Working in sales is a rollercoaster of exhilarating highs and brutal lows. One deal closes, and you’re on top of the world. The next day, a prospect ghosts you after weeks of calls and crushes your confidence. This is why motivation in sales is so important.
A motivated rep will pick up the phone again after rejection. They’ll push through a slow quarter. They’ll stick with your company instead of jumping ship after a year. Conversely, an unmotivated rep will burn out, disengage, and take performance (and team morale) down with them.
While many people think of commissions and bonuses as primary sales motivators, there’s more to motivation than meets the eye.
To truly understand motivation, we first need to understand the psychology behind it. There are two different types of motivation: intrinsic motivation, or what drives us internally, and extrinsic motivation, or the external factors that push us towards an outcome.
Daniel Pink, bestselling author of Drive, asserts that there are three sources of intrinsic motivation:
It makes sense: a rep who understands how their deals directly impact the company’s mission will work harder than one who’s just chasing commission checks. Money gets short-term attention, but autonomy, mastery, and purpose keep reps engaged for the long run.
Of course, extrinsic motivators still matter. The key is to think of motivation as a three-legged stool with one leg representing compensation, recognition, and competition.
Compensation: Your commission structure sets the baseline. But it shouldn’t just reward quantity. For example, you might reward your reps not only based on how many appointments were booked, but also the quality of the booked meetings. That kind of structure keeps reps focused on the right outcomes, not just activity for activity’s sake.
Recognition: Everyone wants to feel recognized. A shout-out in a meeting, a leaderboard that highlights wins, or even a quick Slack message celebrating progress can go a long way towards making a rep feel valued. Recognition motivates the reps who don’t care as much about the paycheck but thrive on appreciation.
Competition: Salespeople are naturally competitive, and friendly contests can light a fire under the team. Think short-term challenges, gamified dashboards, or even just bragging rights. Done right, competition energizes your team and motivates them to work harder.
If you’ve ever sat on a wobbly stool, you know that a stool needs all three legs to maintain its strength and stability. The same goes for sales! Without compensation, reps won’t stick around. Without recognition, they’ll feel invisible. Without competition, they’ll lose energy. Balance is the secret sauce.
Many sales leaders understand the importance of motivation but treat it as one-size-fits-all. In reality, every rep is different and has their own personal sources of motivation. Some thrive on being at the top of the leaderboard. Others care more about career growth or skill development. A few may just want stability and consistency.
That’s where coaching comes in. Effective coaching is tailored to each individual and uncovers what truly drives each rep. Maybe one rep needs regular recognition. Another wants clear career paths while another responds best to stretch goals and challenges. Personalized coaching shows your team you’re paying attention and that you value them as individuals — not just cogs in a machine.
As a sales leader, you set the tone. Your behavior, communication, and energy can either inspire or deflate your team. Great sales leaders:
Visibility is also an important motivator. Tools like LevelEleven’s gamified scorecards and real-time dashboards don’t just track performance; they make progress visible and motivate reps to be better than the day before. People love to see their efforts pay off in real time.
Motivation is the fuel that powers sales performance, but it’s not just about throwing money at the problem. The most successful sales organizations strike a balance. They pay reps fairly, recognize achievements often, create friendly competition, empower reps, and coach with intentionality.
When you put all of this together, you don’t just get salespeople who hit their quotas. You get salespeople who are engaged, resilient, and eager to grow. That’s the kind of motivation that drives long-term success for your reps and for your company.
At LevelEleven, we help sales leaders motivate what matters with healthy competition and visibility into the behavior that drives results. Get in touch to learn how we can drive performance and increase motivation for your sales org!
