It is not the owner who works the hardest or the longest that is the most successful. It is the owner who develops consistent habits to build a team of high achievers, who is most successful. It’s critical to your success to learn how to effectively build a team who will generate profits for your company
People do things for their own reasons, not yours. It is impossible to motivate an individual who does not want to be motivated. If team members hit their goals, what will that provide for the people they love and themselves? If you want someone to stay on the phone and make more calls, it should mean something to them personally. If attaining goals means they can buy their dream house, or send their children to college, the phone calls become the means to that end.
Most teams are motivated by instant gratification. They can earn thousands of dollars from their production, but if you offer to pay for lunch it’s amazing the extra effort that will be put forth. If you have individuals on your team who are working to only pay bills, have them figure out something small they will do for themselves when they hit their goal. Self-gratification is a great motivator.
TIPS TO CREATE A MOTIVATING ENVIRONMENT:
- Have systems and processes in place that touch your candidate and client database on a monthly or bimonthly basis
- Reward effort
- Create contests that can be won by everyone in the office, not just your top producers
- Make kick-off meetings fun
- Offer training on a consistent basis
- Individualize contests whenever possible
- Don’t ask for reports you are not going to read
- Provide group rewards when goals are achieved
- Bonus your support team
If you want your team to take their goals seriously, make sure you have tied in a consequence if they do not hit their goals. What does it cost them? What do they give up? Announce the goals and consequences at the beginning of each month and trust me; your sales team will hold each other accountable.
Create an environment in your business where failure is not fatal. You don’t judge a person’s level of success by the number of their successes, but rather on the failures they overcome. Successful people fail more because they try more. When you hire an over-achiever, they will want to try more, be more creative, and will make mistakes. If your employees are empowered to make decisions and possibly mistakes, the end result will be to increase profits for your company.
It’s important to know each of your employee’s needs. For the first time in history, we are now employing four different generations in one office. The needs of a recent graduate are very different from a baby boomer. In order to create a motivating environment, identify their needs along with their business, personal and educational goals.
Recognize and applaud achievements and efforts. The Staffing and Recruiting Profession is a Sales Profession and there is a tremendous emphasis placed on personal production. Top producers become our superstars, winning most of the contest, bonuses and incentives offered. It’s important that you also recognize and applaud outstanding efforts and small wins. It could be something as simple as a great marketing or recruiting presentation, someone booking multiple send-outs in a single day, or helping another member of your sales team.
Handle storms consistently. We hire Type A, assertive, ambitious over-achievers to join our sales team. It’s no wonder there can be storms when these individuals are competing on a regular basis and often are dependent on each other to assist in their success. When storms occur and issues are on the table, it is important that you solve them in a very consistent manner, regardless of which employees are involved in the dispute.
Follow this advice and you will create a motivating environment that will also have a positive impact on your bottom line! Be sure to connect with me on LinkedIn – http://linkedin.com/in/barbarabruno