Your sales team is underperforming. How can you motivate them to improve?

Maybe it's not a lack of motivation, but an environment where success is not attainable. As leaders, we need to ensure that our salespeople are equipped with all the resources to have a winnable game. Too often we look at sales and the lack of performance without truly understanding what's happening behind the curtain. The sales leads coming in may be poorly qualified. Or, marketing doesn't support sales efforts. Only if we checked all those boxes, and after conversations with the team can we think about what might motivate them.

When a team I'm leading is underperforming I like to determine first if it's just one or two individuals or if the group is consistently not doing well. The nature of the problem then determines the nature of the solution. If it's the whole group, then we have some team meetings and no-holds-barred discussions about what they're challenges are. The team has to feel free to bring up any issue and the leader has to be open to hearing them out. Then let the team come up with solutions, help each other and collaborate. If it's just one or two people, then the conversations should just happen with those individuals. No use involving an entire team as there are likely specific issues with the underperformers that don't apply to the rest.

Sales performance is often seen as an equation of effort and skills. If your team isn't hitting their targets, examining these two parameters closely is crucial. To address effort, start by holding meetings with your sales team, both as a group and one-on-one. These discussions will help identify any obstacles or challenges they might be facing. Understanding the root causes of low effort can guide you in implementing solutions. Investing in your team's skills is an ongoing commitment. Continuous training and development are key to ensuring your sales team stays ahead of the curve. Offer regular workshops, provide access to online courses, and encourage a culture of learning and growth.

LEAD BY EXAMPLE. It gets rid of 99% of the common sales team member objections if you are doing your job AND showing them by example how to do their jobs. I always take on individual contributor role in some fashion because of my belief in leading by example. Shadow team members on calls (virtual and in person), have them shadow you, go through process beginning to end many times to show what success (and failure) look like. It will become clear if it is a skill or will issue which are buckets most things will fall into. If none of that works, then revisit your "offer" or solution b/c maybe you are targeting the wrong markets/contacts/pain points or maybe your product/solution needs tweaking if none of the above increase sales results.

Motivating a sales team is no different than motivating any other roles. It resumes to the 3 pillars of Daniel Pink's motivation framework: Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose. Autonomy is self-explanatory in sales and guided by the "CEO of your own territory" principle. Allowing people to be creative in how they build the business in the assigned territory, but with empowerment there is accountability. Mastery is something to be tested for from the hiring phase in terms of skill set, but the mindset is also equally important - do your sales reps have a mindset of continuous improvement? One motivational pillar that is almost always forgotten is Purpose - as a sales leader how do you connect the company's purpose to personal purpose?

Empower Your Sales Team with SMART Goals: 1. Specific:?? Clearly define objectives to avoid ambiguity. 2. Measurable:?? Quantify goals to track and evaluate success. 3. Achievable:?? Set realistic targets that motivate without overwhelming. 4. Relevant:?? Align goals with overall business objectives. 5. Time-Bound:? Establish a timeframe to create a sense of urgency. Utilizing your CRM system, aligning goals, and transparent communication will keep your sales team motivated and focused. #SalesMotivation #GoalSetting ????

Define specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for the team. Ensure everyone understands their targets and how they contribute to the overall success of the company.

Clearly define achievable goals that align with the overall objectives of the organization. Ensure that these goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). Communicate expectations transparently and provide clarity on what success looks like for each team member. By setting realistic targets, you motivate the sales team and foster a sense of purpose and direction.

Clearly communicate sales targets, expectations, and performance metrics to the team. Make sure these goals are achievable yet challenging enough to motivate them to improve.

Motivating your sales team goes beyond setting goals; it's about fostering a supportive environment tailored to individual strengths and aspirations. By aligning goals with personal motivations, encouraging open communication, and recognizing achievements, you create a more holistic approach to motivation

Regular coaching and role playing is key. So many times we get caught up in the numbers and the business we forget to continuously train and help our sales team. Focus on them and their skill development and everything else will come together.

?? Elevate with Training: Propel your sales team to success through tailored training and coaching. Develop skills, knowledge, and confidence—the pillars of a high-performing team. ??? CRM Empowerment: Leverage your CRM system for customized programs, aligning with individual needs, strengths, and areas of improvement. ?? Performance Monitoring: Utilize the CRM to monitor and evaluate team performance. Provide constructive feedback and recognition to fuel continuous growth. ?? Feedback Fuel: Offer insights and encouragement through the CRM, creating a culture of improvement and achievement. ?? Sales Mastery: With strategic training and coaching, transform your sales team into a force that excels and exceeds expectations.

1) Assess your expectations. Were they realistic challenges when established? Are the suppositions used to create them still valid? 2) Are there low-hanging fruit actions regarding timing, follow-up, volume of work per day that can be addressed? 3) What micro wins can I find to celebrate and communicate confidence to the team? You have to be careful when looking at training schedules and establishing action plans here because your team needs to regain confidence but the existence of the explicit plan reinforces losing and they need to get back to winning. You get a team through a losing streak by getting their confidence up, working on the fundamentals, and driving perseverance.

One thing I have realized is that training, coaching and mentoring are crucial tools to increase team performance and sales. With the help of CRM system a training can be created for sales team and monitor performance in order to evaluate teams and sales performance across departments

Invest in training programs and coaching sessions to enhance the skills and competencies of your sales team. Identify areas for improvement based on performance evaluations and provide targeted training to address these gaps. Offer ongoing support and mentorship to help sales representatives refine their sales techniques, overcome objections, and navigate complex sales situations effectively.

