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Guest post by: Jim Meisenheimer Become an Author

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Do you H.U.G. your sales reps?

Not literally, I mean figuratively.

In 2003, Jack Mitchell wrote a book titled, "Hug Your Customer."

In his book, Jack's definition of hugging isn't the touchy-feely kind of thing.

He says, "It's a way of thinking about customers."

I'm adapting his idea to, "It's a way of thinking about your salespeople."

Here's what I believe a H.U.G. represents.

H - Helping your sales representatives to succeed.

U - Unzipping their potential.

G - Getting them motivated.

H - Helping your sales representatives to succeed.

Think of it this way. Hugs are the little things you do for your salespeople."

One of the ways you can really help your salespeople to succeed is to remove all their obstacles.

You know what I mean. Things like weekly sales call reports that no one reads. Asking them to attend unnecessary meetings.

Actually, it's anything that interferes with your salespeople from making their sales calls.

Another example is the weekly 2-3 hour conference calls with the entire sales team. Look, I'm all for communicating with your sales team on a regular basis.

But these 2-3 hour weekly calls it up to 3.7 weeks of time during a calendar year.

Less is more. Have an outline and only cover what's essential.

Attention spans are getting shorter and shorter and you need to factor this in during your conference calls.

U - Unzipping their potential.

There's two types of potential. Actualized and permanent potential.

Permanent potential is just what it says. The potential is never developed and unfortunately you take it to your grave.

Actualized potential refers to that which is nurtured and continuously growing.

As a sales manager you can be a positive influence in this process.

You can send relevant special reports and articles to your sales team.

You can also periodically buy your team sales/business books which are relevant to your business.

You can enroll them in a course and you could even send them to a sales training boot camp.

You can give your salespeople additional responsibilities which shows you trust them to get the work done.

Whenever you invest in your sales team you can expect to get a return on your investment.

Also, investing in your sales team says you really care about them.

G - Getting them motivated.

Getting your sales team motivated is easy to say and hard to do.

First, don't motivate your team the way you like to be motivated.

Always be sure to ask your individual sales reps, "What motivates you?" And be sure to pay attention to what they say.

Never forget that motivation is an inside job. That's why it's so important to hire salespeople who are already self-motivated.

For you, getting them motivated means creating a positive environment they work in.

It means you're quick to recognize their accomplishments.

It means you never forget to send birthday and anniversary cards in addition to personal thank you notes.

It means you go out of your way to celebrate individual and total team success.

For example. What are the numbers for your sales team's best sales month ever? How are you planning to celebrate when you and your sales team beat your best month?

Your sales team is an incredible company asset.

If you're thinking about your salespeople you should be H.U.G.ging them on a regular basis.

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