By now, if you have read a few of my blogs, you are well aware of my opinions on winter in New England…In short, I hate it.
In Boston, February is jokingly referred to as the “longest short month of the year” due to what feels like near constant snowfall and nights and weekends spent hibernating to avoid the bitter cold temperatures.
February is also a time when we need to keep our sales development reps extra motivated whether working from the office or at home during inclement weather.
I tried to think of what motivated me when I was an SDR, and decided to source some help from our awesome sales development managers. These four guys spend their days making sure our SDRs are performing at 100% every day. I thought they could provide some great perspectives on what they do to keep their reps motivated and what they like most about sales development management, training and mentoring. In part one of this blog post, we'll hear from Greg and Jimmy.
Greg Otmaskin - Constant Communication and Support
Achieving success for a client motivates my team the most. It's simple, but the success that SDRs have on a project ripples across all aspects of their work life. This success brings recognition from the internal team, allowing them to develop professionally. It also brings new business and ROI to the client, and finally, it gives them the opportunity to provide themselves with larger financial gain.
When each SDR is supported in a way that allows them to achieve this success, you've created a healthy and coherent sales company culture with open communication and proactive problem-solving.
My favorite part of training and mentoring is the process of creating an environment conducive to building relationships. Preparing an SDR for success is of the utmost importance, since the benefits are so widespread for both the individual and our company as a whole. This includes constant communication and support. Whether it is helping them fully understand a client's product offering or making sure their process within Salesforce is productive and efficient, building and maintaining a supportive relationship will create an environment for success.
Jimmy Grieve - Incentives and Praise
I have been managing a team of SDRs for almost two years. I enjoy educating my reps on tips and tricks of the trade to help them become exceptional at their jobs. I learned a lot over the years, and it's rewarding to pass along this knowledge. It's great to see a recent college graduate transform into a young professional with guidance from myself and fellow management leaders.
In my opinion, one of the most effective sales motivation tools is food. A couple weeks ago, I challenged my team to get one lead each in a two-day time frame. If they could accomplish this, I would buy them pizza for lunch.
They not only achieved the goal, but they did it in the first day.
The idea of free lunch got them excited and it was a great way to increase numbers and ensure they had additional motivation on top of the compensation they can earn if they hit their goals. We also allocate a day of PTO to be awarded to top performing reps. I typically also organize mini-contests in order to leverage friendly competition. The final approach I use for motivation is to praise reps when they have a good day or week. Sometimes, a simple “thank you” or “good job today” can go a long way.
Stay tuned for part 2 where we'll hear from Josh Stevens and Steve Malcolm!
What strategies do you use to keep your teams motivated, especially during these snowy months?
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