Keeping Sales Motivated in Hard Times

I participated in a good LinkedIn Q&A last week with 1to1′s Elizabeth Glagowski that resulted in this article on keeping sales people engaged during hard times.  Her original question was: How do you keep salespeople motivated in this economy, when clients are increasingly saying no?

I answered:

“In the past few months, discretionary budgets have decreased or are frozen; whereas just six months ago, buyers may have had a bit more appetite for risk. The sales manager needs to reflect on the types of messaging and approaches that are going to work in this economy — e.g., with a decreased budget, discounting and promotional tactics are unlikely to work. Buyers are simply not going to buy if there is not a rock solid rationale for the business case and for making the purchase *right* now. The sales manager needs to look for ways to create that urgency and to articulate the value proposition for buyer’s unique situation — than educate the team on the new approach. I agree with Jeremy, the manager has to help the sales person dig deep and stay motivated — but digging deep into the same tool bag may not help them sell any more. Helping the sales person find a way to be successful in this environment is going to be the ultimate motivator.”

The question is now closed on LinkedIn, but I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts. If you have anything to add to the conversation, please leave a comment on Liz’s blog.