sales motivation
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How Coyotes are at the Heart of Sales Motivation
- April 21, 2016
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Analogies, Understanding the Sales Force
My family lives west of Boston where it is not uncommon for us to see lots of squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, deer, the family of foxes that live on our property, and on most nights, we hear coyotes. We usually hear them in the early morning hours, and always thought they were celebrating a kill. Recently, I did some research and learned that this is how coyotes greet each other when they are assembling before going out to hunt – before the kill! For those of you who don’t live in or alongside a forest, a group of wild coyotes usually looks and sounds just like in this 1-minute video that I found on YouTube. That got me thinking about the connection to sales motivation and more.
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7 New Ways to Motivate Salespeople Through 20 Old Hurdles
- September 8, 2014
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
But what about those who are intrinsically-motivated – those who are motivated by satisfaction, fulfillment, praise and recognition. They want to change the world. They love what they do and want to achieve mastery. That motivates them. OMG is able to differentiate between intrinsically-motivated and extrinsically-motivated salespeople, but how do you manage those who are intrinsically-motivated? How do you get them to perform when they are interested in things that go beyond a commission check?
Perhaps this will help:
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How to Run a Killer Sales Incentive Contest
- February 6, 2014
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Incentive programs are still very powerful as long as you make sure they don’t last for more than 90 days. There are other factors that can make the difference between an effective and ineffective program. Consider the three most important concepts: Everyone must believe that they can win the contest, there should be more than 1 winner, and the rewards must be motivating enough for them to go into overdrive to win one.
Let’s begin with how you get them to believe they can win.
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World Series, Super Bowl and the Sales Force – The Rallying Cry
- February 5, 2014
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Baseball and Sales, Understanding the Sales Force
With selling being such an individual sport, can any of this character and culture stuff be applied to a sales force? Let’s discuss it and figure it out.
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Motivating Your Sales Team – Secrets to Success
- September 9, 2013
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
My first post-vacation post is a collection of announcements that have been sitting in my note-taking app, inbox, and calendar.
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Zig Ziglar’s Legacy to the Sales World
- November 28, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Zig died today at the age of 86. Seth Godin memorialized him here. I wrote about our chance meeting here 6 years ago.
I want to talk about Zig’s life and his sales and selling impact.
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How Do Sales Professionals Stay Motivated?
- July 12, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
The most important thing to understand is that when someone must ask how to motivate their salespeople, they may not have the right salespeople!
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Getting Reluctant Salespeople to Fill Their Empty Pipelines
- June 25, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
Last week, I wrote this article about the best time to ask salespeople to fill their pipelines. One reader asked how to get salespeople to fill their pipelines.
It’s an interesting question because your real performers don’t have to be asked. They will keep it filled on their own. If you are having difficulty getting salespeople to fill their pipeline, then one of several things may be true:
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Can the Right Music Motivate and Improve Sales Performance?
- May 22, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Categories: Music and Sales, Understanding the Sales Force
One of the many changes to affect selling during the last several years is that salespeople are making fewer face-to-face sales calls than ever before and more of the selling has moved to the phone. This has resulted in more calls (although shorter), more resistance with a longer sales cycle, and greater success in closing sales, deals and accounts which might not have been possible just a few years ago. The biggest difference though? It might just be the music.
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Basketball and the Difference Between Sales Studs and Sales Duds
- May 14, 2012
- Posted by: Dave Kurlan
- Category: Understanding the Sales Force
I heard former NBA all-star and current ESPN basketball analyst, Bruce Bowen, talking about Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics. He characterized Garnett as one of the toughest competitors on the court, unlike some younger, very talented players who aren’t as competitive and don’t know how to close out games. He said the difference is that Garnett is trying to win while the less competitive players are trying to make friends.
I’ve been talking about Need for Approval being one difference between the elite 6% of salespeople and the bottom 74% of salespeople for years, but this is the first time I have heard of the affliction as a differentiator in sports. In one of my books – it was probably Baseline Selling – I discussed how it would play out if the pitcher had need for approval from the batter and vice versa.
Why is Need for Approval such a differentiator?