Salespeople Need to Be Appreciated

If you are the manager of a company, and you have a force of sale representative, then you know better than most how pretentious an annoying salesmen and saleswomen can be. You may think keeping your distance from these employees of yours and enforcing strict discipline is the only way to keep these fast talkers in check. Have you ever thought that perhaps their strength as salespeople is a direct consequence of their confidence and self righteous attitude? What if I told you that even if your salespeople do rub you the wrong way occasionally, you need to take care of them and tend to them like tender seedlings in order to reap the rewards of a strong, driven sales force.

Perhaps your salespeople work on commission, or by the hour. Whatever the case, chances are that if you are displeased with them, they are displeased with you. If they are displeased, they probably are not working at maximum efficiency. This leads to a vicious cycle which can culminate with them getting frustrated and taking the first plane out of your country, so to speak. If you want to benefit your company the most from your sales force, the best way to play your cards is through true, sincere understanding and appreciation for your sales people. Why? Because an appreciated sales force is more often than not a driven sales force that makes the sale, time after time, client after client.

Why is it important to tend to the emotional and social well being of your employees? The answer is a simple nuance of human psychology. Just as you have the need to feel fulfilled and successful with ever increasing or steady profits in your particular business, your employees need to feel they are dignified, respected, and safe. When the basic human needs are fulfilled, only then will you see the manifestation of human ambition and abilities. Since your salespeople work on the interpersonal level, it is more important for them to be happy and feel appreciated so they can go out and work with confidence for your company. Making them feel distant and discouraged when on the job is a sure fire way to decrease their efficiency on the job, which will just perpetuate itself when you voice these complaints to them. You have to remember that they took the job with you to fulfill some human need that they have, be it a paycheck, or ambition, or otherwise.

Never underestimate the power of external factors to affect your employees on the job. Their spouses play a key role in their temperament. What if you had their spouses support? Believe it or not, the support of a spouse can absolutely tilt the scales in your favor, because the job your salespeople do for you will no longer be just a distant job, rather they will discuss it more at home, and you will reap the benefits from new ideas and initiative.

The bottom line is that, just like you need to feel dignified and respected to be happy, so do your salespeople. A bit of appreciation for the people who deal with people for your company can go a long way. Apply these ideas and reap visible and invisible benefits.