The motivating salesman is an important aspect of salesforce Management. Sales personnel require additional help to achieve given results. Most salespeople require motivational “help” from management to reach and maintain acceptable performance levels. They require motivation as individuals and as group members.
As individuals, they are targets for personalized motivational efforts by their superiors. As members of the Salesforce, they are targets for sales management efforts aimed towards welding them into an effective selling team.
Need and Importance of Motivating Salesman
The need and importance for motivating salesman, therefore, arises due to the following reasons:
1. Nature of the Sales Job
Every sales job involves ups and downs and feelings of joy and depression.
Salesman interacts with many unpleasant and rude people. They are difficult to deal with.
Salesman mate numerous turndowns, they spend considerable after-hours time away from home. They miss many attractive moments of family life.
These conditions cause salesperson to become discouraged, to achieve low-performance levels, or even to seek non-selling positions.
Related: 9 Major Steps in Process of Sales Motivation (Explained).
The inherent nature of the sales job, then, is the first reason that additional motivation is required.
2. Role Conflicts
The salesperson occupies a boundary position in the company and must try to satisfy the Expectations of people both within the company (in the sales department and elsewhere) and in customer organizations.
There is a linkage with four groups: 1. sales management, 2. the Company organization that handles order fulfillment, 3. the customers, and 4. other company sales personnel.
Each group imposes certain behavior expectations on the salesperson, and, in playing different roles the salesperson faces role conflicts.
3. Apathy
Some sales personnel naturally become apathetic, get into a rut.
Those who, year after year, cover the same territory and Virtually the same customers, lose interest and enthusiasm.
Many salespeople require additional motivation to maintain continuing enthusiasm to generate renewed interest in their work.
Related: 11 Main Types of Sales Compensation Plans (With Examples).
4. To Maintain Feeling of Group Identity
The salesperson, Walking Alone, finds it difficult to develop and maintain a feeling of group identity with other company salespeople.
Teamspirit, if present at all, is weak. Thus, the contagious enthusiasm – conducive to improving the entire Group’s performance does not develop.
If sales management, through providing added motivation, succeeds in developing and maintaining Team Spirit, individual sells personal strive to meet group performance standards.
5. Individuality of Salespeople
The salesman has their personal goals, problems, strengths, and weaknesses.
Each salesman may respond differently to a given motivating force. Ideally, the company should develop a separate motivational package for each salesperson.
But a totally tailor-made approach posses major practical problems.
Related: 18 Requirements of Good Sales Compensation Plan (Explained).
In reality, management must develop a motivational mix that appeals to a whole group but also has the flexibility to appeal to the varying individual needs.
6. Diversity in Company Goals
A company usually has many diverse sales goals, and these goals may even conflict.
One goal may be to correct an imbalanced inventory and another may be to have the Salesforce do Missionary selling to strengthen long-term customer relations.
These two goals conflict somewhat and require different motivating forces.
With diverse goals such as these, developing and effective combination of motivators is difficult.
7. Changes in Market Environment
Changes in the market environment can make it difficult for management to develop the right mix of Salesforce motivational methods.
What motivates salesman today may not work next month because of changes in market conditions.
Related: 31 Characteristics of Salesmanship (Explained with Examples).
8. Utilization Skill
Most of the salesman does not make efforts to utilize their full work capacity.
Motivational tools simulate them to expand their full energies and to develop latent qualities.
9. To Satisfy the Needs
The motivation process is directly related to expand the efforts of a salesman and to satisfy their social, mental and psychological needs.
This creates interest and will be to work enthusiastically.
10. To Improve Mutual Relations
Motivators encourage salesman to improve their work performance. This results in increased sales.
This may help to build good relations between the employer and the salesman.
Related: 16 Best Ways to Find Potential Customers for Your Business (Complete List).
11. Helps in Building Morale
When different needs of salesman are satisfied, they get the satisfaction that encourages them to do more work.
Thus, motivation is a driving force for raising the morale of salesmen.
12. Proper Use of Human Resources
Motivation increases the efficiency of work. The inborn qualities of a salesman can be developed through better motivation tools.
This will help to utilize the human resources for the maximum benefits of the firm.
Thus, now you know the need and importance of motivating salesman.
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