Retail is a very tough business because one of the factors of success rests on sales and this means taking care of, and managing a number of different elements that all contribute to whether sales targets will be met or not. One of the more crucial elements of successful sales is to make sure that your sales team have the much-needed enthusiasm to sell your products or services. If you can motivate them properly you’re assured that they will make the extra steps to ensure that they not only meet sales targets, they’ll try to exceed it too.
Here are some tips you can use to establish a competitive environment in your store:
* Make sure you get the perfect sales team. Hire people who will be perfect for sales. Look for personalities that will be a good mesh for the job at hand – enthusiastic people who are very personable and are hard workers. They should also be proactive people who are very motivated by their job.
* As the boss, you should always be there to give them motivation. Give regular talks to motivate your team. You should also praise those who did well and do it in public so that they will really feel that they have done something worthy.
* Don’t go overboard with your motivation. Don’t reward your team for something that’s already expected of them or something that’s already part of their daily functions. Only reward things that go beyond what is expected of them. Remember, only reward what is exceptional and not the mediocre.
* Always state clear goals for your sales team. Confusion will only muddle everything and can affect the performance of your team. Tell them clearly what the goals are and what your expectations are as well.
* A great way to foster a competitive environment in your store is by setting up a multi-tiered rewards system. Set up various levels of achievement and pair it with different kinds of rewards. For example, each salesperson has a minimum sales target that must be met. Now offer a couple of targets beyond the minimum with an accompanying reward for each. Rewards can range from increased commission or even larger sales bonuses.
* A tracking system that the whole sales team can see is a surefire way of motivating them. For example a sales chart will show who the top performers are and who are lagging in sales. No one will want to be at the bottom and this can motivate those who are at the bottom to do better. On the other hand, those who are at the top will do their best to maintain their top position.
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