David Ramos
When Michael Jordan came out of retirement for the second time, he said he needed the competition — the chance to prove himself against younger players — more than the money. I know what you are saying, “Anyone can say that who earned 25 million a season.” That said, many successful businesspeople who could afford to retire keep on working. Warren Buffett still picks stocks. Mike Bloomberg decided that financial news and data wasn’t enough, so philanthropy to Johns Hopkins University and becoming Mayor of New York would help make him more rounded and give back to a community.
My point is this, successful people find fulfillment in the work itself and not just the money they earn. That doesn’t mean they would work for free, but they do get more from work than a large payday. They bring a different level of intensity to their work because of their motivations.
The late psychologist Frederick Herzberg wrote, “The manager’s job is not to motivate people to become successful. It is to get them to become successful so they become motivated.”
How about you? Is your motivation to hit quota an incentive trip or a contest or simply the work itself? Neither? Both?
Fifth grade flashback
Walking home from the fifth grade my best friend Jason told me that he was going to be $50 richer that evening.
“My Dad gives me 10 dollars for every A I get on my report card,” he said.
That night when my mother came home from work I told her that I thought it would be a good idea to pay me for my good grades.
“Son, you go to school to learn. The A is the reward. It indicates that you’ve learned something. Someday you’ll go to work and earn money by applying your knowledge. But for now, enjoy learning for its own sake,” she said.
I thought she told me this because she was cheap. Today, I know she taught me a valuable lesson on learning and on continuing education as a lifestyle.
Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation
Giving people money to do what they should be doing anyway is called extrinsic motivation. Many sales managers believe by offering salespeople bonuses they can drive behavior. Make your quota and get a 60-inch flat-screen TV. Sell a million dollars worth of product and win a trip to Aruba or Cancun. Right now someone is trying to invent the next big-sales incentive program and sell it to sales managers to motivate their sales teams. How often have I heard “Compensation drives behavior!”
My answer to that statement is, yes and no. My experience has taught me that compensation only drives behavior to sell a mix of products or services. However, it doesn’t drive motivated behavior across an entire sales force. If the statement about compensation driving behavior true, my thought then would be that everyone would be at quota. Right?
You may, however, have noticed that there is a tremendous amount of satisfaction when you close a sale. You have achieved an objective and you feel good about it. That’s intrinsic motivation — finding joy in the work itself. Yes you get paid, sometimes very well (nobody does it for free), but you are deriving satisfaction from the work, not the paycheck.
There is one other thing that can increase your motivation to sell more and that is a happy customer. When you satisfy a customer by solving his problem you will be more passionate about your product, service, and company. You internalize your value proposition when you reach that level of passion.
You make a sale, earn a commission and create a happy customer. The new, happy customer will help you approach a fresh prospect with more confidence to make another sale. You earn more money and create another happy customer. You are now more successful and, therefore, more motivated than you were yesterday.
There are three vibes that successful salespeople give off to customers:
1. I like to be here.
2. I know what I’m talking about.
3. I love what I’m doing, selling.
At this point, you may not love your sales career and there may be parts of selling that you simply tolerate. Until you become motivated by the work itself managers will keep trying to manipulate you with extrinsic motivators. They’ll keep dangling the carrot, and maybe you’ll keep chasing it, maybe you won’t.
H. Ross Perot tells us that “Most people don’t know why they come to work until they don’t have to come to work anymore.” Many people believe that work is punishment for not being born rich. Another view is that work is a way to structure your life and be of service to others. Before you go back to work Monday morning jot down five reasons why you’re returning to work besides the money — five good things you get from work besides a paycheck.
Now you are starting to focus on the intrinsic motivators. And salespeople who are intrinsically motivated are more fulfilled and financially successful than extrinsically motivated salespeople.
That being said, if you happen to win a big 60-inch flat-screen TV or trips to Aruba or Cancun along the way enjoy!
About the author: David Ramos is sales operations consultant for Strategy Development, an industry management consulting and advance sales training firm providing sales, service & MPS information, including workshops for the BTA as well as a MPS Sales eLearning program with InfoTrends. He also instructs a selling skills workshop called “Sell With Success”. You can reach him at www.strategydevelopment.com or ramos@strategydevelopment.com.
