Many sales managers seem to believe that the way to get productivity out of their sales team is to offer incentives--cash or otherwise. But many successful sales managers have learned that they are in primarily a people business and that it is the human interaction with the sales team which makes the team successful and motivated.

Here are some ideas to increase your connection with your sales team:

Empathy and Respect Are The Most Important Motivators

Forget about negative comments or yelling or being critical and instead try to empathize with your sales team when they present problems. This does not mean you lower expectations, but that you genuinely listen to their concerns in the spirit of trying to find a mutually acceptable solution. Sometimes just being heard counts for more than finding a solution.

Praise Works Better Than Criticism

This is nothing new but praising the good behavior can weed out the bad behavior over time. Find things the salesperson is doing right and commend him or her on it. Then let him or her speak at the next sales meeting to describe what they did. Even if it is something small, the recognition can be powerful.

Walk The Talk

It may have been awhile since you were in the trenches, but it is important that you maintain a high degree of integrity with your team. This means doing what you say and holding yourself to the same high standards to which you hold the team. Nothing kills morale faster than seeing a manager take advantage of special loopholes while holding his direct reports highly accountable.

Learn To Coach

Yes a coach in the locker room at halftime can motivate the troops by yelling and screaming, but in business that seldom works. Before you can coach, you have to understand the issue from the employee point of view. So your first step is always to ask lots of questions and repeat back what you hear. This gives the employee the satisfaction of being heard and gives you an opportunity to explore options. Once you thoroughly understand the situation, offer suggestions for help, but do not take the problem on as your own.

Focus On Goals

People like to reach goals and they like to know where they stand. Keep the goals in front of the team consistently but do not criticize any team member in front of another. Ask for creative ideas about how to reach the goal. Get the entire team involved in the success of the sales effort. Once everyone feels that they own the goal, they will be much more likely to commit to achieving it.

Improve Yourself

Teams like to see the their leader honing his or her skills. Be open and clear about the things you're working on in your management style or sales approaches. In other words, be human and let them know you are committed to delivering peak performance. If necessary, get outside help on your own issues.

What have you found that works in managing salespeople? Put your ideas on the forum.

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Last modified: Saturday October 22, 2005.