Seven Key Behaviors Every Motivation Leader Should Have

Seven Key Behaviors of Motivation Leaders

Every top-grade sales team needs to have a motivation leader to drive them toward success. Without the proper leadership, salespeople can easily lose their way and become distracted. Fostering proper leadership behaviors in your team helps them step up in a motivated leadership position.

Leadership and motivation go hand in hand. Leaders must motivate their teams while also staying motivated to perform themselves. Here, we will cover the key behaviors motivation leaders should engage in. 

Why is Motivation Important?

Human performance has peaks and valleys. Sometimes salespeople can keep themselves functioning at a peak level for some time. However, nearly everyone experiences a low point at some time. As new hires become comfortable, they often lose a bit of their original motivation. Motivation also wanes whenever a sales representative experiences too many failures too quickly.

That is why all sales environments need consistent motivation from strong leaders. Good leaders can implement some sort of motivational exercise any day of the week. Motivation reignites the flame inside every sales representative.

When a salesperson feels overwhelmed or discouraged, the right motivation can get him or her back into gear. Motivated salespeople feel invincible, and they carry that confidence into the field when interacting with potential customers. A confident salesperson closes more deals, furthering the results of the proper motivation.

Leader vs Manager: Does a Good Manager Automatically Make a Good Leader?

No matter the organization or industry, a strong chain of leadership allows the business to function smoothly. Leaders and managers set goals, share knowledge and inspire their associates to reach as high as they can. 

Many organizations let the role of manager and leader rest with the same individuals. However, not all managers make good leaders and not all leaders make good managers. Each of them has an important role in an organization and must have the respect of their constituents to fulfill their functions. But, that does not mean that leaders and managers have the same exact skill sets.

A business’ owners usually appoint managers in an official fashion. Considered an occupation, management positions often come with a different set of responsibilities. This includes handling staff, organizing schedules, hiring new employees and enforcing regulations. Management skills include the ability to focus on a goal and bring it to fruition, handle employee needs and offer feedback. 

On the other hand, a leadership position may not have any specific status. Leaders get appointed in a more informal fashion, often by managers or other higher-ups. Sometimes team members will appoint a leader themselves. Leaders earn the respect of their co-workers through their actions.

A good leader needs the respect of their associates to hold that position. Some of their characteristics include:

• Honest and integrity: leaders have a strong moral balance and do the right thing.
• Ability to challenge and motivate: they push their employees to succeed and do their best. 
• Vision: leaders can see the bigger picture and can take the right steps to accomplish goals. 
• Inspiration: they lead by example and inspire co-workers to achieve greater things.
• Communication skills: a leader needs to share tips and tricks, offer constructive criticism and deliver compliments in a straightforward and easy-to-understand manner.  

Many sales leaders perform the same tasks as their co-workers, with the addition of motivating and instructing the team. 

Some of the best sales managers start out as sales leaders before earning a promotion. While not a requirement, a good manager often has good leadership skills as well. Managers and leaders should work together toward a common goal, each applying their unique skills. 

A strong chain of command can make a good sales team into a great one. Team motivation is one of the top priorities for leaders to instill. 

7 Daily Leadership Behaviors That Inspire Your Sales Team

Work motivation takes such an important role for sales leaders that they sometimes become motivation leaders entirely focused on that aim. No matter the organization’s style or industry, these motivating behaviors help deliver the results a business needs. 

Here are seven daily leadership behaviors that your leaders can use to inspire your sales team.

Daily Communication Between Leaders and Their Team

Sometimes the most important actions are the simplest to complete. Something so simple as a daily conversation or meeting goes a long way toward building a sense of group cohesion. Instead of merely letting all sales representatives go about their business in isolation, good leaders communicate every day. 

Communication’s primary goal revolves around establishing and maintaining goals. Leaders and managers need to make sure all sales representatives know what they need to accomplish that day. Without these goal affirmations, salespeople can lose focus and motivation. As those goals change, the sooner salespeople know about these shifts the sooner they can get back on track.

Group cohesion works as a motivation factor on its own. When salespeople feel connected to their organization, they put their best foot forward. Additionally, sales leaders can take the time to ask their teams whether they need help and offer constructive feedback. When a leader knows the status of their team, they can better guide it towards success. 

Daily communication efforts help expose any dips in morale. Instead of letting salespeople lose interest and stagnate, a communication-based organization keeps morale high, and high morale correlates with higher profits.

Spread Optimism

A good sales leader needs to walk with his or her head held high no matter the circumstances. This strong feeling of hope makes even the most dire of situations feel a little less extreme. A can-do attitude is often all it takes to accomplish a difficult task. 

