Workbooks CRM Blog

Most sales staff are motivated by Money. (If they aren't you should reconsider their appointment!). 
 
So I'd actually suggest financial incentives work best in almost every instance. 
 
Some successful companies I know of create a significant annual prize (like a Ferrari) for the best sales person for the year.

Money is important but not enough on it's own. I have seen poorly performing sales teams with great commission structures. 
 
The two biggest factors to me are 1) set fair and reasonable targets that are achievable but challenging 2) create an elite culture - where excellence is expected and rewarded. 
 
Most sales people (and I speak as one for over 25 years) are prima donnas at heart and love to be recognised as special!! 

Making the sales environment fun and dynamic is the key to successful selling. Money is important but it is a by product of successful selling.  
 
Basically if your sales person / team don't enjoy their jobs or their working environment you will generate poor sales.  
 
So the keys for me are:  
 
1) As above set fair and reasonable tartgets that are acheivable, but challenging.  
 
2) As above again create a culture where excellence is expected & awarded.  
 
3) Make sure the team is lead by a respected and dynamic leader someone everyone will look up to and want to emulate. (Worked into many places where the sales manager doesn't have a clue what he is doing and is uninspiring) 
 
4) Make the sales environment fun and dynamic. Inspire the sales people and you will be rewarded.  
 
Sales if often the area where everyone thinks they can do the job of selling. But good sales people are like gold dust and 99.9% of people cannot sell to save their lives.

My teams have been motivated by the high performance of entrepreneurs I bring to the office to give advice. I will engage entrepreneurs or business people who are traveling through London and the UK to make an office visit. I promise nothing except the opportunity to meet me and my sales team.  
 
As an entrepreneur myself, I transitioned from non-profit communications and development to for-profit commercial direction. In a social enterprise environment we were saved by being limited company. I did not have to rely on getting social workers to learn to fundraise. I trained basketball players and coaches to land clients by remembering they were meeting their future players on school playgrounds all over the United Kingdom.  
 
That these young men and women have been able to move into the ideal job while retaining their sense of sales and we raised £645,000 in 11 months in 2011? Priceless.