What is our sales motivation?

rnHE other day I was working with a salesman who I came out of the car business. He had made over $100,000 a year for l5 years.

"Why lumber sales?" I asked.

"I just couldn't handle the hours anymore," he said. "We cap out around 100K. We have to work late nights, weekends, so who cares about the money in the end?"

Nice to hear someone who understands that life isn't all about the money. Of course, a six-figure income is like a college degree. It's easy to say it's not important when you've already made it, but for those who haven't, i/'s a big deal A wise man told me, "Ten bucks isn't much money, unless you don't have it."

We were working in a closed office. He was making calls, and I was listening. Again and again, he got bodyslammed by potential customers. I would try to help him with the right responses while he was on the phone, but in the end, we mostly debriefed after the calls.

He was astonished that I always had something to say to customers' responses. "What should I say?" he asked me. Finally I said to him, "E., I'm not going to give you any more answers. You are as smart as I am, you have sold for l5 years, you should know what to say."

Then I realized that it wasn't a question of intelligence or industry knowledge, but motivation. I am not talking about the motivation of wanting to be successful. E. wants to be successful. Heck, he already is successful. The car

By James Olsen

business is waiting with open arms (and l00K+ per year) for his return. What I am talking about is what is our motivationfbr making the call''!

World renowned golfer Tom Watson says, "The difference between me and the top five players at the University of Texas is I expect to hit it in the trees." What does he mean? He is saying that his motivation is to score well not to hit perfect shots. Since his motivation is to score well, he is not devastated by bad shots. I1is motivation to score well is stronger than his desire to hit great shots.

The more I work with salespeople, the more I realize that many struggle because their motivation before, during ancl after the call is not clear to them, thus they strain to find the right answers. Master sellers know exactly why they are on the phone or in front of customers, so their responses come naturally. When we are deeply in love, the words flow. When love fades, the words come out of our mouths like rough-sawn 2xl2s. The same can be said for sales.

So what should our motivation be? I think it is different for all sellers. Some of us want to help the customer, some of us want the order, some of us want to build a long-term partnership, some of us want to prove to our high-school classmates or our parents that we can and have become a success, and some of us remember the sting of growing up poor and don't want to go back. Whatever the motivation is, for master sellers it is so achingly clear that it becomes an unconscious part of who they are, so the responses to customer doubt or customer objections come naturally.

Struggling sellers mostly are motivated by fear. Fear of losing the order, fear of upsetting the customer, fear of failure, and in many cases fear of success. These motivations don't sell!

What is the answer? As with all tough questions in life, the answer lies within. A11 the sales techniques in the world will not help a seller who does not understand, internally' why he or she is making the call. We must ask ourselves before every sales call, "Why am I making this call? Do I really believe? Am I motivated? Is my motivation strong or am I just going through the motions?" If we go to a concert or to dinner and the artist or the cook doesn't have strong motivation, we will feel it in the performance or in the taste of the foodas do our customers !

Before every call, we ask ourselves, "What is my motivation?" Happy Holidays and Happy (Motivated) Selling!