Sales work involves frequent refusals, failures and frustration. It is therefore important for sales team managers to devote a large amount of time to encouraging the motivation and commitment of the members of their team. Managers should show their subordinates that success cannot exist without failure. A good sales assistant should expect success in all their activities, while being prepared for unavoidable failures.
Website www.management-issues.com gives the following practical recommendations to support the motivation of sales assistants:
“Good work” is not enough
Support of sales staff should be expressed in the most specific terms possible. Praise them for concrete successes and as frequently as possible.
Don’t set staff against one other
Competition between individual sales assistants does not work, and over the long-term tends to lead to conflicts or passive-aggressive behaviour. It’s therefore better to focus on building a team whose individual members help one another. You have enough competition from other companies.
Don’t ask ‘why’
Rather than wondering why something happened, try to focus on what can be changed. ‘What’ and ‘how’ are much better questions to ask than ‘why’. Don’t ask why a person didn’t buy your product, but what specifically stopped them from doing so.
Don’t forget humour
The shop environment, which is full of negativity and pressure, requires sales assistants to maintain a sense of humour. You should therefore try to create a fun atmosphere that your subordinates will look forward to working in.
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