Money motivation amongst salespeople is one of the most misconstrued points in successful sales management and hiring. At the risk of splitting hairs, motivation needs to be separated from reward. This distinction is the key to differentiating between what motivates strong salespeople – money – and what rewards them.
This Selling Power article – Cash In on Cash-Based Motivation – fails to make this distinction. However, the quick read does offer 3 solid points for commission plans. The highlights:
1. Don’t Penalize Performance
Gonzalez refers to the practice of capping salespeople’s commissions as one of the gravest mistakes I’ve seen in the commission-based environment.2. Be Careful with Team Incentives
In this kind of scenario people actually wind up de-motivated because they know that no matter how hard they work, they wont be able to make up for the shortcomings of the team.3. Open Up a Line of Sight
Line of sight is the term Gonzalez uses to explain that salespeople need to understand the direct correlation between their improved performance and the company’s bottom line success.
The article contains more information than what I have shared in the above quote. Remember, finding Utilitarian motivations for sales is tantamount to success. Understanding what rewards their Utilitarian motivation is the key to locking in consistent commission performance.
I’ll close with an example. A Utilitarian salesperson will be motivated by a return on their investment of time, resources, effort, etc. They work hard to close a prospect and the company provides them with a commission check. The Utilitarian motivation is satisfied, but not rewarded. This salesperson is rewarded by status and recognition. Although they received the commission check, they readily connect with the reward of receiving recognition for their success. The sales manager would be wise to announce this salesperson’s success to the sales team. That recognition would reward this salesperson at a deeper level than the commission check.
This is a subtle, but powerful distinction.