Sales & Distribution Management

Chapter 14: Leading the Sales Force

 Concept of Motivation

+Motivational Theories

 Motivation and Productivity of the Sales Force

+Effect of Personal Characteristics on Sales Force Motivation

 Sales motivational mix

+Motivating the Sales Personnel at Different Stages of their Career

Chapter Summary

Motivation is the process that produces goal-directed behavior in an individual. It helps to initiate desired behavior in an individual and direct it toward the attainment of organizational goals. Motivation consists of three elements – need, drive and goal. Satisfaction of the need in the individual cuts off the drive in him to work toward satisfaction of the need. The effectiveness of the sales force plays a crucial role in the success and growth of an organization. In order to attain the goals of the organization, it is essential that the sales force is highly motivated.

Motivation in the sales function refers to the amount of effort a salesperson is willing to expend in the selling job. While some salespersons are self-motivated, there are others who need to be motivated to perform. Sales managers can motivate their team by following any of the theories of motivation, namely, Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, Herzberg's two-factor theory, goal-setting theory, expectancy theory, and job design theories.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory classifies the needs of an individual into five categories – physiological, safety or security, social, self-esteem and self-actualization needs. Physiological needs are the lowest order needs while self-actualization needs are the highest order needs. Further, as lower order needs get satisfied, an individual strives to satisfy higher order needs. Herzberg's two-factor theory states that the job environment of an individual is characterized by two types of factors – hygiene factors and motivational factors.

The goal-setting theory presumes that people have specific needs and aspirations to fulfill for which they set certain goals for themselves. They then go about achieving these goals by taking purposeful action. Further, setting higher goals produces higher output. The expectancy theory states that an individual is motivated by the perceived consequences of his or her actions. According to this theory, motivation is a function of expectation, valence and instrumentality. Job design theories assume that all individuals have the same needs, and that ensuring certain job characteristics can satisfy these needs.

A salesperson's motivation plays a crucial role in influencing his performance and thereby his productivity. Salespersons having a high level of motivation tend to perform well in the selling job and have high productivity. On the other hand, salespersons who lack motivation tend to be poor performers and fail to achieve their sales targets. Such salespersons hence tend to have low productivity. Sales managers can take various measures to motivate the sales force and boost its productivity. These measures can be in the form of sales quotas, sales contests, well- designed compensation plans and reward systems, etc.

Further, the personality traits of the salesperson play a vital role in influencing his motivation. Salespersons can be divided into four types – competitor, achiever, ego-driven, and service-oriented. Sales managers are increasingly concerned about the need to motivate salespersons as they move through various stages in their career. The primary concern of sales managers is to motivate salespersons in the various stages of their career to direct them toward greater selling efforts and enhanced sales performance. A salesperson's career passes through four stages – exploration, establishment, maintenance and disengagement.

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