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If you manage a sales team, it’s likely that most of your staff is commission-based. While that can create opportunities for your team to have unlimited earning potential, it also means that there will inevitably be slow times and hours of work will go unpaid. In this environment, it becomes a necessity to keep employees motivated and happy in order to increase sales, create a positive environment and allow staff to function to the best of their ability. Here are some common sales team challenges and tips for employers to help bring morale back up:
- Employee Turnover is High
Turnover is never a light topic to discuss. To friends and coworkers, seeing someone leave the workplace is never an enjoyable experience, especially if it is a regular occurrence. To limit turnover, don’t take on more employees than you need. Make sure the employees you have are getting enough work to stay afloat. Competition is healthy but if there are too many sharks, there won’t be enough fish for all of them. - Ebbs and Flows
During slow times, it’s easy for commission-based employees to get antsy and frustrated. To limit the anxiety:
i. Remind your employees of the successes they’ve had and that droughts come and go; tomorrow is a new day.
ii. Talk about individual successes and failures with each staff member. It’s important to note and recognize what your employees are doing well and what tactics are allowing them to succeed. The same goes for their failures – note what lost the sale and suggest tools to succeed next time. - Stagnant Environment
If your team is onsite, often a change of scenery is an easy fix to boost morale and make your staff smile. Though the building can’t be uprooted and moved to a new location, and vacations can’t be freely given out, there are some easy fixes to “spice” things up a little bit:
i. Add some flora to the environment. Though live plants are ideal for natural beauty and scents, there is a risk that an employee or customer may have allergies. Try fake plants, flowers and ferns to place around the workplace. A simple change in environment can brighten up the workplace and add some fair.
ii. Use a splash of color. Adding small accents of color to the building can really brighten the mood. The importance of color theory, when analyzed, offers a great deal of opportunity for improvements, change, and boost in morale. See Entrepreneur for more information on color in the workplace.
Consider these small tweaks to boost morale and watch your sales, service and the drive to succeed all increase to better benefit your company.
