How to Motivate Different Types of Salespeople

How to Motivate Different Types of Salespeople



Every person in a sales team is different and therefore has
individual requirements. The different way they work and overcome
challenges can be very different. Research has identified a number of
the most popular personality types found in sales teams. You can enhance
your motivational skills by allocating them depending on their
personality type. Management courses therefore cover motivation as a
core subject area. By successfully classifying each member of the team,
it is much easier to match the right person to the right set of
customers. Maximize sales and classify!

The Practician

Likes sensibly standardized procedures and practical details.
Products and services that he puts together and sells will certainly be
useful to the purchaser.

Give him the means to organize his work optimally. Tell him exactly
what his sales figures, contribution to business and targets are. Do not
mess up his workflow.

The Introverted Sales person

He works assiduously, without causing any sensation and without
needing constant communication with new people. Instead, he acquires
product knowledge down to the last detail.

Try to avoid letting him get involved in problems. Instead provide
the tasks that he can use his personal strengths: excellent knowledge,
autonomy, and the ability to focus on a task. Whilst he requires praise,
this can be done in private. This person likes to know the detailed
background to projects that he takes on and respects this information
being delivered to him by his boss.

The Extrovert Salespeople

He has a lot of varied interests. His communication with those around
him is very lively and energetic. However this person gets bored with
long and detailed projects and like to be involved in numerous tasks and
activities all at once. He is not known for good detailed knowledge.

Avoid him with projects that are going to take a long time to
complete. Alternatively provide shorter and medium term activities where
he will be dealing with clients face to face are far better for these
people.

Express your appreciation or positive customer feedback to him in front of his colleagues sometimes as this is important to him.

Intuitive Salesperson

He is similar to the Extrovert. He likes change and the grand
gesture, not detail. He has a thirst for action, but cannot accept
standardized activities in sales. Make use of his creativity when
developing new sales strategies. Assign him to intellectually demanding
projects. Allow him to experiment and to see across the demarcation
lines.

Emotional Salesperson

He values a good working atmosphere and harmony in the team. He wants
to be useful to other people and has a pronounced sense of justice.
This person is ideally suited to a position in customer service or after
sales support. He is very good at managing customers that demand high
levels of personal contact and service.

Show him your esteem and support his work. When holding sales
competitions, give preference to team oriented models which do not
strain the atmosphere in his group.

The Rationalist The Thinker His decisions are based on pure facts, not on moods or feelings.

Like the Practician, he needs honest feedback about his level of
performance. He would like recognition to be according to objective,
intelligible criteria. Goals and objectives set for this type can be
challenging but must be attainable. This is an area that managers are
particularly interested in when attending management courses.

The Bureaucratic type of Salesperson

He gathers all the relevant facts together and pronounces his
judgment - black or white. Inflexibility is a virtue to him, he calls it
loyalty to one's principles.

He likes a manageable, well-ordered working environment. Keep
uncertainty, changes and unresolved problems away from him. He is
renowned for his 100% appropriate, flawless offers when requirements are
specified precisely.

Spontaneous type of Salesperson

He is spontaneous, flexible and has a healthy, realistic outlook. If
necessary, he will willingly also concern himself with details. Official
routine is a dead end for him.

Break up his routine with special tasks or extra duty assignments.
Remain accessible to him and distance him from official routine. Do not
impose any self-organization methods on him, they would just slow him
down.

Average Salespeople

He is not conspicuous and only displays ambition to a limited extent.
The status quo is the working norm for him. He earns rewards
principally because of his length of service with the company.

Make the working environment enjoyable and encourage a competitive spirit with the sales team.

The average salesperson is the ideal candidate for sales territories with constant targets, which seldom encounter any problems.

People respond much better in an environment that suits their working
style. Therefore by identifying the personality type, and meeting their
working requirements, you can maximize business performance through
high levels of sales team motivation. Motivation skills can also be
further developed by receiving training on management courses.



About the Author


Richard Stone (rstone@spearhead-training.co.uk) is a Director for Spearhead Training Limited that offers management courses programmes to improve business performance. You can see more ways to motivate a sales force at => http://www.spearhead-training.co.uk/FreeTrainingMaterials/articles-section.php