How To Motivate Your Sales Team Through a Crisis
Your sales may not be where they were six months ago, but the time is now to double down on gearing up your sales team for success in the weeks and months ahead. In this article you’ll learn some of my best tips and strategies on how to be the leader your sales team (and goals) need you to be.
#1: Check in often!
During strange times like these, your sales team needs you to check in with them more often. Forget the “how’s it going” and status update calls - instead ask coaching questions, such as:
What do you see as the best case scenario through this?
How do you think we achieve our goals this year? Welcome creative ideas!
What are you hearing our clients need the most right now?
What’s on your mind? How are things in your world?
Remember - you’re not micromanaging if you’re helping your team grow, feel confident and supported. Be sure to listen to your associates and keep the door open for creative thinking and new ideas. Don’t be afraid to try something new - you never know for sure if something can make an impact or not until you try it!
#2: Show your trust and belief in your team.
Your team needs to know that you trust them and believe in them as professionals and people doing the right thing for the company, their communities and their families. Trust is going to be the currency in which sales are made through crisis - can your team rely on you to trust them? Make sure the answer is yes.
How does trust show up in teams? Allowing flexibility of schedule (especially with kids at home and juggling work responsibilities), believing team members when you ask questions and giving creative freedom when team members are excited about projects - with guidelines, of course!
#3: Make sure they’re selling from the heart.
At its core, selling is the process of helping people with solutions that you can provide. Don’t let your sales team forget this fact, and make sure that they’re selling with a helping heart first and foremost. Challenge them to embrace the perspective that by helping clients and prospects, they’re depositing before they withdraw - a tried-and-true negotiation strategy that’s successful and karmically positive.
For the salesperson, it should be less about “checking in and pitching” - and more about bringing ideas and creative solutions to help the client or prospect address their needs. For example:
Sharing an article that may be relevant to their business/industry and say it made you think of them!
Sending an invite to a webinar that your company is hosting that may be of value to them, (The DMC Network did just that for their clients with a webinar called “Motivating Your Team in a Crisis”)
Sharing a solution or an idea around a problem that the client is currently facing
The goodwill you show to your clients and prospects now is the key to building trust - which leads to more sales. Goodwill boosts trust - and trust boost sales.
#4: Train them on what matters the most: relationships, communication and self-motivation.
Old, tired sales training isn’t going to work during these times - to do better, we’ve got to DO DIFFERENT and that means sales training focused on relationships, communication and motivation are more important than ever. Allow me to explain:
Relationships are the age old glue that keeps us together. Are your salespeople seeking out ways to stand out on LinkedIn and authentically connect with people online? They should be.
As a leader, are you providing training that demonstrates ways for folks to be empathetic and console people who are grieving? While these are powerful tips for managing our personal relationships, training focused on these areas can help your employees level up their relationships with clients and prospects, too.
Communication. What we say, how we say it, and how we show up on video are just a few of the communication training elements that your team needs, stat. Why? To make sure that they’re connecting, communicating and delivering what needs to be said, done and felt in ways that hit home.
A popular virtual training for my clients centers around understanding buyers’ fears in their word choices, emails, voice and more - because asking “How can I help you?” isn’t helpful anymore. It’s burdensome to clients and we’ve got to know what they need without asking.
Self-Motivation. How would your sales figures change if you started every day like a roaring sales engine? I know the answer and I think you do, too, which is why I believe the single greatest skill we can grow during this time (and daily in our lives) is the ability to self-lead and self-motivate so that we can achieve our biggest goals.
When I began my career as a speaker and trainer, I noticed that the subject of “Leadership” was popular, but self-empowerment and self-leadership were rarely discussed. These qualities are so pivotal, not just for professional success, but also for personal success, which is why many of my team training programs are focused on the core goal of growing professionals as people and as teams.
Where to Start
Keep your eyes peeled for free webinars and podcasts on subjects related to the topics discussed in this blog, including self-motivation, leadership and communication.
Get your book worm on and hear from some of the greatest thought leaders of our generations. My top recommended read of 2020 so far? Rising Strong by Brene Brown.
You can hire an expert to provide an ongoing series of training (every other week, monthly, etc) or a package of training on specific topics so you can GROW THROUGH what you GO THROUGH during COVID-19. hint hint, you’re reading someone’s blog who does this!
When it comes to motivating your sales team during this unpredictable time, make sure they know that the sales opportunities are out there and that they’re open to them. Encourage them to seek greatness, seek success and be ready to sell, sell, sell when those emails from clients show up in their inboxes again.