There are a lot of salespeople out there who unfortunately do not feel appreciated by their managers or their company, I’ve seen it first-hand.

Some salespeople are made to feel like a commodity, a simple tool used by the business.

“Pfft, they’re just a salesperson” other departments will snigger.

“If you don’t hit your target we’ll just find someone who can” managers will threaten

“MAKE MORE CALLS” they will shout

I have 2 things to say to this…

1) Salespeople are one of the MOST important components of a business.

Without selling you don’t have a business. A successful business is usually only successful because it has a good team of salespeople selling the product.

2) People who don’t feel appreciated tend to not work very hard.

As the quote in the blog image says:

“A person who feels appreciated will always do more than what is expected“.

Putting an immense amount of pressure, making them feel insignificant, making them always feel like their job is on the line, these things do not motivate people to work hard.

The best Sales Managers out there (who are leading the most successful sales teams) not only understand this, they live and breathe it. Their team feel empowered, they feel supported, they feel well and truly valued at a very deep level.

And this has a HUGE impact on their productivity and success.

Sales Managers need to appreciate their sales team

• They need to appreciate that they work hard
• They need to appreciate that they work for them
• They need to appreciate that they bring in the business

Here are my top tips for Sales Managers to start showing their team how valuable they are and to make them feel more appreciated in their jobs:

TIP 1) When holding 1-2-1’s with your salespeople, don’t JUST talk about business. Ask them how they’re doing outside of work, how are their friends and family etc. Show them that you’re interested in them as a person as well as a salesperson.

TIP 2) Tell OTHER people about their successes. This could mean telling the Sales Director or VP of Sales about them. Maybe CC them in on a nice email about them. Why not share a post about their success on LinkedIn as well? Tag them in, tag in other leaders. It will make them feel great!

TIP 3) Reward their hard work with a gift. It might just be a box of chocolates or a bottle of bubbly, or maybe it’s a nice new sales book or a small bundle of sales books. Maybe it’s an Amazon voucher or a meal out voucher. Gifts make people feel special and appreciated.

TIP 4) Ask them what THEIR aspirations are. Don’t assume every salesperson is motivated by money or by being promoted. Ask them what they’re working for. Maybe it’s to save for a mortgage, if so, help them map that out and provide any support that you can. Maybe it’s to go on nice holidays, if so help them map that out. Make it about THEM as an individual.

TIP 5) Just LISTEN to them. It’s probably what you tell them to do to their customers, yet many managers don’t actually listen to their team. Let THEM talk, let them tell you how they feel, what they’re happy with, what they’re not. People feel valued when they’re listened to.

What’s most important when doing any of the above 5 tips is that you do it with AUTHENTICITY.

Don’t just do it to tick the box, do it because you genuinely want them to feel valued.

Do it because you know that if they truly feel valued, they will work a lot harder for you and for your business.

So why not start today?

Don’t just focus on them making more calls to sell more.

Don’t just focus on them sending more proposals to sell more.

Don’t just focus on them pressuring prospects to sell more.

Make your sales team truly feel appreciated and see what impact that has on your results.

I think you’d be surprised 🙂

Thank you for reading today’s article!

Coming up in October I’m running my next LIVE 2.5 hour LinkedIn Social Selling Masterclass and LIVE 2.5 hour LinkedIn Sales Navigator Masterclass. These deep dive training sessions are fully interactive and designed not just to show you what to do, but to get you started in the session. You can find the full details here and secure your place (with a huge early bird discount) here:

LinkedIn & Social Selling Masterclass – Wednesday October 5th 2022

LinkedIn Sales Navigator Masterclass – Wednesday October 19th 2022

I hope to see you and your teams there!

If you enjoyed this blog please click LIKE and click SHARE to share it with your network, thank you!

Want more? Here are a host of extra resources of mine to help you and your team:

PODCAST – The Social Selling Podcast (7 episodes available)

YOUTUBE – The Social Selling Show (15+ videos available)

EBOOK – 100 LinkedIn & Sales Navigator Tips (Completely FREE)

BOOK – The Ultimate LinkedIn Sales Guide (Available on Amazon)

BOOK – The Million-Pound LinkedIn Message (Available on Amazon)

If you’re interested in me coming to deliver an in-person or virtual SKO, Keynote or if you’re interested in a Corporate LinkedIn/Social Selling/Sales Navigator Training package, please feel free to pop me a message on LinkedIn or email me directly at danieldisney@thedailysales.net