Top Sales Manager Blog

Here’s another little technique I’ve used for years to keep my salespeople “hyper-motivated”.

Its one that I copped off a behavioral modification book I was reading to better understand how to discipline my two boys. So naturally, after I used it on them – I tried it on my sales reps…and to my surprise, it worked like a charm!

It’s called: “Give ‘em a LOFTY reputation to live up to…even if they’ve done nothing to deserve it yet”.

Kind of a catchy title huh? Actually it’s awful, but I couldn’t think of anything better…

Anyway, here’s the technique: Say your sales rep is trying to desperately to figure out some kind of relatively complex issue. So you, as the extremely helpful sales manager really want to help them figure it out. You know the answer and you see them struggling. Your tendency is to tell them exactly what to do, right? 

Don’t do it.

Instead of actually doing the work for them and telling them what to do, say this instead: “You know, (name) you’re the expert here, I KNOW you can figure this out on your own”…then walk away.

Yes, walk away.

Let them figure it out. That’ right, let them figure it out. You’ll be shocked at what will happen without you being there.

Now, of course, you need to follow up with them the next day or within a period of time that you feel is appropriate to make sure it was done…

The point is this: you’re training them to use THEIR brain…not YOUR brain.

Here’s why this is a highly effective motivational technique: when people are empowered to control their own destiny, they are far more motivated to control that destiny.

And as a top performing sales manager, you cannot be around every second of every day, micro managing your sales reps…or worse yet, baby-sitting them. They need to do it on their own. And that empowers them…and motivates them BIG TIME.

The great thing is by using this technique you motivate them…but you also let yourself off the hook…less work for you!

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Post a reply to this post and tell me what do you think? Do you motivate your people more by telling them exactly what to do…or do you motivate them more by not telling them exactly what to do?

Filed under: Leading, Motivation by ralphburns