9 years ago
March 23, 2015

What to Do If Your Sales Team Is Slacking

Here’s what you can do if your sales team is slacking.

Rhys Metler

What-to-Do-If-Your-Sales-Team-Is-Slacking

Your bottom line truly depends on the success of your sales people. When your sales team is slacking, your sales suffer. You need to recognize when this is happening and rectify the situation right away. Don’t be so quick to blame the sales team though. If your sales people are slacking, it’s up to you as the sales manager to motivate them. If you’re all out of ideas on ways to motivate your sales people, look no further. Here’s what you can do if your sales team is slacking.

Listen to Your Sales Team

Initiate a meaningful dialogue with your sales team. Pay closer attention to their sales activity, issues, concerns, strengths, and weaknesses. Talk to them, ask them how they’re doing, and listen to what they have to say. Show your support. Find out what motivates them individually. Everyone is different, so you can’t expect them all to respond to the same motivational cues. Get to know your team better so you can motivate each and every one of them more effectively.

Provide Sales Coaching and Training

Show your support. Offer guidance. Provide sales training so your sales team is always up to date on the latest sales tactics and techniques. Coach them through the sales process and provide assistance when needed. Even seasoned sales professionals can benefit from ongoing sales coaching and training. Everyone can improve and should strive to further develop their skills and talent.

Show Some Appreciation

A lack of appreciation and recognition can be discouraging. Everyone wants to feel that their work is valued and important. Congratulate your sales team members when they do well. Let them know you appreciate all of the hard work they do. Better yet, congratulate them in a sales meeting so everyone can see that you appreciate the good work someone is doing. This will encourage others to work harder.

Implement an Incentive System

If you really want to motivate your sales team, consider implementing an incentive system. In order to do this effectively, you’ll need to determine what truly motivates your sales people. You can’t expect everyone to respond to the same rewards. What do they value? There are all kinds of rewards you can offer. Some may respond well to additional time off (half-day on Friday or an extra vacation day), while others might like a free lunch. Offer a monetary reward if possible. You can even reward good work with gifts or gift cards. Whatever reward you decide on, you’ll need to put in place specific goals and then you must monitor everyone’s progress and successes.

Voice Your Concerns

If you’ve done everything you can to motivate your sales people and you can’t seem to get through to someone, it’s time to voice your concerns. It’s important that you address the situation, rather than allowing a mediocre sales rep to continue slacking. If you let it persist, then your other sales people will notice and become frustrated. Why should they all have to work hard while this person slacks off? It’s not fair, and it’s up to you confront the individual.

In order to keep your sales figures up and keep the profits rolling in, you need your sales people to stay motivated. But, if your sales team is slacking, it might not be fair to blame them. Sales leaders need to work at continually motivating sales people. It’s your job to inspire excellence. A few ways to do this include listening to your sales team, providing coaching and training, showing appreciation, and implementing an incentive system. If you’ve done everything you possibly can to motivate your team, and you really can’t get through to someone, it’s time to voice your concerns. It’s your responsibility to keep this team motivated and on the road to success. Take control, give your team the boost they need, and watch your sales grow. 

Rhys Metler

Rhys is a tenacious, top performing Senior Sales Recruiter with 15+ years of focused experience in the Digital Media, Mobile, Software, Technology and B2B verticals. He has a successful track record of headhunting top performing sales candidates for some of the most exciting brands in North America. He is a Certified Recruitment Specialist (CRS) and has expert experience in prospecting new business, client retention/renewals and managing top performing sales and recruitment teams. Rhys enjoys spending quality time with his wife, son, and daughters, BBQing on a hot summer day and tropical vacations.

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