Optimism and pessimism alike are incredibly contagious, especially from the more respected members of a team, these moods spread quickly. Leaders, as the most respected members of any team, need to remain as optimistic as they can. This way their co-workers never feel overwhelmed and instead, they feel powerful in the face of hardship.

Positivity spreads mostly just through its presence. Still, a strong leader can take extra steps to make a positive attitude the standard. Daily reminders that the task is not as unattainable as it seems and a positive remark do a lot of the heavy lifting.

Spreading optimism does not mean ignoring the gravity of the situation. Instead, it means acknowledging it and declaring that the team’s best efforts can overcome it.

Sharing the Vision

Leaders earn their status through their ability to see the big picture. Focusing on the vision allows them to push forward and reach the right goals when it counts. The “vision” not only includes the desired goal but the steps needed to reach it. Sales leaders often have the barely perceptible ability to find the right ways to achieve this vision.

Therefore, leaders must share this vision and its components with their sales teams. Since they can see it better than most, they have a responsibility to reveal it. When a sales team knows the right steps they need to take in order to reach the goal it will no longer feel so far away.

Too often does a group’s leadership and management fail to share the vision down the chain of command. This results in a feeling of isolation among team members. When a team cannot visualize the steps needed to accomplish a task, they quickly lose motivation.

Going over the steps needed to reach the goal and how they contribute to that aim will raise any team’s spirits. 

Building Relationships

Team leaders must do their best to make each and every member of the team feel connected and appreciated. This pushes the team to do their best to reach the team’s goals. Leaders can build this sense of community by building relationships with all members of a team. This means taking the time to share details about each other’s personal and professional lives.

A team with a strong connection to their leader responds to criticism better and always tries to do their best. Too often do teams view their leaders and managers as tyrants instead of role models and leaders. Building relationships helps keep any feelings of animosity at bay. 

Leaders can build relationships every single day. They can tell jokes, set up a fun activity or just share some personal stories. All of these activities humanize the leader. This goes to show that anyone can achieve the success a leader often experiences. 

Plus, a good relationship makes it easier for sales representatives to ask for assistance. While leaders must always stay professional, they can do something every day to connect with their teams. 

Sometimes a little get-together outside of work might be just what it takes to build a strong relationship. 

Create Purpose-Driven Goals

Financial compensation might motivate a team under certain circumstances. But real and lasting motivation needs to come from a sense of purpose. Instead of coming in for a paycheck, salespeople need to come in every day driven to make a positive change. 

When a group of employees comes in only for the paycheck, they soon become disillusioned with their work. They quickly realize that they can make a paycheck anywhere and lose focus. Leaders need to share the idea that their products or services make a difference in the lives of their customers. Or, in some cases, the thrill of the chase offers sufficient motivation by itself. 

When a leader builds a strong sense of community, success and working towards the goals of the company is its own reward. This means that the organization will remain intact and ensures the preservation of that community.

Recognize Success

A little bit of appreciation and recognition goes a long way. Whenever a leader compliments a team member’s success, it acts as positive reinforcement. An employee recognized for an achievement will strive to repeat their success for additional recognition. 

Leaders should recognize success both publicly and privately. During daily meetings, leaders can tell the rest of the team about a specific member’s accomplishments. They can let the individual discuss their success and how they earned it as a learning exercise. Leaders also need to congratulate success as it occurs to demonstrate the true value of the achievement.

With permission from management and other commanding voices, leaders can also offer rewards. Rewards can take the form of financial bonuses, additional time off or any special privilege deemed appropriate. These rewards help sweeten success to give anyone who needs it that extra bit of motivation.

Nourish the Team

First and foremost, a sales leader needs to take the appropriate steps to help their team achieve success. This means providing the right tools and eliminating as many obstacles as they can. A team leader who works in service of their team earns the team’s respect and best efforts. 

Too often do employees feel overlooked and underequipped. When a leader gives their team everything they need to succeed, they remove any and all excuses. 

Leaders should listen carefully and attentively to the requests, ventings and comments from their team. They cannot solve every single problem, but can at least attempt to and explain why they cannot when necessary. 

Conclusion

Motivation leaders keep their teams geared for and moving toward success. Without a little bit of course correction from motivating leadership, too often do sales teams lose their way. Developing your own motivation leaders for your sales organization does not have to overwhelm you. With the right consultation from Selling Revolution, you can learn all the tricks on how to motivate employees. 

From increasing leads to refining the sales process, Selling Revolution helps your organization deliver results. Schedule a no-obligation introductory call today and start your journey to keep your sales team motivated for success.