedback and celebrating small successes, we boost morale and stay focussed on long-term goals.

Discuss with your team the reasons for the dip. Is it external factors you can't control? If so, then part of the discussion can be to look for new markets or how to sell additional products/services to existing clients, etc. If the factors are internal, then get to work fixing them ASAP (not always that simple!) Look at how your team operates and ask them if they have ideas on improving sales, rather that just giving a top-down instruction. Getting agreement from the team gives them ownership of the plan/s to reinvigorate sales. Creating some short-term incentives around these new ideas can help boost/maintain motivation for all those involved (sales, marketing, service delivery, etc.)

To keep the team motivated, focus on aligning personal goals with team objectives through individual check-ins. By asking open-ended questions, encourage each team member to reflect on recent challenges, solutions, and how they view their role in contributing to broader outcomes. Guide them to reframe setbacks as learning opportunities, using SPIN Selling principles subtly to explore deeper customer needs. Acknowledge wins, however small, and lead by example with resilience and adaptability, setting a tone of collaborative problem-solving. Offer resources tailored to their needs, reinforcing your support and building a shared commitment to overcoming this performance dip together.

Identify the cause(s) of declining performance. Determine with each individual if the problem is due to will or skill. If it's a skillset issue, increase training efforts. If it's a will issue, dig deep into the underlying reasons for lack of motivation. Coach through those and give measurable goals to achieve along the way. Find any additional incentives or motivators as well.