Everyone lives by selling something.

The older I get, the more I realise that serving others is the only way to stay happy. If I do nothing to benefit others, then I will do nothing to benefit myself. Do sales team members know how important they are in the bigger scheme of things?

The real question is?"Who else knows"?The sales Manager for one, and that person is the key to the continuing motivation of the individual in the sales team. The Sales Manager is the closest contact, the mentor of the individual salesperson, the one person who knows and should know best.

Whether in open spaces or city centers the salesperson knows loneliness. This is a?demotivating enemy, for life on the road can be depressing, there are lengthy, lonely car rides, nights in small towns, meals eaten alone & time to dwell on doubt. In the big cities, these are compressed into shorter times, and?contacts and calls are greater and sometimes more impersonal, in either case, the isolation is oppressive to individuals within the sales team.

But do the powers that be?know? And if they question why the expense account is over budget the fuel spend is too high, or why the call rate per day is down how do they judge this from their air-conditioned office??Do they understand life in the field?

The successful Sales Manager understands this because he's been through the same experience, he knows the?salesperson must find respite from?this feeling of being alone, he knows the motivational value of small regular sales meetings,?the accompanying sales calls, the personal notes, he recognizes that each salesperson is an individual, this supported by top Management, is the priceless renewal of comrade among all within the company.

But that's not enough! The importance of a personal relationship with each member of the sales team is what great Sales Managers strive for. In essence, what most of us want in life are not many things, but at least we want health, food, sleep, comfort, the well-being of our kids, family and recognition, it’s being said that the deepest principle in human nature is the craving of being appreciated.

Every?successful Sales Manager should be a motivator.

Motivating a sales team can mean many things. For motivation is the total of all forces that can influence the individuals effort. fear, hope, pride ambition are motivators because they make us do what we do. Specifically, however, the term "Salesforce" motivation is defined as the Salesforce Sales Management can control and direct to influence an individual to want to exert extra effort.

Leadership is something that makes people follow you and be like you. Some people might say that idealistic words like spirit, pride, and?loyalty are passé in our modern technological world of the Internet, Facebook and LinkedIn culture. I say that's not so, or the very essence of motivation would be dead, the fact that motivation is inside all of us and comes alive when companies rise to the challenge.

With the pressure of competition and the consumer reluctance to buy, don't you think it's time to tell all by rewarding and recognizing your salespeople's achievements by arranging your next "National Conference"?or your "Year end Function" to boost their motivation going forward.

Remember, it's important to recognize that it takes a team, and the team ought to get credit for the wins and the losses. Success has many fathers, failures have none.