In the sales world, commission is a strong motivating factor — a hefty paycheck is a hanging carrot that allows many salespeople to deal with rejection after rejection before landing the big sale.
But how do sales managers motivate a team to keep crushing their quotas month after month? To start, Gimbal’s Chief Revenue Officer said he ensures his team has a clear understanding of how their work contributes to the big picture.
And if that doesn’t work, blasting rock music when a sales rep makes their first deal helps. We’re not joking.
Stephanie Eisele, director of enterprise retail partnerships at Happy Returns, said, “Company-wide recognition and visibility play a big role.”
For more innovative strategies, four sales leaders gave the scoop on the creative tactics they use to motivate their teams, beyond commission.
Gimbal Chief Revenue Officer Don Norton said it’s important to get his team motivated about what they’re selling in order to achieve desired results. “When the team is bought into the company mission, they are more motivated to succeed,” Norton said.
Beyond a commission, what are some strategies you use to motivate your sales teams?
We keep our sales team engaged and motivated by ensuring that they have a clear understanding of how their work contributes to the bigger picture. As a leader in the location intelligence space, we empower brands to engage with consumers in meaningful ways. By having a deep understanding of how the products we sell ultimately shape the end consumer experience, our sales team can see where the company is focused and the growth opportunities ahead. When the team is bought into the company mission, they are more motivated to succeed.
What does professional development look like for your salespeople, and how does that play into motivating your team?
Professional development is always top of mind. We work closely with employees to identify new opportunities to participate in market research, join external trainings and participate in speaking engagements. When employees feel invested in, they are more engaged and motivated to bring their best selves to work. We also encourage growth when new internal opportunities arise, providing our sellers with the chance to take on new projects within their existing roles and eventually lead teams as the company continues to scale.
Happy Returns' Director of Enterprise Retail Partnerships Stephanie Eisele focuses on keeping the sales team culture positive and collaborative. When her team makes individual wins, they are treated as team and company-wide wins.
Beyond a commission, what are some strategies that motivate you as a sales person?
A sales organization that is rooted in team culture is highly motivating. Feeling like when you succeed, the whole team wins puts more weight on hitting targets. Our team loves knowing our direct impact on the company with each deal closed. The revenue we bring in can impact additional rounds of funding.
Company-wide recognition and visibility also play a big role. The first sales team I was a part of had a tradition when a new client signed of blasting the salesperson’s favorite song and ringing a bell in the middle of office, encouraging the entire company to gather round to hear the story of how the deal was closed.
What does professional development look like for you as a sales professional, and how does that play into motivating you?
For me, professional development involves simply knowing the people I work with, and digging deep with prospects to understand their pain points and finding possible solutions.
Happy Returns approaches professional development via shared books, podcasts, seminars, workshops and on-the-road coaching.
A little friendly competition never hurt anyone, according to Garris Yeung, senior director of sales at UpKeep. His team holds monthly contests to spark big deals and to recognize top performers. Yeung said professional development and promoting from within are significant initiatives at the company.
Beyond a commission, what are some strategies you use to motivate your sales teams?
Our sales team is a family, and we celebrate every win as a group. We are all excited when we gain a new customer because we know UpKeep is about to make a positive impact on their business. Motivation begins from within, and the people we work with truly drive and fuel this team to succeed. We coordinate quarterly offsite team-bonding events where we have a chance to get to know one another outside of the office and foster relationships with the peers we work closely with.
We also believe in promoting from within, so we offer coaching and development that encourage employees to think about career growth and their long-term impact at UpKeep. We've seen several promotions within our sales org where team members have stepped into leadership roles, or taken on more challenging positions with a greater scope of responsibility and impact. We also have monthly contests that engage the team and create an environment of friendly competition.
What does professional development look like for your salespeople, and how does that play into motivating your team?
Professional development is a huge goal across all departments at UpKeep. We coordinate lunch and learns, customer onsites, peer-led demos, call reviews and book clubs where we are constantly learning, growing, sharing and expanding our team's knowledge-base. At UpKeep, we empower our team to think beyond just the sales world and encourage them to learn new skills.
We currently have a team of very committed salespeople that are taking a voluntary class to obtain a maintenance management certification. We are excited that this certification will enable them to better understand our customers and what factors motivate these businesses to look for a SaaS solution like UpKeep.
Competition is important in the sales world, but Vice President of Sales Dana O’Malley actually focuses on fostering a collaborative culture at Ranker. When the whole team is rowing in the same direction, O’Malley said team mates are more likely to help one another out — and that positively impacts the company’s bottom line.
Beyond a commission, what are some strategies you use to motivate your sales teams?
As many in the media industry know, sales teams are inherently ripe for the creation of toxic culture because everyone is in it for themselves. I approach sales as a team sport and strongly encourage that amongst my team. When the entire team is driving toward the same goal and views their personal success as a piece of that puzzle, you create an environment in which everyone helps each other. A collaborative culture is extremely important to me both in terms of driving company revenue but also having a team that loves to come to work every day.
What does professional development look like for your salespeople, and how does that play into motivating your team?
You want to quickly identify what's important to each member of the team and partner with them to help them achieve their development goals. That may be upward mobility within the organization, for which we'll lay out a formalized plan to give them a roadmap for reaching that next level. I’ve found that other sellers are focused on growth in their profession, which often centers around continuous learning.
I’ll present my team with opportunities to attend internal and external trainings, and make myself and other leaders in the organization available to answer questions. This offers a more holistic picture of the business. Some employees just want to increase their financial growth, so I partner with them by opening client doors. By helping each member of the team down their individual path, they are naturally satisfied in the work and will be a better contributor to company success.
