One of the things that I see all the time are inside sales managers and leaders struggling with people not like them.
Not motivated by the same things… Different views about the world… Looking at their career from alternate perspective… you get the idea. Here are the top 3 I see when working with inside sales orginizations.
Wait it’s NOT about money?
What do you mean you don’t want to be promoted?
I don’t get it, you don’t want to be #1?
Motivation is a completely personal thing.
Every individual on your team is motivated by something different.
Motivation is the Why behind What. It drives the inside salespeople on your team as they choose what to do (as well as, what not to do).
Every individual on your team is motivated to achieve something, even when you don’t understand their motivation.
Inside sales success motivation isn’t necessarily about money.
Although, many times inside sales managers default to money as the motivator they talk about, what that money provides is actually more important to the salespeople on their team.
Regardless if they view money as financial security, paying off debt, a way to keep score on how they are doing in sales, buying a treasure, or taking a trip – the money isn’t important to that salesperson. What they GET from the money is what they care about.
In fact, you will probably be surprised by some of the things that motivate your inside salespeople.
The one truth about motivation that may be universal is that you, the inside sales manager, can’t motivate the people on your team.
What you can do is inspire the people on your team to motivate themselves.
This idea of intrinsic motivation is another important factor to take into consideration when you are choosing where to spend your time and which inside salespeople to give your attention.
If you haven’t had WHY conversations with every salesperson on your team, it will be impossible to understand their motivation. To really know if you’re leading & managing people NOT like you – or only not like you in some ways.
Important Safety Tip: Having this conversation will require they trust you with their actual answers. If a salesperson is concerned you will be judgmental about their answers, they will tell you what they believe you want to hear instead of what their actual intrinsic motivators are.
- Begin by asking, “what do you want out of your inside sales career?”
- Follow-up with, “why do you want insert your vision here?”
- Then ask, “what will that get you?” for their answer
- And again, “what will insert their answer get you?”
- Over and over again, continue to ask what they will get from that result, until they are thoroughly annoyed and there is NOTHING else.
Here are the answers from two very different inside salespeople. Their initial definition is identical, but look where they each end up:
- Make President’s Club > “What does that GET me?” > Money > “What does that GET me?” > I can pay my bills > “What does that GET me?” > I don’t have to worry every month > “What does that GET me?” > Security for my family > “What does that GET me?” > Financial peace of mind.
- Make President’s Club > “What does that GET me?” > Success in my job > “What does that GET me?” > Accolades > ”What does that GET me?” > People who have helped me will see it is worth it > “What does that GET me?” > I will see that I’m worth it > “What does that GET me?” > Belief in myself.
See the difference? These are very personal definitions of success. Very different motivations behind the same stated goal.
Once you have these conversations, you know the intrinsic motivation for each salesperson on your team, at least for that moment.
Once an inside salesperson has achieved “Financial peace of mind” they may move to another motivation. The same is true for “Belief in myself” and any other intrinsic motivation you uncover.
Understanding motivation isn’t a one and done activity, what motivates people evolves and changes over time. Plus, once they’ve reached the goals that satisfy a particular motivation factor, they will choose something different.
You’ll need to keep talking with each salesperson on your team to keep up with their intrinsic motivation.