When the clock strikes midnight on December 31, people around the world make pacts to themselves.
They want to lose weight, get in shape, get better at a hobby or spend more time with their kids.
But if you’re looking to inspire your sales team to perform at a higher level, consider these New Year’s resolutions to spark their performance in the next 365 days.
1. Recruit Diamonds in the Rough
Diamonds don’t come out of the ground completely clear and sparkling. It takes the right jeweler to craft them in just the right way. That’s why sales leaders should recruit rough diamonds and shape them into a brilliant sales team.
Part of that is knowing the difference between a true diamond and crystal. Though they look similar, discerning between the two is fundamental. Know the skills, traits and characteristics that lead to sales success and test for the characteristics to discern a diamond in the rough from a piece of quartz that will be crushed under pressure.
2. Build Heroes
When someone does something great, celebrating their hard work is an excellent way of using extrinsic motivation to keep them engaged and motivated. It feels great to be recognized as a sales team hero, and adding strength to your team is something to support.
That said, not everyone can be the hero—and that’s OK. Let the lower-performing sales team members learn from your top performers to make the most of their expertise.
3. Respect Everyone’s Strengths and Weaknesses
Catchers, pitchers, shortstops, outfielders—there are a number of different roles that make up a team. And your sales team is much the same.
While different personalities help or hinder their ability to close a big sale, sales motivation varies from person to person. Get to know your team’s unique strengths and weaknesses, and respect their capabilities.
4. Reinforce Training
No matter what role a professional has, from marketing to sales to logistics, ongoing training is a win-win proposition: Your people stay agile and informed, and your company gets the bottom-line benefit of their newfound tactics.
That is, however, if your people are able to remember what they learned. Training reinforcement can encourage new sales reps to actively use specific training and incorporate lessons into their day-to-day interactions.
5. Increase Sales Productivity
According to the CMO Council, lost productivity and mismanaged leads cost companies at least $1 trillion every year.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Keeping your sales team motivated and driven to accomplish their goals should be a priority. Check out these six sales productivity hacks that will get your people moving throughout 2019.
6. Encourage Strong Personal Branding
The sales landscape has changed. As a salesperson, if you don’t have a defined personal brand, you’re losing the opportunity to stand out and attain higher perceived value in the eyes of your prospects. Encourage strong personal branding so your team can get better at building human connections, both in-person and online.
7. Offer Short-Term Sales Incentives
While a baseline sales incentive program is a great thing to run year-round, short-term sales sprints are an enormously effective way to bump up performance during historically slow times. Having the ability to offer short-term incentives that are meaningful, motivating and timely is crucial to your success.
8. Give Them the Right Rewards
It’s not enough to pick awards at random or rely on gift cards to get the job done. Pick recognition awards that are relevant and presentable, are extensions of your brand and are strategic and immediately gratifying.
9. Celebrate Your Success
When your people meet their goals, don’t be afraid to kick up your heels!
Recognize winners in a significant way—research from WorldatWork shows that public recognition coupled with individual, trophy-value awards is most effective.
For even more bottom-line impact, consider a larger, more impactful award. To really challenge the limits of your people’s ability, try an incentive travel award that moves the needle for your company.
