How Sales Managers Can Motivate the B2B Company's Sales Team

A highly engaged and driven sales team is essential to your B2B company's success. If a sales rep doesn't put his or her best foot forward, it will reflect in your company's sales. Unfortunately, statistics show that up to 85% of all employees are disengaged at work. They may still show up to work, but they lack the drive and determination needed to excel at their respective job. If you’re a sales manager, consider the following tips to motivate your sales team and improve their sales performance.

Congratulate Sales Reps for Small Sales

Certainly, congratulate sales reps for large sales. The process can be long with many peaks and valleys. Also, take the time to congratulate them for sales of all sizes, including small sales. While most of your B2B company's sales revenue will likely come from a few key accounts, there is value and importance in small sales. According to a study conducted by the Harvard Business Review (HBR), small sales are a natural source of motivation. When a sales rep lands a small sale, he or she will feel motivated. And by congratulating sales reps for scoring small sales, they'll feel recognized and even motivated to do it again.

Set Short- and Long-Term Sales Goals

As a sales manager, you can motivate your B2B company's sales team by setting both short- and long-term sales goals. When clear and specific goals are set, sales reps will know exactly what they need to do to succeed. And as your B2B company's sales reps approach your short- and long-term sales goals, they'll feel a sense of accomplishment, which should motivate them to continue with their sales efforts.

When creating goals for your sales team, follow the SMART approach. This involves making all your goals "specific," "measurable," "attainable," "relevant" and "timely."

Track Non-Sales Related Wins

Another way to motivate your B2B company's sales team is to track non-sales related wins. What does this mean exactly? Well, some B2B companies focus strictly on sales numbers while turning a blind eye to other performance metrics. Tracking sales is undoubtedly important, but also track other performance metrics. If a sales rep recently received a customer compliment or recommendation, for example, track the compliment as a win. Let the sales rep know that you appreciate his or her stellar performance, which should compel him or her to continue offering exceptional customer service.

Use Positive Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement goes a long way in motivating sales reps to succeed. When a sales rep is performing well, you should show your appreciation to him or her. Known as positive reinforcement, it's a key source of motivation in the B2B sales industry. Keep in mind, there are numerous ways a sales manager can show appreciation to sales reps. You can reward the top-performing sales reps with a gift each quarter, for example. At the end of the quarter, give the top three or five -- or however many -- sales reps a gift.

Alternatively, you can show appreciation to your B2B company's sales reps with a verbal "Thanks for the hard work. Keep it up!" If you come across a top-performing sales rep in the hallway, let him or her know that you appreciate their hard work. When woven into your B2B company's culture, positive reinforcement will motivate your sales reps to succeed.

Decorate Workplace With Motivational Quotes

When decorating your B2B company's workplace, consider hanging posters or prints of motivational quotes. You don't have to necessarily display them on every wall. Rather, display motivational quotes in communal areas of your workplace like the breakroom or conference room. Upon seeing these quotes, sales reps will know that you are coming from a positive place. This will help them stay positive, have a good attitude in good and tough times. If you need help choosing motivational quotes with which to decorate your workplace, check out this website for some ideas.

Offer a Flexible Working Schedule

As a sales manager, Don't force your B2B company's sales reps to work a strict schedule. Rather, give them some freedom to choose their own hours. According to a study published by ResearchGate, offering employees a flexible working schedule will motivate them to succeed. They will appreciate the trust you, as their sales manager, has in them and will do what it takes to ensure they succeed.

Ask Sales Reps for Feedback

Sales Managers need to ask your sales reps for feedback to gain insight into any problems or challenges they encounter. If a sales rep has encountered a problem that they don’t feel comfortable sharing, it may hurt his or her motivation. By asking sales reps for feedback on a regular basis, you can resolve and prevent problems to maintain a highly motivated sales team.

Give Sales Reps the Tools They Need to Be Successful

Sales reps are often searching for tools on their own to help them succeed. This can take up valuable calling time and sales efforts. A great way to motivate the sales team is to provide them with tools that can contribute to their sales success such as the purchase of sales leads. Not every service is going to be beneficial for the sales reps and can create frustration. Instead, give them sales leads that are specific for your industry such as industrial or office.

Take a look at SalesLeads. We provide researched, identified project reports specifically for your industry. These project reports contain valuable information about the sales lead. It’ll tell you what stage they are in, for instance is it in the conceptual, planning/design, approval, groundbreaking or is it in progress. It will also give you valuable information if it’s a new construction, equipment upgrade, expansion, renovation, relocation or even a closing. These are some of the valuable insights that you, as a sales manager, can provide to your sales reps and help them fill their funnel quickly with quality sales leads. Open a free account, and get a sampling of some recent sales leads.

Be a Leader

Perhaps the most important tip to motivate your B2B company's sales team is to be a leader. You can't expect sales reps to excel on their own. Rather, you need to lead them to success by setting an example. In other words, show your sales team what you expect of them by performing the same tasks yourself.

As a sales manager, it’s critical to have confidence in yourself and your own abilities. Your goal as a sales manager is to hire, build, train, support and motivate sales reps to be better in sales than you were. You’ll be a successful manager by surrounding yourself with smart, motivated sales reps.