Secrets to Motivating a Sales Team

Motivation and retention of employees are two of the biggest challenges facing Sales Managers today. The rapidly-changing workplace of today mandates that employees stay motivated. Sales forces that stay motivated help businesses survive due to increased overall productivity. Motivation is the basis for survival for an organization, yet it is usually ignored as a business topic. There is no clear-cut and well-defined approach to tackling the challenge of employee motivation. Most companies usually ignore it unless a problem crops up.

Different people are motivated to become happier employees in different ways. Money becomes a less effective motivator as salaries rise, and work that fascinates the employees becomes more important.

Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist who was a pioneer in humanistic counseling methods and coined the term 'trans-personal psychology'. Maslow believed that the need to develop a person's basic potential can take precedence over other motivators which may appear to be more evident.

Maslow made an important contribution to psychology when he pioneered "Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs." This five tier model explains human needs in terms of how much value they assign them, thereby shedding much light on what motivates certain people to seek out certain positions. Sales Resource professionals can use this information to decide how to use the basic components of human nature most effectively.

The first tier which is defined as physiological needs, relates to the need for survival, food, water and shelter, and is the most prominent need to shape man's motivation. Maslow believes people attempt to satisfy these needs in a specific order. A person will strive to meet physiological needs before addressing needs for safety, love, and so forth.

Maslow looks at his first four needs in his hierarchy as deficiency needs. Deficiency needs stop motivating once they are satisfied. However, the final need being self actualization is a need that drives our behavior throughout our entire life. If a business continually gives employees the opportunity to meet this high level need the company should expect its employees to be well motivated.

Two main beliefs surround the idea of self-actualization, a nebulous concept at best. One thought is that we can never realize self-actualization, but we are always trying to achieve our highest potential. The other main thought is that we can achieve self-actualization, however this only lasts a short while because we will soon find another goal or objective to attain. Those who are trying to achieve their highest potential have a strong desire to make an impact, often by trying to create something special, or forming ideas that come across in important ways. They usually look for positions that allow them autonomy to facilitate their goals.

The biggest challenge facing Sales Managers today motivating and retaining employees. Motivated employees are needed in rapidly changing workplaces. Motivated sales teams help organizations survive simply because they are more productive. Motivation is an organization's life-blood; yet "motivation," as a business subject, is largely ignored. Seldom is a clear, coherent, and overall approach taken to the challenge of motivating people. Most organizations don't give it much thought until something starts to go wrong.

Steve Wilheir is a management consultant. Read more Business Management Articles, learn about Abraham Maslow and the Abraham Maslow theory.

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