How to Motivate Salespeople in a “No” Environment

It’s a new year filled with possibility! The sales team has written down their goals, they’re excited about getting a fresh start toward achieving them, and they hit the streets with great attitudes. They get to their first sales call of the year and, amazingly, the prospect tells them, “I’d love to work with you, but we just don’t have the budget.” The sales rep shakes the prospect’s hand and moves on to greener pastures. On the next sales call, the rep hears, “Wow…sounds great, but the economy is tight and we’re watching every penny. Maybe later in the year.” Still keeping their attitude up they go to sales call after sales call and by February they show up at the office filled with despair. “How do you expect me to make quota when everyone is saying NO to me,” they ask, near tears. So, their question really becomes your question: “How in the world am I going to keep my salespeople motivated when the world is telling them they won’t (or can’t) buy?”

While times are tight for most everyone, people still need what you are selling. It is essential to motivate your sales staff to keep working to convince prospects and clients of that fact. However, it’s incredibly difficult to force anyone to do anything— unless you have the personality of the drill sergeant from the movie Full Metal Jacket or you’re a Mafia hit man. If you’ve actually killed someone, and your sales team knows it, you might very well be able to motivate them through fear. The trouble is that most of us haven’t killed anyone and more importantly, fear as a motivator has long-term bad effects. But there are some good alternatives for helping the team succeed in an atmosphere of “no.”

1. Learn something new. Many years ago, a wise manager of mine taught me that each person who worked for me was different and it was part of my job to discover what made each one tick. He told me to play a game with myself—in each conversation I had with my employees, my goal was to learn one new thing that motivated that person. He told me to write each thing down and keep it in a file that I reviewed on a regular basis. When doing my regular reviews with my team, I was able to use the intelligence I gathered to help them stay focused and motivated. “Yes, Bob, you have had a couple of negative sales calls this week, but did you realize that by closing just three more sales this week you’re that much closer to your new Cadillac? By the way, what color is it going to be? How do you think you’ll feel when it’s sitting in your driveway?” By helping Bob visualize his goal as already having been achieved he was able to get turned on again, even though he had hit some rejections. (Thanks, and a tip of the hat, to my old district manager, Sol Borenstein, wherever he may be!)

2. Contests are almost always a great motivator for sales teams, but beware; they can also be a demotivator. Trips and prizes can do wonders for a sagging sales team, but be sure you’ve designed them well. Too often I see contests where the same top performers always win. This becomes more of a bonus for the winners and actually turns the rest of the team off. When using a contest to motivate the team, I suggest a tiered system that allows all participants to “win” if they achieve their personal quota.