North and South Korea are collaborating to combat climate change, and Samsung is manufacturing iPhone screens for Apple. In short, pigs fly. So why do your salespeople keep fighting among themselves?
There are countless colleagues who throw each other to the wolves, but companies are re-evaluating this dog-eat-dog culture. With some sales forces completely abandoning commissions, management is discouraging cannibalism within the ranks.
But depriving employees of a core element of their compensation and stimulating them are two different things. You’ll need the right tools and a new way of thinking to encourage your team. Ready to transform your sales force? Here are 4 tactics:
1. Train in minutes instead of hours
Your team has already been to school. Learning isn’t over, but the hours spent in stuffy classrooms should be. While Netflix binge-watching sessions get longer, human attention spans get shorter. Even goldfish beat us. Microlearning is a solution. In just 1 minute a day, salespeople can boost their assimilation capacity and memory through educational (and addictive) digital quizzes, or ‘smart breaks.’ These quick sessions teach crucial professional concepts while being accessible 24/7. Elevators and waiting rooms become classrooms, and the phone in your pocket becomes a textbook. That’s something a goldfish can’t do.
2. Make it a game, not a war
In love and war, all’s fair? Good quote, bad team spirit. Unsupervised, pitting your team members against each other can backfire. High stress leads to sloppy results, and your once-happy sales force turns into a toxic swamp. Competition is a powerful stimulant – and positive if channeled effectively. Gamification enhances the drive to succeed while introducing some game mechanics. Goals become both individual and collective. Mini-games, badges, and leaderboards built around key metrics compel team members to work together and engage in healthy competition to achieve their goals. Work becomes fun. At the same time, managers and leaders gain access to performance statistics directly from the game that motivates their sales force.
Engaging and Retaining Your Sales Force
3. Stop hoarding, start sharing
No man (or woman) is an island. Without trust, however, your employees will be. Teams grow when their members believe in each other. Realizing that everyone serves a common goal shapes a culture of success. Sharing best practices, accelerating field feedback, and recognizing talent regardless of its source opens dialogue within your organization. Look no further to see collective intelligence in action. Simply put, two atoms are stronger than one. However, it will take more than good intentions. Setting up your team in an appropriate framework with the right communication channels is paramount. The result? Constructive criticism and freely flowing praise, ensuring your sales managers learn to rely on their best asset – themselves.
4. Find your coach
Human coaches are great. Digital coaches are too. Together, they are transformative. In an era where Alexa advises shoppers and Fitbit guides runners, sales teams have been largely overlooked by this same digital revolution. Most managers don’t have the luxury of spending the time needed to develop their salespeople one by one. This means they are forced to use the same Excel reference binders and annual performance analyses as everyone else. When was the last time you considered this perspective yourself?
The pioneers at Incenteev are changing that. Designed as a running app for sales, Incenteev integrates all your systems and provides each team member with a real-time, personalized dashboard.
Fact: The brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than text.
Motivating your team isn’t just about a to-do list. It’s a relationship. Whether you develop your own solutions or download the Incenteev app and partner with our sales acceleration experts, freeing your sales team will unlock your organization’s potential. Why ride the wave when you can create it?