The September slump is well known in sales. Selling can be a tough job, and it’s easy to become disillusioned and demotivated. Seasonal fatigue doesn’t need to reflect in your sales figures, though. There are a number of motivational techniques that can be used in the short-term to boost sales and combat finicky customers and grumpy prospects, leaving your sales team and your bottom line much happier.
The most important point when using motivation to fight fatigue is to remember who you are targeting. While motivation campaigns are usually targeted at a group or employee in particular, seasonal fatigue needs to be targeted in the whole team. Only rewarding your leading sellers won’t fix the actual problem, and could further demotivate your other employees. Your motivational program needs to allow everybody to win, at some level.
One of the easiest ways to motivate employees over a short period is to change commission structures. Offer a higher cut for new models, or low-sellers. Ensure that staff members are encouraged and motivated to sell big, by rewarding them proportionately. Another effective way to reward your staff is to talk to them. Ask your sales team what incentives they’d like. The thing that would get them working the hardest may not be what you expect – while some sales people are motivated by cash, others would prefer the opportunity to telecommute. Business consultants regularly encourage companies to offer vacation days with a paid-for activity, such as golf or fishing, as a sales reward.
Giving employees a quick break during the day has also proven to have excellent results. Try offering ‘power hours’, where an employee can take an hour in the staff room or gym, whenever they need it. Staff will return to work energized and refreshed, and will quickly move through their tasks, often achieving more than they would have done without the hour off.
Some sales teams may also be motivated through the September slump using competitions. Publicly posting sales, margins and conversion rates, for example, can create a game and motivate everyone involved. Telling the whole company about campaigns and targets can help to build energy, too. It’s important to discuss this with your staff, though, to ensure it would be well received.
Have you found any great motivation tactics for your staff?
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