We invite you to join in the classic debate, and weigh in: If you want to motivate sales people, is it more effective to use “carrots” or “sticks”?

If you pick sticks, you believe that sales performance metrics are powerful motivation tools when combined with firm requirements to “make your numbers”. Of course, celebrating successes is always fun, but deep down you believe that the real motivation engine is the threat of natural consequences for a salesperson failing to make their goals.

If you pick carrots instead, you believe that meaningful sales performance metrics are optimized with a persuasive, incentive compensation plan. Again the strong suggestion is to “make your numbers”, but rather than focusing on the downside of failing to perform, you believe the real juice is in attaching financial rewards to extraordinary individual or team sales performance.

So… are you a “stick” person or a “carrot” person?

OneAccord is neither.

Sorry for the trick question, but we want to get your attention for a purpose. There is a better way to motivate your sales force.

Don’t get us wrong. Extrinsic or external motivators have their place:

o Sticks are sometimes necessary to temporarily get the attention of under-performers who just won’t pull their weight. However, sticks are not effective in reforming or continuously motivating chronic under-performers.

o Carrots can be effective when rewards are meaningfully used to recognize desirable performance. But carrots do not provide the 24/7 focus or leverage to effect daily performance.

Put simply, external motivation techniques don’t deliver for long; their return-on-investment (ROI) diminishes exponentially. Unless you want to keep reinventing and reinvesting in external motivation programs that quickly become obsolete, OneAccord suggests a change of perspective.

So what is the secret of sustainable sales-force motivation?

That’s for us to know, and for you to find out. Just kidding. The secret of sustainable sales performance is self-motivation. Sales professionals who are intrinsically motivated will dependably deliver superior performance because they’re being driven internally.

What are the specific keys to intrinsic self-motivation and how can you successfully implement them at your organization? That you have to call us for, not because we won’t share; there’s just too much to put in an article!