Nearly all sales organizations keep close tabs on the various sales motivation programs they run not to mention the costs associated with each one. Less well monitored, however, says noted sales and management trainer and author Brian Tracy, are the many de-motivational practices that companies frequently, if unknowingly, engage in that wind up undermining all those costly motivational programs. Writing recently in Potentials Magazine, Tracy detailed his list of the seven top (or bottom) sales de-motivators:

1. Where am I going?
   Salespeople lose their sense of direction when they are unclear on precisely what is expected of them on a daily basis, what their goals and quotas are, how their performance will be measured, and in what time frame. If, as the saying goes, clarity is 95 percent of success, the lack of clarity must be 95 percent of failure.
2. How am I doing?
   Ken Blanchard says that feedback, not Wheaties, is the "Breakfast of Champions." On a weekly, daily, even hourly basis, people need to know how their performance measures up against stated goals and quotas. When a rep makes a sale, pick up the phone and offer congratulations. During weekly sales meetings, take the time to summarize the week’s sales results and share how well different team members are doing.
3. Can I get an "Amen?"
   Among salespeople, lack of recognition is one of the most commonly cited reasons for discouragement and professional displeasure. Take time to single out top performers or to highlight individual successes in front of the whole team. When a sales rep brings in a big new client, make sure to "brag" on him or her the next time the two of you are with a senior executive.
4. How about something for the effort?
   Whether management likes it or not, salespeople who put forth extraordinary effort to overcome obstacles and reach or exceed their sales quotas deserve a special reward above and beyond the standard compensation. It doesn’t have to be anything outlandish either. Take the example of a company that sends the month’s top seller out to lunch with a senior level executive the cost of this reward is minimal, but salespeople will often compete tooth and nail for the honor.
5. Fancy meeting you here!
   Role overlap is the practice of assigning more than one representative to the same account, and it leads to confusion, inefficiency, and the most counterproductive form of competitiveness. The solution is simple don’t do it. Make sure that only one salesperson is responsible for calling on each customer.
6. Who dropped the ball?
   The contrast with role overlap is role underlap, when a job that needs doing is not assigned to anyone in particular and, as a result, doesn’t get done. Typically, role underlap occurs with certain customer service or delivery follow-up responsibilities. Finger pointing inevitably results, which is always bad for morale. While such situations cannot always be avoided, when they do come up, management needs to take responsibility for the foul-up and then change protocols so that all jobs and associated tasks are always assigned.
7. Can you be in two places at once?
   Tracy’s last de-motivator is what he calls "role contradiction." This occurs when reps are told, for example, that they need to spend an entire day prospecting and developing new accounts. They’re also told they need to fill out detailed customer and sales reports, an office-based task that takes half the day. Until cloning technology comes of age, however, they cannot do both. Role contradiction is why God invented the sales assistant or sales secretary. As a rule, you want all team members focusing on the most important part of the job they do and for salespeople that usually means selling.