During my tenure as a Sales Manager, unfortunately we are not blessed with adequate CRM system and need to do everything quite manually. So my way to empower them is to ensure they have the support that they need in any way that I can. This includes doing one on one at least once a week and reviewing their pipeline often, and touch base for important clients to check if the needle is moved. There's a lot of personal touches involved, but I made sure my team feel supported with my presence instead of pressured.

Fortunately, I had great business mentors in my life. We all fail or struggle at times in business. Not everything goes our way all the time. But give your sales team the tools, training and freedom to make intelligent decisions in front of the client. Nothing worse than saying let me check with my boss and leaving a meeting. Who came in after you? Were they able to make decisions? Is the opportunity still live or did someone else close it already? They will make mistakes, but do you penalize them or teach them how not to make that mistake next time? I vote teach! Make them better!

Wrap your collective minds around and through the issues with the following three action items: * Clearly define and prioritize the sales process that applies to the situation. * Identify the customers and industry partners that can help you advance your understanding of the opportunities and problems that require your sales team's expertise. * Engage with customers to find and understand their pain points and logical next steps.

Empower your sales team by giving them autonomy and ownership over their work. Encourage open communication, foster a culture of collaboration, and solicit input from team members on decision-making processes. Provide opportunities for professional growth and career advancement, such as leadership development programs or participation in cross-functional projects. Keep morale high by celebrating successes, recognizing achievements, and fostering a positive work environment.

Implement an incentive program that rewards top performers with bonuses, prizes, or recognition. This can create healthy competition and motivate underperforming team members to strive for better results.

Implement a competitive incentive structure to motivate the sales team. Offer financial bonuses for achieving or surpassing sales targets. These incentives serve as powerful motivators, driving exceptional performance and fostering healthy competition among team members. Regularly review and adjust the incentive program to ensure alignment with organizational goals and evolving sales needs. By incentivizing high performance, you cultivate a culture of excellence and achievement, driving sustained success for the business.

?l faudrait dentifier et reconnaitre publiquement les membres de votre équipe qui dépassent les attentes ou réalisent des résultats exceptionnels. Cela peut se faire lors de réunions d'équipe, via des communications internes ou même en organisant des événements spéciaux de reconnaissance Motivez votre équipe en offrant des opportunités de développement professionnel, telles que des formations, des mentorats ou des possibilités d'avancement de carrière. Montrez-leur que vous investissez dans leur croissance et leur succès à long terme.

In my opinion, salespeople want to feel appreciated and valued for their hard work and results. So We can motivate our sales team by giving them public praise, personalized feedback, bonuses, commissions, incentives, or other forms of recognition and reward, and its really important in order to motivate them to improve

Incentivize desired behaviors, not just outcomes. Reward effort, improvement, and key activities like prospecting. Offer non-monetary rewards such as extra time off. Implement a tiered incentive system and provide immediate feedback. Make incentives achievable and transparent, tailoring them to individual preferences. Foster healthy competition and celebrate achievements publicly.

Ensure your sales team has the necessary resources, tools, and support to succeed. This includes access to leads, marketing materials, sales collateral, CRM software, and any other tools that streamline their workflow.

1. Assess current performance by starting evaluating current sales performance metrics, such as conversion rates, average deal size, and sales cycle length. Identify any areas of weakness or underperformance. 2. Understand target market and ensure that the sales strategy is aligned with the needs and preferences of the target market. 3. Set clear, specific, and achievable sales goals for team. 4. Review customer segmentation strategy to ensure that you are targeting the most lucrative market segments. 5. Streamline and optimize your sales processes to minimize friction and maximize efficiency. 6. Invest in Training and Development 7. Establish regular feedback loops to gather input from your sales team 8. Monitor and Measure Results

Using your crm to facilitate a culture of accountability through dashboards and reporting but also use it to facilitate a culture of capability. Empowering teams with built in pricing, the ability to create proposals, contracts etc, allows them to use their skills in a high value status with prospects and not slow down to “ask permission” for every step. I have successfully set this up with teams so they were able to utilize higher level negotiation skills with great results.

Motivation is the wrong goal. It’s temporary. You have to first determine the root cause of underperformance. It’s not always just the sales team. Often times there are significant contributing factors relating to the Company, its offering, the company plan, etc. Prescription prior to diagnosis is malpractice.

Put a simple action plan together, follow up every step of the way, and adapt it as conditions on the ground and in the market change. * Stay positive. * Stay focused. * Execute the every day priorities.

Foster a supportive team environment where team members can collaborate, share best practices, and learn from each other. Encourage mentorship and peer coaching to help underperforming team members improve. Provide constructive feedback on performance regularly, highlighting areas of improvement and offering actionable suggestions for improvement. Schedule regular coaching sessions to help underperforming team members overcome obstacles and develop their skills.

As per my understanding there is only one way to make underperforming team to perform is communication. Sit with them and discuss the very common obstacles. There is no common sense every little issue needs to be discussed and every small problem needs to be resolved. Ask tough questions to team and be a buddy while answering these. Be with the team and take the hit, face it together. And then find way forward. Coach team build discipline even if there is no results team would be making progress. Soon team is united against all odds and start pushing harder. Teach team the toughest day teaches many lessons, so keep learning without looking back. Remind team that we are underperforming and push to identify the why why why…

One other thing to consider is to make sure you work to understand what motivates your team. This should be done day 1 of becoming their leader as it is important to understand your team members if they do start to underperform. It also helps to build credibility as their manager as well.

It seems to me that salespeople want to feel part of a team and a community, and they need a healthy and supportive work environment. We can motivate our sales team by fostering a culture of trust, respect, communication, collaboration, and fun