Before motivating the sales-force, the sales manger is to have a thorough understanding of he motives, impulses urges behind the work. He should identify the forces that motivate salesmen to gear up to productive effort, company loyalty and enthusiasm what makes them to put their heart and soul together. The worldwide studies conducted reveal the following as the most significant motives behind such a marked performance. These are recognition, and praise, fair-pay-packet, good working conditions, opportunity for advancement, good supervision and leadership, opportunity for self expression, social acceptance, security, desire to excel, participation, pride in selling and so on. A brief outline of each point will not be out of place at this juncture.
1. Recognition and praise. Salesmen, like any other human beings, seek recognition for their achievements and praise for the work done, which they think, is more than monetary gain for them. The common complaint of sales force is that sales managers rarely praise their work par excellence. Failure to complaint and praise is ignoring a vital need in salesman’s nature having deeper impact on sales performance.
2. Fair pay packet. Though financial incentive is secondary to recognition and praise, it is dominant motive because salesman is to earn and decent living for himself and his dependents. It is but natural that he expects an assurance of salary that is comparable with his colleagues in his own organization and competitive organization with equal performance and responsibilities. Therefore, it should be attractive and assured one.
3. Good working conditions. It is the working conditions-both physical that influence his attitude towards his work performance. Thus salesman looks for a territory that gives him adequate sales potential; he wants a protection against infiltration by a few salesmen in his territory, he expects a fair division of compensation on all joint sales efforts. He is likely to expect an adequate and regular expense allowance, a conveyance facility or reimbursement to that effect. The other such conditions may be freedom from excessive paper work, cost office facilities, feeling of home away from home and so on.
4. Opportunity for advancement. Good many sales people give op priority to promotion to higher ups than to attractive salary or even too security. By nature, he does not want to be stagnant. IT is the case with more ambitious and efficient and industrious salesmen. Any company that fails to provide such an opportunity for advancement will be responsible for high sales-force turnover by depriving the basis need and creating dissatisfaction injection for frustration.
5. Good supervision and leadership. The productivity of sales-force is dependent on the very nature of leadership provided in company from sales manager down upto sales-supervisors. Every manager is a leader and not a boss. Salesmen look to their superiors as outstanding in terms of industry, knowledge, Salesmen respect those who are fair and impartial, determined, keep words, accommodate the personal dignity of salesmen they expect that their leader should understand them, their problems and solve them.
6. Opportunity for self-expression. Salesmen have their own views, attitudes, suggestions and ideas, which they want to express, assert their personalities and exploit their latest talents and abilities. A salesman is sure to increase his sales efforts if he has the opportunity to assert himself, express his personality. Absence and suppression of salesman’s expression and assertion will kill his initiative, drive and enthusiasm. Management stands benefited by such rich services of untapped source of new ideas of increasing sales, cutting down costs and improving profitability.
7. Social acceptance. Every human being – a social and rational animal – has the strong feeling of ‘belonging’ to a group. Salesmen naturally desire the acceptance and goodwill of their association in business. It is the sales manger’s task to develop a sense of “belongingness” in case of every salesman. He wants to have the satisfaction of being accepted as a member of a sales team, sales organization, having his actual participation, voice in its affairs, cooperating in matters of mutual interest.
8. Job security. Every salesman expects that his job must be secured one so that he will be able to retain his job so long as his work is quite satisfactory and the prevailing economic and social conditions permit. Jot security does not mean absolute performance of job tenure. He means protection from arbitrary discharge or dismissal or transfer. Salary is not eh only factor that determines such security. He looks to future social security. When he gets old, he should have the opportunities of reasonable earnings to pull on longer with respect and dignity.
9. Desire to excel. One finds the strong urge of excelling others in performance and achievement. It speaks of aggressiveness of any successful salesmen. Desire to excel others implies increasing sales, cutting costs, improving profitability. It is a motive that helps both the parties in that the management can prosper and that prosperity is made to share by the sales-force.
