Motivating Sales Teams: What Extra Steps Can HR Take to Boost Performance?

Hi, I have joined a sales organization where recruitment, PMS, payroll, and compensation management processes are already well established. What can I do extra to motivate sales personnel to perform optimally? I am seeking your guidance regarding the same.

Thank you.

• Understand their nature of sales, field trips, and client approach techniques.
• Listen to their grievances and work to resolve them (don't promise if you are not an authority).
• Coordinate their queries between PMS, compensation, and leave planning.
• Create a relationship of trust and confidence to know what's on their mind (job hopping or dissatisfaction).
• Arrange training programs to boost their selling skills (from learned responses).
• Arrange motivation and relaxation programs.

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Facilitating HR Functions for a Sophisticated Sales and Marketing Team

If you have a sophisticated sales and marketing team, there is not much you can do other than facilitate HR functions in a support capacity.

To motivate the salespersons, you need to understand them well. To understand them well, you need to go along with them for the sales call. For the time being, stop all your work and go with them for the sales calls for a week or so. Thereafter, you should reserve one day per week for field visits.

Your field visits will help you in understanding the competencies required for selling. Your quality of recruitment will improve as you will know well what kind of manpower you require. Your field visits will also help in training.

Field visits will help you in understanding the language they speak or the phrases they use. This will bring you on equal footing with the salespersons, and you will be able to get close to them mentally.

Field visits will also help in designing the sales incentives.

Regards,
Dinesh V Divekar
Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.

I second Dinesh; shadowing a leader in the sales department will bring you the acumen you need. There are no better ways to learn an area than getting out on the field and managing the levers of the business. Wish you all the best!