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What is the Single Biggest Motivator for Top Salespeople?

Guest post by: Tony Cole

Article Overview: So, what is the secret to motivating top salespeople? This is the question that continues to challenge organizations and frustrate sales leaders. The answer to that question is not a secret. The single biggest motivator for top salespeople is their goal plan.

What is the Single Biggest Motivator for Top Salespeople?

"Psst. It's The Secret." Have you read The Secret, seen the movie or visited the website where great minds have gathered to find the secret of life? So, what is the secret to motivating top salespeople? This is the question that continues to challenge organizations and frustrate sales leaders.

The answer to that question is not a secret. The single biggest motivator for top salespeople is their goal plan. Borrowing a segment from the website of The Secret:

"The Secret reveals the most powerful law in the universe. The knowledge of this law has run like a golden thread through the lives and the teachings of all the prophets, seers, sages and saviors in the world's history, and through the lives of all truly great men and women. All that they have ever accomplished or attained has been done in full accordance with this most powerful law."

In selling, that most powerful law in the universe involves our personal goals and the actualization of what we want in life. In selling, the most powerful law is making those wants, dreams, desires and goals non-negotiable.

What motivates top producers are their own personal goals. Personal goals that top producers consciously choose to make non-negotiable. People strive for freedom: freedom of time and freedom of choice. What 'buys' people that freedom is money. Sales provide the money that buys the freedom to realize dreams. The answer isn't a complex compensation package with rich incentives. By and large, what motivates top producers is the dream of being successful with all that this implies and provides in terms of freedom.

If you want to become a top producer or if you want to manage your top producers to another level:

1. Create or find an environment where you have the chance to dream (set goals),
2. Build a goal plan around those dreams with details and deadlines,
3. Find or access resources to help those dreams come true and
4. Make sure that you have a coach who will hold you accountable to reaching your dreams.

Salespeople don't care about shareholder value; they care about what they care about. The great secret is found in each individual's personal goal plan, their plan for freedom. This is the single biggest motivator for top salespeople and no doubt, the secret to a rich and rewarding life

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  Everyone has a plan. Some plans are better than others because they contain all or most of the necessary steps and sequence them in an appropriate order. Most plans have gaps where steps should be and the sequence doesn't lend itself to success. One area where we see this occur repeatedly is when companies are about to hire a Sales VP or Director AND
  The Enemy in Sales
  New Metrics for the Sales Force - Unusual Thoughts for Unusual Times
  Happy Ears or an Empty Pipeline?
  Why Corporate Sales Training Often Fails to Deliver Results
  Is Fear Really a Great Motivator?
  The Pros and Cons of Hiring Green Salespeople

Article Tags: goal plan, motivator, top salespeople



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Re: What or Who Sparks Your Business Interest - It's interesting to see what the different motivations are by Age Category. I've noticed this around me: 20 to 29yr olds: Motivator: Money 30 to 39yr olds: Motivator: Success/Ambition 40 to 49yr olds: Motivator: Family comes first 50 to 59yr olds: Motivator: Leaving a legacy i've only gone that far in my analysis. Of course this is a braid generalization but I find that it helps direct my marketing to individuals in different age brackets. The product/service can be the same but the Marketing message (Benefit Statement) to a 20 year will revolve around "Money" vs. a 30-something would be on their "Self Image"
Re: On taking Action - [quote="jvprosperity":1hd0zjku]I was surprised to not see the words along the lines of taking deliberate action within the article. Do yo think it's an important part of the 6 points Evan summarized from the article or is it implied?[/quote:1hd0zjku] Hi Andy, I think taking deliberate action is implied in the six points. For instance, I interpret them as follows: 1. Set your sights on where you’re going - Write your goals down on paper. 2. Educate yourself - Read everyday about your field and even take courses on it. 3. Passion pays off - Enjoy what you're doing. 4. Grow your money - Invest your money. 5. No guts, no glory - Go out and sell your product/service/self everyday as if it were last. 6. The Biggest Secret? Stop spending. - Put aside as much money as you can into savings your account/retirement fund.
Product promotion strategy - The effectiveness of our products is 200% Guaranteed. It is according to our feedbacks and the quality, reliability, efficiency and utility scale of the product. The product is not similar to any conventional products in the market at the moment. It could use to clean almost everything (include clothing’s) that do not contain Caustic Soda, Ammonia, Chlorine and Fumes. In short means, safe and do not work like bleach that damage the matter or fabric of the item being washed. Biggest Objection? I'm not quite too sure about what you are trying to ask here. If it for the product, it is fine. The product sell itself and I haven’t heard back from any of the customers yet. 99.9% of our customers came back for more and brought back more customers or buy for their friends n families. There were some customers that complained the products didn’t work. But majority of them didn't follow the instruction, and we convinced them to follow the instruction and they are happy again. If it for the business, I think the major objection or disadvantage for us now is the lack of business system, resources deployment and networking.
Five Biggest Mistakes Women Make in Business - Looking for some information I found an interesting article which mentions about “Five Biggest Mistakes Women Make in Business.” 1. Flighty Networking—Some women have the mistaken notion that networking means attending as many events as possible and pitching their business. This concept has two fallacies: First, it’s crazy to spend all your time flitting between functions unless you feel confident that your target audience will be there. Rather than attending lots of events, analyze who will be at each one and then determine if it is smart for you to invest your time and money to be there. Second, when you do identify an individual as a potential prospect, describe yourself and your business in a short, interesting way. Then focus on asking questions and really listening to what they say. Remember the old adage: Be Interested rather than Interesting. 2. Being too busy to volunteer—Always be ready to volunteer. Whether it is for CED or another organization to which you belong, always be ready to offer service. I have found that every hour I invest in an organization such as CED comes back to me tenfold. 3. Inflexibility—Today’s world is one of constant change and requires creative, out-of-the-norm approaches to business problems and opportunities. You can’t run a 2007 business playing with a 1999 handbook. It just won’t work. Always be open to listening, observing and trying new things. Always be thinking, “What will my customers want five years from now?” And be sure your business is heading in that direction. 4. Showing your strength by bullying others—I know so many women who have had to be “tough” in order to survive in a male-dominated industry. But the really smart ones have taken a different approach. They have developed a cooperative, consensus-building approach in dealing with others, and this wins out every time. 5. Working from a position of scarcity—Too many businesspeople have a “scarcity mentality.” They believe there is not enough time, not enough money, not enough customers, not enough qualified employees and on and on. Of course there is enough of everything in the world; you just have to look at situations from a slightly different perspective to be able to see it all. It is up to you to share and keep the cycle of success alive, not only for your own organization, but for every business within CED. Pass on what you’ve learned through trial and error, and share your time, energy, and encouragement with others. This is the mark of a truly successful entrepreneur!


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