Recognize Those that Support Your Sales Success
As sales people, we receive a lot of recognition for a meeting or exceeding sales targets. Sales people tend to be independent, able to work alone and are self-starters.
But we never accomplish our sales success alone. There is a support team of players who do the tasks and processes to ensure we are successful in sales. These people are rarely recognized for their consistent yet important performance that leverages our selling skills for meeting targets.
This week, why not identify those support people that are those consistent performers that help you in your success. They could be a product developer, a secretary, a call center rep, an administrator o someone from finance or process. After you figure out who these consistent sales supporters are, recognize them.
Giving recognition is a four-step process that is simple, direct and easy.
- Identify the person who deserves recognition.
- Describe the behavior, attitude, or process they demonstrated. Be specific.
- Tell them how it benefited you, the organization or customer.
- Thank them for their work in helping your sales success.
When you give recognition, you must understand who you are recognizing and why. Each person is different; each is motivated by different things. Appropriate recognition can also be determined by geography, budget, and other considerations. Sometimes the recognition is determined by the amount of effort a person has made. The better you are at tailoring the recognition to that individual person, the more effective the recognition will be.
Listed here you’ll find a range of informal and day-to-day forms of recognition.
Ideas for recognizing sales support teams
A handwritten thank-you note or email to each team member
A thank-you note/email to the group from someone higher in the organization
An article about the achievement in the company newsletter
Time set aside in group meetings for people to praise group accomplishments
A morning celebration with coffee, rolls, or donuts
A group lunches
Thank-you notes or signs posted in a common space
A gift certificate for each group member
A group outing to a movie or a sporting, musical, or cultural event
An email to senior level leader with cc’s to all team members highlighting the team accomplishments
Ideas for recognizing individuals
Personalized thank-you notes or email explaining why you value the behavior you are recognizing
Messages via voice mail
A copy of a customer letter that praises the person by name
A small gift related to the person’s hobby or other interests
Tickets to a movie or a sporting, musical, or cultural event
A bouquet of flowers
A gift certificate from the person’s favorite store or catalogue
A lunch or dinner gift certificate for two
A banner or wall chart in the person’s work area congratulating him or her on the Accomplishment
An article in the company newsletter or website highlighting the employee’s contribution to your success
A contribution to the person’s favorite charity in his or her name
A thank-you note to a spouse, family member, or significant other acknowledging the person’s time and effort
Attendance at a workshop or conference of the person’s choice
Start today and identify those support team members that help you in your sales success. Then take one of these ideas for recognition and let them know how much you value and care for them!
Michael J Griffin
ELAvate CEO and Founder
Master Sales Trainer