Motivating Your Managers

While sales organizations expend a huge amount of energy and money to keep front-line reps focused and driving hard toward their targets, who’s motivating the motivators? Sales managers who are responsible for encouraging and motivating their teams need some personal attention and incentives, too.

Michelle Smith, vice president of business development for the Utah-based performance recognition firm O.C. Tanner (www.octanner.com), argues that by neglecting to offer incentives directed at sales managers, companies may miss out on a chance to leverage the power of a fully engaged sales management team.

"Executives often complain that managers aren’t doing enough to motivate or train their sales teams," she says, "yet it rarely occurs to senior leaders that managers would respond just as favorably to noncash incentives as their salespeople do. I see this as a squandered opportunity at a time when we are all looking for every possible advantage to gain market share."

Money Isn’t Everything

Unconvinced that managers deserve their own separate incentives, many upper-level sales executives believe that the financial bonuses successful sales managers typically receive are sufficient. This attitude is common in executive suites, says Roy Saunderson, author of Giving the Real Recognition Way (Recognition Management Institute, 2008), but it fails to take into account that money alone can be a poor motivator.

"Many organizations have become so bottom-line driven that they believe money should be the sole reward to use," he says. "But when you structure programs that way, the money becomes contractual. Managers don’t view the bonuses as an incentive, they just look upon it as a part of their compensation, and it loses its motivational impact."

How About a Little Recognition?

In the current economic climate, with incentive budgets squeezed tighter than ever, Smith says that raises and bonuses for managers tend to be the first items cut. To counter the potentially demotivating effects of these reductions, she suggests that, in addition to offering incentives, sales organizations ramp up their efforts in providing managers with recognition.

"Incentives are highly quantifiable, with very specific criteria to reinforce a performance culture," she says. "But recognition is discretionary, with more general criteria, and helps to build relationships and reinforce behaviors in the organization. Relationship and culture-building can be powerful tools to sustain motivation, especially during turbulent times when many managers may be feeling unsure about their future." Smith adds that recognition initiatives usually involve low costs, but they can help build the skill sets and teamwork necessary to accelerate the organization’s recovery in a languishing economy.

Balanced for Maximum Punch

"Offering a balanced mix of incentives and recognition programs is always a good idea and becomes essential when you’re tasked with being more strategic and creative about motivation," Smith says.

So what do recognition initiatives directed at sales managers look like? Saunderson recommends looking for ways to thrust successful sales managers into the limelight, such as by giving top managers opportunities to address fellow sales managers at high profile company events. Other recognition options he suggests include sending top performing managers to leadership- and career-development programs and inviting managers to mentor high-performing salespeople who are being groomed for management.

Smith agrees, observing that now may be the optimal time to direct limited resources to recognition programs that will pay bottom-line dividends in the future. "Many companies are using the downturn in business to increase their training efforts, giving managers the opportunity for personal and professional development, which can be very motivating in its own right," she says. "The training will better prepare managers to respond to the challenges they’re currently facing and those that they’re likely to face when the economy begins to turn around."

Get Strategic

Both Smith and Saunderson believe that recognition efforts should augment, not replace, the use of traditional incentive rewards, such as merchandise and travel, for managers. Sanderson feels that the larger goal, particularly during these tough economic times, should be to develop a more strategic approach to sales motivation throughout the organization, ideally involving customer surveys and one-on-one interviews with managers to get at the core behaviors that drive key business results.

"Instead of just looking at how many dollars you’re bringing in, analyze the factors that lead to top-notch customer satisfaction, that lead to retaining your top salespeople and managers, that lead to not just increased sales, but to making the right sales," he says. "Break down the management process to focus on the management behaviors that drive the business results you want, then develop incentives and recognition programs that specifically target those behaviors among all your sales managers."

Keep It Current

Noting that the recession has dramatically altered the selling marketplace, Smith advises a reevaluation of all sales motivation programs to adapt to the changed circumstances sales teams face. "A best practice I’m seeing is companies taking this opportunity to assess their incentive and recognition programs to ensure that program goals are still relevant. If your program is more than several months old, your goals are probably not aligned with what you need managers to concentrate on now. The world has changed significantly in the last year; if your programs haven’t as well, you may want to update your objectives to reinforce what matters most to your organization’s success."

As a final suggestion to executives tasked with motivating sales managers, Smith recommends proactively reaching out, since the managers are probably too busy and too stressed to take the initiative themselves. "Ask what’s happening and what you might do to improve sales or operations," she says. "Listen to what [sales managers] are feeling, and then offer reassurances and encouragement. Give them a chance to vent, and then demonstrate your support. Sales managers are your front line, and they hold the keys to your organization’s turnaround. Let them know you appreciate their efforts, and they will continue to deliver for you."