At a time when sales are so important to companies, having an effective sales team has never been more vital. No one team is perfect, but it will only be as strong as its weakest member. If you would like to see an increase in your sales, there are specific steps that you can take to improve sales performance and motivate your team more effectively.

Sales Force Motivation: 5 Steps

Step 1 – Find the Strengths of Each Member. Your sales management staff should be able to assist you in determining the strengths and weaknesses of each individual team member. If you manage them on your own, you should already have a pretty good idea of what they can and cannot do. Take the time to study their past performance and put together a graph that shows how well they are doing. Having it in front of you in black and white makes a big difference.

Step 2 – Pick a Sales Goal. Before you start sales motivation, it is important to take a look at what you hope to accomplish. Your business is about more than just closing deals and if you are looking to create long term relationships with your clients, or if you need to see a specific amount of sales, this will need to be worked into your overall goal. Once you have an idea of what your team will be striving for, it will be easier to divide up the work.

Step 3 – Find Their Motivation. Unfortunately, motivating an entire team is not a one size fits all solution. Some may be motivated by monetary gains, while others would rather work towards another tangible goal. The key is having something tangible that has a high perceived value. No one wants to put in extra effort to win something that they could get elsewhere.

Step 4 – Set up a Timeline. In order to increase sales performance, you’re going to need to have a timeline and share this with your team. If the promotion will be ongoing and you don’t mind keeping up the incentives, then you can leave this open ended. However, most employees work best when they have a specific goal to meet and a specific time in which to do it.

Step 5 – Provide Individual Help. Some team members may need additional guidance and support in order to perform at their peak level. Have your sales management staff monitor team members to see if anyone is having difficulty meeting their goals. The sooner this issue is tackled, the less likely you will be to have to either fire a team member or have them quit. Since it’s easier to work with existing sales staff than train someone new, this is a great technique to utilize.

Sales motivation can be fun when your whole organization is working together towards a common goal. It helps increase employee morale and the benefits your organization can reap are numerous and more than just increased sales. If your company is struggling to make it in today’s tough economy, consider implementing these strategies.