10. Pride in selling. In addition to job security, job satisfaction is another strong motive of every salesman. This job satisfaction is dependent on pride in selling as a vocation. When one has accepted a sales career, it should not be looked down upon. The salesman should not have a feeling that he is doing some worthless job to hang on or as matter of last resort or as a mans of livelihood. Therefore, significance of selling must be emphasized in preparing and training salesmen. They should be given an understanding that they are doing creative, gainful, socially acceptable and respected job.
1. Recognition and praise. Salesmen, like any other human beings, seek recognition for their achievements and praise for the work done, which they think, is more than monetary gain for them. The common complaint of sales force is that sales managers rarely praise their work par excellence. Failure to complaint and praise is ignoring a vital need in salesman’s nature having deeper impact on sales performance.
2. Fair pay packet. Though financial incentive is secondary to recognition and praise, it is dominant motive because salesman is to earn and decent living for himself and his dependents. It is but natural that he expects an assurance of salary that is comparable with his colleagues in his own organization and competitive organization with equal performance and responsibilities. Therefore, it should be attractive and assured one.
3. Good working conditions. It is the working conditions-both physical that influence his attitude towards his work performance. Thus salesman looks for a territory that gives him adequate sales potential; he wants a protection against infiltration by a few salesmen in his territory, he expects a fair division of compensation on all joint sales efforts. He is likely to expect an adequate and regular expense allowance, a conveyance facility or reimbursement to that effect. The other such conditions may be freedom from excessive paper work, cost office facilities, feeling of home away from home and so on.
4. Opportunity for advancement. Good many sales people give op priority to promotion to higher ups than to attractive salary or even too security. By nature, he does not want to be stagnant. IT is the case with more ambitious and efficient and industrious salesmen. Any company that fails to provide such an opportunity for advancement will be responsible for high sales-force turnover by depriving the basis need and creating dissatisfaction injection for frustration.
5. Good supervision and leadership. The productivity of sales-force is dependent on the very nature of leadership provided in company from sales manager down upto sales-supervisors. Every manager is a leader and not a boss. Salesmen look to their superiors as outstanding in terms of industry, knowledge, Salesmen respect those who are fair and impartial, determined, keep words, accommodate the personal dignity of salesmen they expect that their leader should understand them, their problems and solve them.
6. Opportunity for self-expression. Salesmen have their own views, attitudes, suggestions and ideas, which they want to express, assert their personalities and exploit their latest talents and abilities. A salesman is sure to increase his sales efforts if he has the opportunity to assert himself, express his personality. Absence and suppression of salesman’s expression and assertion will kill his initiative, drive and enthusiasm. Management stands benefited by such rich services of untapped source of new ideas of increasing sales, cutting down costs and improving profitability.
7. Social acceptance. Every human being – a social and rational animal – has the strong feeling of ‘belonging’ to a group. Salesmen naturally desire the acceptance and goodwill of their association in business. It is the sales manger’s task to develop a sense of “belongingness” in case of every salesman. He wants to have the satisfaction of being accepted as a member of a sales team, sales organization, having his actual participation, voice in its affairs, cooperating in matters of mutual interest.
8. Job security. Every salesman expects that his job must be secured one so that he will be able to retain his job so long as his work is quite satisfactory and the prevailing economic and social conditions permit. Jot security does not mean absolute performance of job tenure. He means protection from arbitrary discharge or dismissal or transfer. Salary is not eh only factor that determines such security. He looks to future social security. When he gets old, he should have the opportunities of reasonable earnings to pull on longer with respect and dignity.
9. Desire to excel. One finds the strong urge of excelling others in performance and achievement. It speaks of aggressiveness of any successful salesmen. Desire to excel others implies increasing sales, cutting costs, improving profitability. It is a motive that helps both the parties in that the management can prosper and that prosperity is made to share by the sales-force.
10. Pride in selling. In addition to job security, job satisfaction is another strong motive of every salesman. This job satisfaction is dependent on pride in selling as a vocation. When one has accepted a sales career, it should not be looked down upon. The salesman should not have a feeling that he is doing some worthless job to hang on or as matter of last resort or as a mans of livelihood. Therefore, significance of selling must be emphasized in preparing and training salesmen. They should be given an understanding that they are doing creative, gainful, socially acceptable and respected job.
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