BY Jessica Helinski
Do you struggle to stay motivated in sales? If so, you aren’t alone. 30% of B2B sellers say it’s harder to stay motivated. That number jumps to 39% among Gen Zers.
Staying motivated isn’t easy given the up-and-down nature of sales. But it’s essential to success, and despite struggling, sellers realize its importance.
In fact, 52% of sales reps say that being self-motivated is a must-have characteristic in order to be successful.
How can you stay motivated in sales?
One of the biggest ways to ensure motivation is to have structure. Accountability is a key part of staying motivated and reaching sales goals.
As RAIN Group’s John Doerr points out, building accountability into your routine helps maintain focus, commitment and motivation to keep going.
Using accountability to fuel motivation
Doerr shares ways that sellers can stay motivated by integrating accountability into their days. Each suggestion is a way to create consistency and fuel motivation to reach each and every goal you set.
Plan actions each week
If you don’t do this already, start now. Tackle your work and plan in weekly chunks to make it less overwhelming and more trackable. Task clarity will keep you focused on and accountable for each to-do.
“Spending 20 minutes a week planning your weekly actions is enough to provide focus, give you task clarity, and help you feel motivated to take action,” Doerr writes.
Track each week’s progress
It’s important that you actually track what you’re doing. Otherwise, what’s the point?
Even better, boost your accountability by sharing your progress with someone else. Having shared accountability increases the likelihood of getting things done.
Block out “investment time”
Staying motivated requires being thoughtful about both what you do and when you do it. What you consider to be investment time depends on your goals and can shift and evolve. What’s important is to identify it and then block that time out on your calendar.
“Block out time to devote to your investment activities — the actions that will bring you closer to achieving your goals,” he explains.
Once again, research shows that simply putting a task on your calendar boosts the likelihood you complete it. You’ll find it easier to stay motivated in sales the more you build structure into your daily routine.
Use positive self-talk
One thing that can keep you from staying motivated is your own self. Your mindset has an incredible impact on your productivity and success. Contemplate your mindset and how you speak to yourself: Is it positive?
“To change a belief, change how you talk to yourself,” Doerr points out.
“This can be as simple as reframing what you’re telling yourself.”
For tips on how to manage self-talk, check out this episode of the Manage Smarter podcast.
Celebrate wins
Another way to stay motivated in sales? Once you achieve a goal, celebrate it. No matter how big or small, every win deserves recognition.
“How often do you reach a significant milestone at work only to focus on the next big project immediately?” Caroline Castrillon asks.
Instead of immediately moving on to the next target, pause and recognize the effort it took to get there. Celebrating helps create momentum and keeps you motivated for what comes next.
Stay the course
Harness your motivation, and keep it going, by holding yourself accountable and celebrating each milestone. These tips, when put into action, can boost your drive, and your sales, and mindset, will benefit.
Photo by Razvan Chisu on Unsplash
