Stay Motivated: How Top Salespeople Keep Their Head in the Game

Stay Motivated: How Top Salespeople Keep Their Head in the Game

The same products, the same pitch – revisiting the same thing over and over can cause enthusiasm to wane, even for the most talented of sales professionals. Staving off the ever-present threat of burnout is tough, but not impossible – particularly when you have a few tips to fall back on. Abraham Thomas, Director, Sales & Marketing at Intrinsic Technology Group has the following four tips for sales people to stay motivated.

Don’t steer towards a rut

If your core product – say, for example, a digital printer, or VOiP phones – is well-built, you can count on pitching it for awhile. If the product remains a constant, make sure the rest of your routine varies to balance it. Get out of your comfort zone and work remotely away from the office or home (depending on your usual setup). If you typically contact clients through email, make it a point to interact with people face-to-face regularly, even if it’s only a cup of coffee at your favorite coffeehouse in the morning.

A little competition never hurts

Whether you initiate it on your own or make a suggestion to your management team, going head-to-head on goals can help team morale: digital printers sold, conversions to IT managed services made, or another meaningful metric depending on your field. Even if the prizes are as simple as a free lunch out or a place on a wall of fame, it gives a little “oomph” of incentive to keep moving through your sales goals. If you aren’t able to get your management team to buy into the concept, don’t be afraid to make some goals and rewards for yourself! For example, committing to buying that new watch you’ve had your eye on if this month’s sales are higher than your last.

Make a schedule, and stick to it

Sales hours can be erratic, particularly for salespeople working remotely or largely through digital means. That catch-as-catch-can approach can lead to feeling like your work isn’t important, or that crucial tasks can wait. Instead, determine which hours of the day will be spent on which to-do lists: catching up on email responses, returning phone calls, reaching out to new potential clients, and so on. This way, the day feels important from beginning to end, you can easily eliminate the temptation to procrastinate, and work won’t feel like a large, insurmountable pile of unspecified tasks to do.

Commit to bettering yourself

Your job shouldn’t be treated as a treadmill, something that you use for a certain amount of time and set aside at the end of the day. Instead, think of it as an ongoing race with an ever-moving finish line: sure, you could run your specified number of steps, but a little extra effort will keep closing the gap each day. Certifications, refresher courses, or even simply reading up on industry news on the regular will keep you reaching for something bigger and better than a simple paycheck. Conventions and meet-and-greets with your local chamber of commerce or business organizations will also help here: you’ll be making contacts and potentially stepping outside of your comfort zone, too.

The “hustle” can be difficult to maintain over a long tenure with a company, but it’s not impossible. All it takes is commitment to keeping things fresh and being conscious about your sales practices, particularly when you feel like you don’t want to. As a talented salesperson, you are capable of being your biggest asset or your biggest liability every day you work – which will you choose?