As a sales leader, you’re measured by your team\u2019s performance.\nUltimately, you’re judged based on their ability to generate revenues\nsufficient to meet or exceed your corporate goals. So no matter how good you\nmay have once been as a seller, it\u2019s important to understand that selling is\nnot your job now \u2026 and you can’t expect to generate enough revenue to meet your\nteam\u2019s quotas simply by acting as a player-coach. Therefore, you need to get as\nmuch out of your team as possible. How to do that? One important part of the\nanswer is to send them the workplace equivalent of a Valentine \u2026 by proving\nbeyond a shadow of a doubt just how much you appreciate them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you let your people know that you care and make it easy for them to\nconclude that you have their best interests at heart, they will produce more,\nand stay with you longer, than they will if they are in doubt about these\nthings. That\u2019s the reality. So: What do you do to get the message through? Here\nare three ideas to consider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Treat them just like\nyou would treat a customer. <\/strong>Studies show that one of the main reasons\nboth good employees and our best customers leave our organization is that they\ndon\u2019t feel appreciated. This brings up an interesting question. Do you treat\nyour salespeople the same way you would treat your very best customer? If you\ncan start thinking of your relationships with your team members in this way,\nthat\u2019s a step in the right direction \u2013 and perhaps the most important step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Find out what they\nlove to do in their off time. <\/strong>It\u2019s remarkable to me how many sales\nleaders have never bothered to find out what hobbies or outside interests their\nindividual team members are pursuing. Take the person out to lunch \u2026 and find\nout! Then, once a quarter, send a quick note asking them how things are going\nin that area. You can also pass along a relevant magazine article. For\ninstance, I like to fly fish. Pretend I\u2019m you\u2019re salesperson, and you know that\nabout me. Imagine how the relationship would improve if you were to send me a\nquick note on fly fishing, accompanied by a link to an article about a popular\nlocal fishing spot in my area. The message might read: \u201cDave, I saw this\narticle, and it reminded me of you. I thought you might like to read it.\u201d Total\ntime invested: Five minutes. Impact on the relationship: Priceless!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Give strokes for a\njob well done.<\/strong> Strokes are things that make people feel\ngood. Authentic, heartfelt positive reinforcement focused on individual\nperformance is a classic \u2013 and too often overlooked \u2013 strategy for making\nmembers of the sales team feel appreciated. Everyone likes acknowledgment for a\njob well done, but note that there are three important rules to bear in mind\nhere. First: consider the person\u2019s temperament. Yes, lots of people like public\npraise, but not everyone does. For some salespeople, calling out something that\nthey\u2019ve done well will be highly motivating when the callout happens during a\nteam meeting or other group gathering. For a minority of salespeople, though \u2013 the\nfolks who would rather work on their own and prefer to avoid the spotlight \u2013 a\nprivate one-on-one expression of appreciation will be much more welcome. Rule\nnumber two: Make sure you mean it. Praising someone inauthentically will\nbackfire. Rule number three: Don\u2019t just praise the closed sales. Celebrate the\nbehavioral wins along the way, the activity benchmarks that make the closed\nsales possible!<\/p>\n\n\n\n