Sales people motivation

1. Extrinsic Motivation – being motivated by external forces

2. Intrinsic Motivation – the opposite of extrinsic motivation or being

motivated by internal forces
The Carrot vs. The Stick Method

• The most well know example of extrinsic motivation or simply how to

motivate sales reps is The Carrot vs. The Stick or Reward vs.
Punishment.  Can you hold a reward in front of somebody and “pull”
them to perform certain actions or “push” them with punishment
from behind.

• Not only that but the Carrot method of rewards assumes that the
sales rep isn’t working as hard as they can and it is going to take extra
incentive to get them to actually do their job
• The commission model has been around for over 100 years and no
doubt works but the model is incomplete in that Extrinsic motivation
alone isn’t enough.
• As a matter of fact, this type of motivation has been found to have a
good short term effect that diminishes over time because once the
reward was achieved, it no longer had the same motivating qualities.
The inner drive to motivate sales reps

• While there is a place in a sales managers repertoire for Extrinsic

motivation such as the Carrot and the Stick science has proven that
intrinsic motivation will get the highest productivity out of your sales
team.

• “What Makes a Good Salesman?,” David Mayer and Herbert

Greenberg state that one of the two main factors is that they are Ego
Driven. “His self-picture improves dramatically by virtue of conquest
and diminishes with failure.”
Here’s a few ideas on how to motivate sales reps

1. Public Recognition – this is the biggest one for ego driven sales people.
During your weekly meeting make sure point out those that are achieving.
2. Give Credit Where its Due – if a sales rep is working hard and getting
better or contributed to the companies success in other ways make sure
and let them know you appreciate it.
3. Sales Leaderboards – a little friendly competition can go a long way to
bring out the best in intrinsically motivated sales people
4. Setting Goals – set goals with your team so they are their goals
5. Job Ownership – give responsibility or get input so the rep feels they
have a meaningful impact on the success of the company and team
 conclusion

• Extrinsic motivating factors such as the Carrot vs. the Stick can cause
short term motivation for your sales reps but in the long run you will
do more harm than good.  Get the most out of your sales team by
hiring intrinsically motivated reps and then bringing out their best by
implementing the tactics above. This method has been proven its
effectiveness time and time again on how to motivate sales reps.
• 1. "Don’t try to be a man of success, try to be a man of value." -
Albert Einstein
• 2. "You can't turn a no to a yes without a maybe in between." -
Francis Underwood
• 3. "You are what you repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act,
but a habit." - Aristotle
• 4. "You just can't beat the person who never gives up." - Babe Ruth
• 7. "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear
the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times." - Bruce Lee