Traditionally, companies have relied upon year-end bonuses, raises in salary, and sales commissions to motivate their sales teams, drive employee productivity and increase their sales figures.
According to more recent findings, however, as published by McKinsey, Forbes, Business News Daily, and other publications, financial motivators are not the only way to drive sales, nor are they the most effective. Factors such as the creation of a positive work-driven culture, the provision of employee autonomy, the implementation of task transparency and accountability, and an emphasis on feedback and performance recognition act as strong employee motivators as well.
Due to the above findings, the implementation of employee performance management systems to foster these practices has grown. The questions we’d like to explore are: What are some of the hidden strategical benefits to employee performance management systems? How do the above factors drive team performance and lead to a direct increase in sales?
The power of peer pressure– Implementing a system that provides employee visibility on achievements such as sales leads, follow-ups and conversions, motivates team members to keep up with each other’s sales numbers. The result is friendly competition within the sales team that keeps sales agents motivated and company numbers up.
Improving work methodology – Good ideas can just about always be improved, and processes can always be tweaked. By offering sales managers clear insight into employee work methodology, it can be better understood what areas sales agents need coaching in and what processes may be optimized and tweaked in order to obtain maximum output with minimum resources invested. Methodologies are also being improved through new technologies and solutions that streamline sales processes, making them more efficient.
Learning from the experts – Having access to individual team and employee performance metrics allows sales managers and team members to hone in on the top performers and learn from their methodology. Often times, sales managers develop their own methods and strategies for carrying out tasks, which if shared with other team members, can remarkably improve individual and overall team performance.
Maximizing on employee talent – Employees often possess hidden skill sets that aren’t being put to best use. Having the means to properly observe and analyze employee tasks and output provides sales managers with the ability to identify and utilize those valuable skills. The benefit of such is twofold: the employee receives an opportunity to get involved with other tasks that keep him satisfied and engaged, and the employee can increase sales performance through previously untapped skills.
Customizing financial incentives – Once sales processes can be properly pinpointed and tracked, companies can then implement highly customized incentive programs with rewards based on specific goals within the sales process. Due to its highly specific nature, this method has been proven to be far more effective than offering a general year-end bonus or providing a raise to high performers.
