Every sales manager is looking for better team motivation. The immature managers will give the ever-familiar “more” strategy. Offering no assistance, no insight, just a demand for “more”. The mature sales manager will seek incentives or offer insights and assistance in working as a team toward a winning goal. The issue here is the sales manager is siloed to their team. “We are all in this together” and “it’s us against the world” are where this normally leaves these managers when they want to find a way to gain greater progress. This is why Self-determination Theory is a better motivation strategy for sales managers.
Autonomy
It begins with Autonomy. First, how much control do you give the reps over their decisions? When people feel in charge of what decisions they can make, this feels empowering to them. They feel more in control of what power they have to influence what happens in their life. People want the freedom to make decisions. Imagine how you feel when your decision capability is limited. Second, how much control do you give them over their calendar? I know some meetings have to happen. Do you keep this consistent and allow your team to make decisions around how they spend the rest of their time? If you don’t trust your reps to make these decisions, you either have the wrong team members, or you haven’t learned to trust and empower. Either way, this is a great learning moment for you as a sales manager. People want options and empowerment of their time. If you need to coach time efficiency with your people, do it immediately, so you can allow them the Autonomy they need to run their day.
Competence
After we all first learn a skill, our progress in this skill (like sales) becomes incremental. Think of something you have been doing for a long time, like driving. You are probably getting better at driving every day. But it is difficult for you to see any improvement you might be making because what has changed is slight. The same thing is happening to your sales reps. To show Competence to an adult, you have to find things (KPIs) that you can objectively measure. Then you have to track this information and then you have to share it with your rep. This will show them that not only have they improved in an area, but that you see the improvement. What better feedback can you give to someone? Imagine if your rep believes they have been crushing objections from prospects in the last year. But they have nothing to base it on. Then you walk up and hand them a document showing they have improved on objection handling because of tracking KPI. They will feel seen. Both of you KNOWING where improvements have come, allows for more trusted coaching conversations.
Relatedness
So far, the two items I have covered in Self-determination Theory are about individuals on your team. Now, we need to think bigger when we talk about “team”. The best examples I can give are around sports teams. Think of a basketball team. Typically, no bigger than 12 players, usually dominated by 5 starters for playing time. Then you have coaches, equipment managers, and trainers. By comparison, this should equate to your “team”. Sales reps, managers, sales support, etc. But now is the critical part of Self-determination Theory, making your team bigger. When you think of that basketball team I described, they don’t play alone. They have parents, fans, the band, teachers, school administrators, cheerleaders, etc. It goes on and on. When a coach can create a bigger following, the team will almost always perform better. As a sales manager, you aren’t trying to get people to come to the game. You are trying to create a goal/strategy that applies to more than just your team. And then make the word “team” apply to more people in and outside your organization. This can include finance, operations, accounting, customer service, project management, upper management, and even corporate headquarters. Even if your goal/strategy is more geographic, can you get these others involved to cheer your team on? Everyone wants to be a part of a winning team. Getting a bigger “fan” base can increase your team’s motivation. I have seen reps who were labeled as “selfish” do the most unselfish things because they want to help the “team” win. Relatedness is the most powerful part of Self-determination Theory. Spend time on your goals/strategy to find ways to grow your “team”.
Based on what you know about Self-determination Theory, what changes can you make starting today to help your team be more successful?