Tag Archives: Motivation

MOTIVATION, DRIVE AND A BOAT

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When I was younger with a new family, we tried out something new … a boat. We didn’t go for a small boat, we went for medium sized 28’ boat that you could sleep on. A nice Sea Ray with a significant price tag. In the end, we did it for a couple years and then made a family decision that we enjoyed golf and a nice pool more. But it was a great experience.

What has that got to do with drive and motivation? I was on the phone with my sales manager on the Monday after picking up the boat and he was very excited for me. I found it odd, as he was never the ‘interested in your personal life’ kind of manager. I voiced my question:

Me: “Why are you so excited about our buying a boat?”

Him: “I love to see you with a big new boat, hopefully you will upsize the house too. The bigger your mortgage, the harder you will work and the more you will sell”

Motivation, drive, that thing that pushes us to the next level is impossible to teach, very different for each person and often very personal. Good managers understand that and help it flourish. They also understand how to avoid hiring those without it.

MOTIVATION

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I was in a course last week and the speaker stated that a sales manager is not able to motivate. Motivation comes from within and you cannot change that. If it exists, you can feed it (i.e. motivated by recognition, provide recognition), but not create it.

It is an interesting thought, and upon reflection, seems true. Someone can get me to do something, but it is my own internal drive and goals that pushes me to get things done.

The speaker followed up with the statement that a sales manager can only de-motivate. The two easiest ways to demotivate a sales rep:

1.   Pile on a good rep. Give them too high a quota or too much work.

2.   Tolerating the low performer. A proven way to demotivate the entire team.

So true.

MOTIVATION ADVICE. (from the archive)

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An executive gave me a great piece of advice the other day, and I think this applies to sales managers and to sales people (actually – employees in general):

When he first started into management – his biggest shock was that not everyone is motivated in the same way. He was motivated by wanting to move up and to take on bigger challenges. But many of his people, who were solid performers, did not want the same thing. Many of his people were happy with their life the way it was, they did not need a promotion, they did not need a change in job role or a big challenging project – they were happy. What motivates people is often different – some people want to climb the corporate ladder, some people are motivated by money, others by family, charity, church and their life outside the office. And that is alright.

Diversity should be cherished. To be effective in sales or management, I believe that you really need to understand what motivates people, and understanding that everyone is different should always be at the forefront of one’s mind.

TONY ROBBINS: GURU

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I had a friend tell me a funny story. He was interviewing sales people and asked one lad: “What is the best sales course you have ever taken?”

The response:  Tony Robbins. End of interview.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I think he is great. But he does not teach sales, he teaches personal motivation. What that interviewee did not realize was that … he was being sold.

Quick fact: Did you know that Tony Robbins owns many of these $14,000 USD exercise machines because he is a time maximization guru. Yes, for only $14,000 you too can stay fit in only 4 minutes per day!

http://www.fastexercise.com/

Like this 4 minutes work out – people believe that motivation is something that can be quickly fixed – the 4 minute motivator – and in my experience, that is not the case. Most people come out of these events pumped, and for a short period change until their situation brings them back down and they settle into old habits.

For me, motivation ebbs and flows, that is normal. But when it is ebbing more than flowing, I don’t look to a guru – I look at myself and say what is going on. I heard this the other day and believe that it is something we should all ask ourselves:

Do you get up in the morning excited about going to work? And when work is done, do you go home excited to be getting home?

Something to ponder.