Want to increase sales and grow opportunities? Give a great speech to your sales team.
That’s because a motivated sales team is a successful sales team. A sales team working in sync towards a unified vision delivers a tremendous impact to your bottom line and expands profit potential by growing your market.
During my career as a speech coach, I’ve helped sales leaders and other executives use public speaking to motivate their sales teams toward greater success. Here is how you can do it, too.
UNDERSTAND YOUR OPPORTUNITY
Every time you stand before an audience, anything is possible. You’ve spent a lot of time and energy building your team of sales people. You know what they are capable of. Have confidence in their abilities to meet and exceed their goals. Dream big.
A WINNING VISION
The most successful sales forces are the ones who are unified behind a clear and resonant vision. In short, they need to believe that they can win. Years of executive speech consulting confirms that painting a verbal picture of the emotional reward of the “win” can instantly ignite a sales team’s motivation. What does winning look like to them? What are the tangible benefits that will improve their lives or the lives of their loved ones? What does it feel like to win in your organization?
MAKE AN EMOTIONAL CONNECTION
Great sales people love to sell. They sell because of the experience, not simply for the commissions. When sharing your vision with your team, one way to make a deep impact is to tap into your sales people’s competitive nature. It’s part of what drives them to success. For most sales people, their motivation extends beyond numbers and commissions; the reward is the sales process itself. Make sure to connect with it.
MOTIVATION: ENGAGEMENT + EMPOWERMENT
Now that you’ve engaged your team and shared with them your vision, your next move is crucial. You must empower your team to act. Prioritization is key. Clearly articulate the specific steps your team should take, in which order the steps should be taken and how their success will be measured. Give them the knowledge to execute effectively.
When you have established clear priorities, your sales team can then move freely within those parameters, doing what they do best: sharing their enthusiasm about your company’s products and services with your customers.
Here are a few more tips for motivating your sales force:
- Understand your sales team’s perspective. What do they value? What are their challenges? What are their strengths?
- Let them know you are committed to their success.
- And, most important, be authentic, open and honest.
A key take away of my executive speech consulting is this: Belief drives behavior and emotions drive belief. In order to truly motivate your sales team, you must create an emotional connection between them and your vision, then truly empower your team to act with confidence.
What are the techniques you use to motivate your sales force?