North and South Korea are teaming up to combat climate change and Samsung is building iPhone screens for Apple. Hell has frozen over. So why are your sales reps still fighting each other?
We haven’t seen the last of throwing colleagues under the bus, but companies are reevaluating that dog-eat-dog culture. With some sales forces ditching commissions altogether, management is discouraging cannibalism in the ranks.
But stripping employees of an industry staple is not the same as incentivizing them. You’ll need the right tools and a new mindset to empower your team. Ready to transform your sales force? Here are 4 killer tactics:
1. Learn in minutes, not hours
Your team already went to school. The learning isn’t over, but hours spent in stuffy classrooms should be. While Netflix binges are getting longer, the human attention span is getting shorter. Even goldfish have us beat. Microlearning is the solution. In as little as 1 minute a day, sales reps can boost retention and recall through formative (and addictive) digital quizzes, or “smart breaks.” These rapid sessions teach key professional concepts with 24/7 accessibility. Elevator rides and waiting rooms become classrooms, and the phone in your pocket a textbook. Now that’s something goldfish can’t do.
2. Make it a game, not a war
All’s fair in love and war? Good quote, bad team spirit. When left unchecked, pitting team members against one another can backfire. High stress yields sloppy results, and your once-happy sales force becomes a toxic swamp. Competition is a powerful incentive—and a positive one if channeled effectively. Gamification enhances the instinct to achieve while injecting a few game mechanics. Objectives become individual and collective. Mini-games, badges, and leaderboards built around key metrics compel team members to work together and engage in healthy competition to reach their goals. Work becomes fun. Meanwhile, managers and reps gain access to performance stats built directly into the game motivating their sales force.
3. Stop hoarding, start sharing
No (wo)man is an island. Without trust, however, your employees will be. Teams grow when members believe in each other. Realizing everyone serves a common purpose crafts a culture of success. Sharing best practices, accelerating feedback from the field, and recognizing talent regardless of the source opens dialogue in your organization. Look no further than nature to see collective intelligence in action. In layman’s terms, two atoms are stronger than one. It’ll take more than good intentions, though. Setting your team up with the right platform and channels for communication is essential. The result? Constructive criticism and praise flow freely, ensuring your sales reps learn to rely on their greatest asset—each other.
4. Find your coach
Human coaches are great. So are digital ones. Together, they’re transformative. In an era where Alexa advises shoppers and Fitbit guides runners, sales teams have been largely overlooked by the same digital revolution. Most managers don’t have the luxury of spending the necessary time developing their sales reps one-on-one. That means they’re stuck using the same Excel spreadsheet benchmarks and annual performance reviews as everyone else. When was the last time you looked forward to either?
The trailblazers at Incenteev are changing that. Conceived as your running app for sales, Incenteev integrates all your systems and equips each team member with a real-time personalized performance dashboard.
Fact: The brain processes visuals 60,000x faster than text. Tweet This Stat!
Motivating your team isn’t a bullet point list. It’s a relationship. Whether you develop your own solutions or download the Incenteev app and partner with our sales acceleration experts, unleashing your sales team will unlock your organization’s potential. Why ride the wave when you can start it?