The document outlines 3 strategies for motivating sales teams: prepare, debrief, and energize. To prepare, leaders should provide constructive feedback and critique to help reps improve. For debriefing, leaders should ask reps about next steps, what they learned about prospects, and how they can improve. To energize the team, leaders should create a dynamic sales culture with clear goals, effective tools, and ways to track performance. Using these three strategies can help motivate teams and translate to better results.

1. The 3 Strategies of Highly Effective Sales
Motivators:
Prepare, Debrief, and Energize

2. How do smart sales leaders motivate themselves and
others? How do you motivate yourself or your team?
“Get to work!”

3. It takes more than just a positive attitude to generate
better sales results. A positive attitude will help you do
your best based on what you already know.
FACT
“Today we’re going to sell more stuff!”
“Uh… okay. How?

4. Effective sales motivators use proven strategies to create
momentum and energy that translate to better team
performance and more leads, appointments, and sales.
FACT

5. Smarter Feedback → Better Preparation
PREPARE

6. GOAL:
METHOD:
WHY IT’S
IMPORTANT:
Prepare more effectively for sales calls.
In your role play / practice, use critique and
feedback strategies proven to reinforce best
practices and lead to better results.
If you take an overly negative approach to
critique and feedback, you’ll cause your reps to
tune out, and actually reduce the motivation to
succeed. Instead, focus on the positive, and
offer feedback designed to improve
performance and results.

7. THE 6:1 RULE of POSITIVE FEEDBACK
Positive reinforcement resonates more than negative criticism, and can make
feedback more successful. A 2004 study found that the highest performing sales teams
offered each other almost 6 times as many positive comments as negative ones:

8. THE 2-WAY FEEDBACK FREEWAY
Motivating your team isn’t just about giving the right kind of feedback—it’s also
about knowing how to receive feedback. Use these 3 tips to ensure your feedback
is heard, absorbed, and translated into results.
ASK FOR JUST ONE THING
Actively solicit feedback—when you
ask for it, you’ll be more open to
what you hear. And the more
specific the request, the more
useful the feedback will be.
SEPARATE WHAT FROM WHO
Your reaction to feedback can
change depending on who’s giving
it. Be objective—focus on the
content, rather than the source, of
the feedback.
UNPACK THE FEEDBACK
Often, feedback is generic and/or
vague. Don’t assume the worst;
analyze what the feedback really
means before you react, and ask for
clarification.

9. While feedback should be mostly positive, you shouldn’t be
afraid to criticize. Sales reps want negative feedback, too.
A 2014 study found that “when senior HR executives were
asked about their biggest performance management challenge,
63% cited managers’ inability or unwillingness to have difficult
feedback discussions.”
Wise Guys Tip

10. Smarter Debrief → Faster
Improvement (and Better Results)
DEBRIEF

11. GOAL:
METHOD:
WHY IT’S
IMPORTANT:
After a sales call, develop an effective
follow-up plan, and prepare for your next call.
Use a debrief strategy that focuses on your
prospect’s needs, and examines your rep’s
real-world performance.
Poor follow-up is a major factor in losing out
on promising prospects. Regular debrief
sessions can lead to a higher success rate. In
addition, every sales call is an opportunity to
improve. Take advantage of it.

12. THE PERFECT 3-QUESTION DEBRIEF
What are the next steps?
What did you learn about
your prospect?
What did you do well, and
what could you do better?
How you follow up after a sales call can mean the difference between a
sale and a lost opportunity. Ask about next steps at the beginning of
the debrief, to reinforce their importance and make a plan.
The best sales calls are focused on your prospect, not
your product. Ask your reps what they learned. If they
did their job, they’ll have plenty to say.
Use every sales call as an opportunity to encourage self-critique. An
honest evaluation of a real-world scenario—while it’s still fresh in your
rep’s mind—can lead to tangible improvements the next time out.

13. Pay attention to how you and your reps describe
your sales calls.
If they begin a lot of sentences with the words “I
said,” that’s a sign that they’re spending too much
time talking and not enough time listening.
Wise Guys Tip

14. Dynamic Environment → Energized,
Successful Reps
ENERGIZE

15. GOAL:
METHOD:
WHY IT’S
IMPORTANT:
Set your team up to succeed
A sales culture that provides explicit goals,
effective tools, and mechanisms for improved
performance.
It’s not enough to have a sales culture based on
“selling more stuff.” When sales reps have
specific goals and a clear path for achieving
them, they’re much more likely to be
motivated and equipped to succeed. And that,
in turn, leads to “selling more stuff.”

16. WHAT MAKES A SALES CULTURE DYNAMIC?
Rituals & Processes
How do you connect with
prospects? Generate
leads? Land clients? Find
what works, then
replicate and refine.
Tools & Technology
High-quality tools
(databases, CRMs)
enhance your ability to
generate new business,
and demonstrate a
commitment to success.
Language &
Communication
Verbiage that’s unique to
your team and ongoing
communication reinforce
your process and engage
everyone in its success.
Social Structure
Managers who also sell
and high commission
rates for reps engender
mutual respect and pride
in the craft of sales.

17. WHAT’S YOUR SALES CULTURE SCORE?
Want to see how your sales culture measures up? Take a few
minutes to find out whether your culture sets your team up for
success with the Business Wise Sales Culture Test!
START TEST!

18. Regular sales meetings are a great way to reinforce your
sales process.
Have each sales rep review their bests and worsts from the
past week. You’ll generate dialogue about what’s working,
what isn’t, and how to constantly refine and improve.
Wise Guys Tip

19. The 3 Strategies of Highly Effective Sales
Motivators:
Prepare, Debrief, and Energize

20. INSIDERS

21. © Business Wise Inc. 2016
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