Sunday, September 13, 2009
Sales motivation
What is the source for motivation? This is a question that stumped me as a young sales manager. The first hire I ever made was a recent college graduate, had an extremely well known name in our market, was so bright and engaging. I was sure I had hit a home run. As days turned into weeks, weeks into months, it was clear he wasn't going to make it. I simply couldn't understand why. He never had any trouble getting into see a client. His clients enjoyed him, they just never bought anything from him. He couldn't make the "ask". Now we could turn this into a tip into how to close a sale (maybe in my next post!), but this was clearly a tale of someone who had all the talent but didn't want success. He had all the tools, all the resources and he had ME! I wanted so badly for him to succeed. The problem is he didn't really care about succeeding. With my first failure told, I can now tell of countless successes of sales people I've worked with who maybe weren't the brightest, didn't have the sharpest skills, but would literally walk through walls to help solve a client's problem. Where does that inner burning desire to win come from? My first sales manager told me most top performers had overcome some great tragedy in their lives that pushed them to succeed. I don't buy that. So one-percenters out there; clear up this mystery. Where does your inner drive and motivation to succeed come from?
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Alright Diane, story time... (more of a short chapter in a book!)
ReplyDeleteRight out of college, thrown into the high-pressure and stressful world of outside sales, I faced great diversity. The highs and lows often had me asking myself, "What motivates me to wake up every day and bust my ass?" I learned quickly that without knowing the answer there was no real purpose. So my search began.
It turned to trial and error.
Of course I had a lot of options. Money? I had not yet seen it. Reputation? I was too new. Keeping my job? Obviously... but nothing really stuck. When I thought I had the answer and things were going my way the winds would change. I would become lost again.
Last year (my first year) I finished at 82% of quota. Half of my friends on our sales force were laid off because of the economy. Fortunately I missed the cut. But just barely. I had survived by keeping my head above water but felt at any moment I could drown.
Finally I had to make a decision. I decided to stop over-analyzing. To not think about what I was doing wrong. Instead, to simply work as hard as I possibly could and use the tools and knowledge I learned to focus on what I did best. I hoped everything else would fall into place. I knew deep down this was something I could do. It was something I had to do.
So with this new philosophy I began a new fiscal year of selling. I was in a new region, on a new team, and had something to prove not only to my new peers, but also, and more importantly, to myself. Bingo. Something to prove to myself! It was never obvious. But it was so simple. It emerged slowly and, I now know, will remain with me as a central driving force to my success.
It’s the ability to prove to your self that it can be done. To be so fiercely competitive, passionate, and obsessed with succeeding that nothing in this world could ever stop you. When you’re about to drown, to rise up, look back and say, “I made it happen. I earned respect.”
My motivation is knowing I am talented and driven enough to be successful at my job, and never giving up or letting down. It’s about proving to yourself and everyone around you what you’re made of.
This year I am number two in my region at 140% year-to-date.