10 Ways To Keep Your Sales Team Motivated
When it comes to being a leader during times of uncertainty, I look at it this way:
I fly a lot. I don’t think I’ll be flying much in the weeks to come, but otherwise I fly a lot.
I really don’t like turbulence even despite how often I fly.
And every time a flight does hit turbulence, I immediately look at the flight attendant.
If the flight attendant is sitting calmly and casually flipping the pages of a magazine, I’m fine. No problem. All as well.
But if I see the flight attendant freak out, I’m going to lose it.
During times of uncertainty, we look to the leaders.
Not just to tell us what to do, but literally to tell us how to feel and to help us craft our own attitude.
These are my top 10 tips that will help you sustain positive energy in your organization and with your sales team.
1. Get your own mindset right.
Fuel the positive. You have to give out positive energy all day long, so you better start that way.
First thing in the morning, set the tone. Find something positive. Don’t look at your phone. Don’t look at the news.
Get something positive into your brain right away.
2. Send notes of encouragement and appreciation.
You can send an email, but a handwritten note, a phone call or video chat is so much more appreciated.
But put those messages out there. Let people know that you appreciate them and that they encourage you.
And when you do that, you’ll be encouraging them.
3. Start every meeting and every phone call with a positive comment.
It can be as simple as, “Hey everybody, I have good news. The sun came up today. The world’s still spinning and we can control our own attitude.”
Whatever it is, say something upbeat and encouraging right away that sets the tone and let’s people know we are not going to let this meeting or this phone call get dragged down into the mire.
4. Share the positive facts.
When you look at what’s going on around us, we still have a healthy economy. We still have a free country.
We still have people who are responding in ways that are heroic, and it’s beautiful.
Share the positive facts, not the negative panic.
5. Celebrate victories in a big way.
Every victory that you can find is worth celebrating right now.
The son of one of our Shore team members was supposed to do a presentation at his school and he couldn’t do it because the school is closed down.
So his mom videoed his presentation and she sent it to the whole company. We gave him a round of applause and celebrated all the hard work he had invested.
Celebrate the victories wherever you can. It’s a great way to keep the positive energy going.
6. Think about the families of your sales professionals.
Think about those people who are in the lives of your sales professionals.
Because as we think about what our salespeople are going through, as they’re having to adjust their style and deal with customers who are panicked and fearful.
Their families are going through that stress as well. Is there anything that you can do for the families of your salespeople?
7. Get your exercise in.
People are already talking about the “Quarantine 15.” The 15 pounds that you might pick up while you’re staying indoors.
Get your exercise in. It’s good for your body, but it’s good for your brain.
You think better when you are exercising.
And I want to suggest, don’t just exercise but exercise hard. Give it everything you’ve got.
Overrule your own brain when it says it wants to shut down, and power through it just to prove that you can.
8. Thank a customer for their business.
Thank someone who has trusted you to solve their problem.
Don’t get disconnected from your customer base; lean into your customer base.
9. Encourage your peers.
Be the positive voice for those around you. Even if you’re working in a virtual environment right now, you can still take care of your peers.
Remember, you are all in this together.
You and your fellow managers need to keep that united front that says, “We’re okay, we’re going to be okay, and we are going to lead the positive charge through this ordeal.
10. Practice visible gratitude.
Now, you probably already know gratitude was going to be on the list, right? But, I’m talking about visible gratitude.
It’s not just being thankful; it’s letting other people know that you are thankful.
Now is the perfect time to look at your life and say, “For all that we are going through, I am so grateful for …”
Do that. Be grateful visibly. Let other people know.
You know, we’re going to get through this. But you also know that we’re going to face a headwind of negative energy.
Our job is to fuel the positive energy.
Until next time, learn more to earn more.
