This is a guest post for Saleswings by Iain Ferreira, Content Marketing Manager at Achievers.
With a growing mountain of evidence pointing to the importance of maintaining an engaged workforce, there are few remaining excuses not to take action to increase engagement levels of your own sales team. Sales Managers and their teams face many challenges, including managing the sales process, hunting down qualified leads, and of course, closing deals. Even if there are some Sales tools & technologies that can facilitate the job, such as CRM (Salesforce, Pipedrive, etc.) or Saleswings lead scoring technology which lists leads that are sales-ready, sales managers still need top talents to succeed.
Sales competitions and competitive commission packages are great ways to incentivize salespeople, but maintaining a high level of effort from a sales team requires more than just offering adequate remuneration, or other traditional forms of motivation. More and more, rewards and recognition programs are being acknowledged as a key component of leading organizations’ total rewards packages. A platform that facilitates frequent, timely recognition, such as the one offered by Achievers, can help increase the engagement levels of a given sales team and keep top performers happy in the roles. Engaged employees are not only less likely to leave an organization they feel values their work, they will also put forth more discretionary effort for that organization.
Below are a few concrete reasons sales managers should bolster employee engagement within their organizations:
Why Encouraging Sales Upward Mobility Is Significant
Promoting from within can have a multiplying effect on your engagement efforts. First off, it shows that you recognize the positive impact current sales employees are having on business outcomes and that you are willing to delegate more responsibilities to the top performers in the company. This, in turn, instills confidence that the hardest working, top performing sales professionals will have opportunities to further their careers, creating a positive work environment that permeates the entire organization. If the sales team feel like their work is valued, they are more likely to go above and beyond to ensure the company’s continued success.
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Why You Should Compensate Sales Professionals Fairly
Money isn’t everything, but it remains the primary form of compensation and the yardstick opportunities are measured against. If you can’t pay market value for a top performer you should be prepared to lose them. And if you do, you can expect to pay above market value to backfill their position after the leave,  so why not pay someone who has already demonstrated desirable characteristics what they are actually worth? Furthermore, salary decisions should be based first and foremost on employee performance, not some esoteric measurement regarding cost of living or adherence to some seemingly arbitrary salary structure. If an employee knows that their salary can only be increased up to X% no matter how critical they have been to a company’s successes, they are less likely to give more than the minimum required effort.
Why Providing Constant Recognition is essential
Apart from remuneration, there are other ways to incentivize sales professionals, like the gift of time and recognition. Almost every psychological study confirms that when actions are rewarded with positive reinforcement, they are likely to be repeated. This well-known behavioral modification practice can be readily applied to the modern workplace. Today, it is easier than ever to ensure positive reinforcement in the workplace is timely and frequent. By investing in a single, scalable recognition and rewards platform, employers can ensure that individual accomplishments and business successes are broadcast company-wide, allowing key contributors to be recognized frequently, increasing engagement and reinforcing desired behaviors.
Why Establishing Company Culture is imperative
Compensation is likely the biggest factor job hunters consider when deciding to pursue a new opportunity, but after an offer letter is signed, what keeps a given employee excited to come to the office every day? Typically, those that play together, stay together so an investment in cultural activities can have a profound impact on employee engagement levels. A positive work culture not only increases engagement, but also fosters personal investment between colleagues, which in turn helps to reinforce important shared values such as teamwork and accountability. Having a positive company culture also enhances your employer brand, making it more enticing to top talent looking for a new place to land. Cultural activities have moved beyond the classic post-work happy hours; team-building activities can range from cooking classes, to treasure hunts, to bonfires at the beach. The trick is to be creative and inclusive when instituting cultural events.
Why Offering a Mentorship Program to Sales Professionals is important
A mentorship program is an easily instituted method that can help increase sales engagement at minimal cost to a company. Mentors can be an invaluable resource for colleagues experiencing difficulties in the workplace. From providing access to a wealth of institutional knowledge and professional experience, to advising on specific tasks and functions, mentorship programs tend to benefit all parties involved. Providing a mentorship program also signals to employees that the company encourages career development and opportunities for personal and professional growth. And when employees feel as though a company is invested in their growth, they are less likely to seek opportunities elsewhere and more likely to be invested in the company’s success.
While not all the ideas presented in this blog may be right for your company, the need for increased engagement is a concept that applies to all Sales Teams. Investing in a formal recognition program is a proven way to increase engagement, leading to higher productivity, reduced absenteeism and minimized turnover. It can also increase the likelihood of attracting top talent to your organization.
About the author:
Iain Ferreira is the Content Marketing Manager at Achievers. He lives in San Francisco.
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