CASH IS NOT KING HOW TO MOTIVATE A SALES TEAM Sixty years ago, psychologist Abraham Maslow created a hierarchy of needs (see illustration below), which concluded that once basic needs are satisfied, people want more
אברהם מאסלו – פסיכולוג חברתי יהודי אמריקני 1908- 1970 הנחשב לאחד התיאורטיקנים המרכזיים של הפסיכולוגיה ההומניסטית. מאסלו פיתח תיאוריה הנקראת "הגישה ההומניסטית", הטוענת כי האדם שואף להגשים את עצמו ולפתח את ה"עצמי" שלו הכולל את הרגשות, המחשבות והתפיסות שלו בנוגע לעצמו ולסביבתו. מאסלו פיתח את תיאורית הצרכים הקרויה על שמו " מדרג מאסלו"
Apply Maslow's pyramid to how to best motivate your employees, and you'll discover that the "more" people want goes beyond cash incentives your employees' "physical comfort" and ensures their Certainly cash pays for "security" -the Monetary Needs. But cash cannot satisfy their social, self-esteem, and self-realization needs. These are the Psychic Income Needs that drive individual employees to succeed -to be part of a team, to earn honor and recognition from their peers, and to realize their greatest potential. In a sales environment, cash compensation -base salary and commissions -satisfies Monetary Needs. But just as money can't buy happiness, money also can't buy the intangibles that drive your salespeople -self-worth, feeling valued in an organization, and approaching each new sales day with enthusiasm and positive energy. Thus, cash is not king -at least not when it comes to jumping up the performance of your salespeople. Physical Comfort Food, drink, clothing, and shelter Security Security from economic & physical danger Social Acceptance Love, togetherness, teamwork acceptance from family, friends & neighbours Personal Esteem Honor, Job Importance and Title Self Realization Fulfilment of potential Doubling commissions does not double sales Non-cash sales incentives, owever, generate a greater feeling of personal achievement and increase your sales force's overall performance. In fact, rchandise and travel incentive programs can provide a 200 percent greater return than cash Once a salesperson's Monetary Needs are met, you've got to offer something that meets their Psychic Income Needs. Non-cash incentives provide "trophy value," or bragging rights -things that aren't possible with incremental cash incentives Imagine a salesperson has earned a cash bonus. He walks around his neighborhood yelling, "Hey, check out my new $1,000 bill." Ridiculous? Yes. Yet bragging rights and celebrating success are a huge part of the sales motivation process. Now imagine that same salesperson won a 62" big screen TV in a non-cash incentive sales contest. A neighbor drops by for a visit and says, "Hey cool new TV. When did you get it?" Time for bragging rights: the sales-person says he won the TV because he was the top sales performer in his office. But, even better than that, for the next 10 years every time the salesperson watches that TV, he'll remember what he did to earn it and which employer provided the reward If you want your sales team to be truly inspired and to maximize their motivation, you must create the environment that motivates them to achieve. Maslow knew how to motivate a sales team, and so can you by creating a compensation plan that includes a mix of base salary, commissions, and non-cash incentives |