You Must Be Responsible for Your Own Motivation When Working in Sales
Far too many salespeople turn to their boss or company for their personal motivation to be successful in sales. This is a huge mistake, as salespeople need to be responsible for their own motivation if they want to become successful.
You might have had a sales manager or boss that was an excellent motivator in your past or you might even have one in the present. While there is nothing wrong this, you can never count on it or expect it from your management team. Just like your success, you must own and be responsible for keeping yourself motivated.
A lack of motivation is usually the result of not having goals. If you have been planning goals for your sales career and still find yourself not having the proper motivation, chances are that your goals are either too obtainable or they are not very realistic within the timeframe you have given them. Perhaps it is time that you access your current goals and put some time aside for goal setting.
Having a career in sales is a difficult. Anybody who has worked in sales capacity knows that very well. Even the most optimistic and successful salespeople wake up to days where it is hard for them to get motivated. But make no mistake; these same sales superstars understand that their motivation is their own responsibility.
Putting your own success, motivation, or happiness in the hands of others is always a bad idea. It is like the voter who relies on a politician to bring them economic prosperity within his or her term. It could be the husband or wife who relies completely on their partner to make them happy. In the real world it just doesn’t happen, that same voter, husband, or wife will always be disappointed with the results, if there are any to speak of in the first place. When we decide to own responsibility for ourselves, we take action. And action will eventually lead to the success we are on the path to finding.
Will, your words are wise. What has always been interesting to me is that salespeople tend to underachieve because they don’t think they are capable of higher financial plateaus. Case in point. A little over ayear ago I met with an individual who was looking for another opportunity. I asked him what he wanted to make and he said, “I’d be happy with 60K”. Gulp! Our conversation was short lived. Salespeople need to have realistic and far reaching goals and they have to be accountable to someone for those goals. In my opinion almost anything is possible.
Tom,
You are exactly right. So many salespeople will see a certain dollar figure attached to their name as far as what they think they are worth. In the meantime, they end up missing out on opportunities because they simply don’t believe in themselves.
Thanks for the comment,
Will Fultz
I agree that we are responsible to motivate ourselves and to stay optimistic in sales, which is not always an easy task. I found an adaptable new tool that has proved effective. It’s everything we look for; it’s alluring, it’s seductive, it’s persuasive. Check it out at http://www.mlmflyer.com. I hope your results are as good as mine.
Will,
While I agree sales people are ultimately responsible for their own success, I do believe sales managers or sales coaches can play a significant role in creating a positive selling environment. Think about it. Let’s use an NFL football coach as an example. If the coach does not produce a winning team, then he is fired. Plain and simple.
Where does a salesperson find the motivation? The obvious answer is from within. However, top NFL coaches know how to turn underachieving teams into Super Bowl champions and in some cases, turn underachieving players into top performers. Think about that. Great post Will. Keep giving readers great value. I like that. All the best!