Influential Communication Tools For Any Sales Manager or Executive Looking to Better Motivate and Develop Their Sales Team. Interview With Dr. Rick Kirschner - Part 2

Here's the second part of the interview I conducted with Dr. Rick Kirschner regarding what managers can do to drive greater results, better motivate their salespeople and boost productivity by utilizing these powerful communication strategies.

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KR: How can a sales manager leverage the power of persuasion to  increase the motivation and performance of her sales people?

DRK:  That’s a big question, big enough to write a book, so I did, two  books in fact.  That’s a key point of my Insider’s Guide and Playbook  To The Art of Persuasion!   But here’s the quick answer.  Persuasion  is the deliberate attempt to influence another person’s attitude in  order to change their behavior.  Once you’ve paid some attention, 

listened well and learned about what motivates your people, using the  Kirschner Motivational Model or McClelland’s Model or Maslow’s  Heirarchy of Needs Model, or any other motivation model that appeals  to you, it is important that you use what you’ve learned to speak to  the motivations of your people in a way that moves them, engages them  and connects them to a desirable future while offering them protection  from an undesirable one.

This has to do with what you say, and also how you say it.  The fact  is that most people are listening emotionally most the time, and  logically only rarely.  So, no matter how logical you are in what you  propose they do,  you have to send signals that help your people feel  that they should let themselves be influenced by you.  Otherwise, you  may be wasting both their time and yours.

There are known ways to package what you say for maximum impact.  I  call these packaging tools ‘signals,’  ‘guides’ and ‘themes.’  Signals  speak to how you address the emotions.  Guides make it easier for  others to understand the logic of what you say.  Themes are a way of  structuring what you say to help you stay on track while saying it.  

The more you use this kind of approach, the more successful you will  be in getting a sustainable result.

KR: Teamwork is an important part of any successful sales organization.  How can sales coaches increase commitment and elevate the motivation among their sales people?

DRK:  Almost nobody goes to work wanting to do a bad job.  Most people  want to do well, and want what they do to matter.  So it seems to me  that teamwork happens when leadership happens, and leadership begins  with you knowing the answers to three very important questions.  What  are we doing?  Why are we doing it?  Why does it matter?  Once you  have the answers to these questions firmly fixed in your mind, you can  help your sales people to find their own answers to these questions  and then keep those answers in front of them as a reminder of meaning  and purpose.

Of course, it’s one thing to have a lofty vision, and something else  entirely when it comes to the rubber meeting the road.  So to keep  your people connected and focused, you simply must treat them with  respect, keep them informed along the way, and give recognition  whenever it’s due, and not just in the large things but in the small  things as well.  Thanks for showing up. Thanks for speaking up.   Thanks for standing up.  Thanks for keeping your promise.  Thanks for  following through.  My mom used to tell me that there is always  something to appreciate, you just have to appreciate the value of  appreciation to find it.

KR:  What are the most successful tactics used by sales managers/coaches when they are faced with bad behavior within a sales team that can negatively impact the entire team's results?

DRK:  Most of us can agree that what’s bad about bad behavior is the  bad effect it has on morale, teamwork and getting results.  There’s no  getting around the fact that pushy, negative, disruptive and  unreliable behavior is costly because it has real world consequences.  

But I think it’s important to keep in mind that behavior is  purposeful, people do what they do for what they consider a good  reason, and labeling a particular behavior as good or bad may do  little to influence whether you get more or less of it.  More  important, I think, is to understand what’s behind it for them.  Then,  using your understanding of their good intent as a reference point,  you can help your people understand that the consequences of their  behavior are self defeating to their good intentions.  Done  persuasively, and they’ll be grateful for the insight and opportunity  to learn.  And you, as a result, will get better results from your  people.

So what specifically do you do when there’s a problem with someone’s  behavior?  First, observe it.  Notice what is happening, when it  happens, where it happens and how it happens.  Then get together with  the person or people involved, and learn everything you can about it  from them.  Set the stage by telling them what you’ve observed, where  and when you observed it, and then ask them, “When this happens,  what’s going on for you?  What is your intention?”  Next, tell them  the self defeating part.  “When you do that, here’s the reaction it  gets.  Is that what you intended?”  And the answer is almost always  going to be “No, it’s not!”   That’s your learning moment, right  there.  “What do you think might work better?”  Either give your  people a chance to come up with a new choice, or, if they’re drawing a  blank, either brainstorm with them, or tell them what you know could  work better.  In any case, you’ll have set the table for learning.  A  little reinforcement, and it becomes their skill for life.

To read more of Dr. Rick Kirschner's suggestions for improving your  ability to use persuasion to create positive change in your life,  relationships, and work, visit Dr. K's Blog here.