Selling is one of the most satisfying, yet difficult careers a person can pursue. It is tough, exhausting and often thankless. It is little wonder that salespeople suffer from feelings of insecurity, rejection and negative thoughts. Three common problems from which many salespeople suffer are:

1. Poor attitude 2. Fear of customer rejection 3. Laziness or boredom due to lack of interest

In order for you, the sales manager, to successfully motivate your staff, you should first of all recognize the symptoms of those problems and then apply a cure.

Poor attitude

If the salesperson's attitude to the job is wrong, then effort will be lacking. Salespeople can understand that doctors need to practice, that barristers have to do preparation for a case and that a teacher has to do a lot of preparation their classes at schools - but somehow they see their job as different and not worth the professional effort and standards that they would insist upon in others working for them in the community.

Selling requires belief in oneself. Most salespeople are aware of this. Often they have strong personal ego. Unfortunately, if they have not been properly directed, this ego may be their downfall.

Fear of customer rejection

Everyone has a need to be accepted by others but even the most successful salesperson faces daily rejection, which is hard to take day in, day out - year in, year out. Salespeople often find it easier to give up a job in selling or to knowingly or unknowing form poor habits which hide the pains and avoid the psychological hurt.

These can be identified from three main signs:

- An inability to close the order.

- Not looking for new business.

- Over-sympathizing with the buyer, often against the interest of the company represented.

It is a sad psychological fact that rejection causes us to think negatively about ourselves rather than positively.

Laziness/Boredom

A common sales problem is the tendency for experienced salespeople to shortcut their planning and presentations, very often without realizing that they are doing so. The reason may well be that they are bored with the presentation that they are doing or they may feel that they are in some kind of a rut. All point to a need for training.

Frequently there is an outright rejection of the need for sales training. Some see training as potentially highlighting that they are not as good as they think and can potentially damage their ego. This problem may be compounded by bad training and by managers who have used training to boost their own ego.

It is possible to develop a positive attitude toward training gradually over time and staff experience greater job enhancement from working for an organisation that provides professional development. The proper attitude is not that one is bad at one's job and therefore needs training, but that because one is good at one's job, training is the route by which the job becomes even more satisfying - one learns to better what one already does well.

Tips for motivating the sales force:

1. The most effective first step to solving an attitude problem might be to hold a counsel interview.

2. You can help to motivate your salespeople out of depression by boosting their confidence. One of the most important things to a salesperson is his/her self-esteem. Help to rebuild this by giving suitable praise for a job well done, and tackling problems diplomatically rather than reacting aggressively.

3. If a one of the team does not want to attend a sales training course, highlight that you would not be want to spend more money on them if they were not already successful in the job.

Article Directory : http://www.articlecube.com