Edward called me. He was done. And not just a little bit either. Whatever he did as a manager, the commercial results of his sales force lagged behind. Turnover was even slightly behind that of 2016 despite the introduction of a number of seriously good new propositions.
In periods when the economy is flourishing, the impact is even greater than in times of headwinds. “Because how is it possible that you hear hosanna stories about growth all around you, but the wind of success blows completely past us?” Together we discussed possible causes of the disappointing figures. Is there a new competitor? Lost a major customer? Unexpected market developments? It wasn't. Then what?

'It's my team. They're just not motivated. The sharpness is gone, they miss the real desire. They do not actively acquire, show procrastination, drink too much coffee with existing clients and are too reluctant to take that extra step if necessary.' Luckily for Edward, he's not the only one struggling with this. Sales motivation is quite a cyclical phenomenon.

It often happens that people like Edward (sales managers, sales leaders and management) attribute the symptoms described to a lack of motivation. Understandable, but the question is whether it is correct. In practice, these types of phenomena often appear to have other causes. It often involves a combination of things such as:

• Sales professionals have no personal professional goal and struggle with the question: why did you choose the sales profession?
• They want to become better and more successful, but are not prepared to do everything for that;
• They do not have a clear, well-defined sales process, which makes it virtually impossible to improve in a targeted manner;
• They have limiting beliefs about themselves, the organization, the product or service, the price and the competition;
• They don't have the necessary skills to be successful in sales;
• They find it especially important to be liked and therefore avoid confrontations, while these are often necessary in a sales process;
• They blame external circumstances for disappointing results, even when that is not realistic.

In addition to these seven points, there is another important cause: lack of good guidance and coaching. And that is a missed opportunity. Because if, as a manager, you don't know what motivates someone intrinsically or extrinsically, you also don't know how to motivate someone. 'Lack of motivation' is then a tempting catch-all concept. And of course there are countless ideas to cheer people up. Inspiration sessions, boot camps, training, color tests, bonus plans or incentives are thrown in, but the result is almost always disappointing. As a result, the downward spiral spirals even further downwards: “This isn't helping either!”. Well. But let's be honest: if you don't know the cause of a problem, how can you solve it sustainably?

So you have to look for that cause. Because only then can you determine which approach is effective. Therefore, start a conversation with sales people. Ask them about their motivations and their definition of success. What is success to them? And why exactly that? Inquire how they view their own responsibility and what they expect from colleagues and managers. Talk to them about the market, customers, the sales process. What does she notice? Where are opportunities, what are threats? What is the main reason they bring in customers? And what is the main cause of lost deals? What do they think the competition is better at? And what are they proud of? There are countless topics and themes that can give you, as a sales manager or director, a better, more complete and often even surprising picture of sales people and their practice. And if you do something with that, it is also highly motivating!

Edward experienced that too. The conversations were sometimes confrontational and felt a bit awkward. Its preparation also took quite some time. The biggest benefit was mutual understanding and appreciation. And not to forget a number of surprising ideas and actions that the sales team immediately started working on. Edward has now noticed that the investment in his 'salesmen conversations' yields both hard and soft returns. And that it is important to keep doing it. Because Edward knows all too well that you are never finished in sales.