How to Motivate Different Types of Salespeople

Each sales person is different. Their individual style of working and ways that they deal with the challenges that they face can often be very different. There are however a number of core common types. Motivation can be increased by managing sales people depending on their personality type. Therefore motivation is a core subject that is covered on good management courses through successfully identifying the personality type of each team member, it is easier to manage and motivate them in the most appropriate way. Maximise performance and classify your sales staff!

The Practician

They like to have standardised procedures and like to focus on the practical detail. Products and services that they recommend and sell will certainly be useful to the customer.

Provide them with the means to organise their work optimally. Tell them exactly what their sales figures, contribution to the business and targets are. Do not disrupt their workflow.

The Introvert

They work quietly, usually without causing any fuss and without the need for constant communication with different people. They do, however acquire detailed product knowledge.

Keep trouble away from them. Give them tasks and customers where their strengths come into play: detailed knowledge, the ability to work along, and focus on a task. They require praise however this does not need to be publicly. They like to be informed in detail by their boss about the background to his tasks.

The Extrovert

Their interests are wide ranging and they like to communicate actively with those around him. They do not like to spend too long dealing with a single task or activity. Detailed knowledge is not a virtue of theirs.

Do not give them long term projects. Instead give them short to medium term tasks in which they have to deal with lots of people. 

Express your appreciation and relay positive client feedback to them in front of their colleagues as this is important to them.

The Intuitive

They are very similar to the Extrovert.  They like change and grand gestures. They do not like detail.  They have a desire for action, however they do not like standardised activities in sales. You can make use of their creativity in developing new strategies.  Assign them to more intellectually demanding customer projects and allow them to experiment with new techniques.

The Emotional

They value a harmonious working atmosphere and having good relationships with their team. They want to be useful to others and have a pronounced sense of justice. They are ideally suited to providing excellent customer service or post sales support. They are good at managing customers who require high levels of personal contact and service.

Make sure that they feel supported. When running sales competitions, give preference to team oriented models which do not strain the atmosphere in their group.

The Rationalist/Thinker
Their decisions are based on facts rather than moods or feelings.

Like the Practician, they require honest feedback about their levels of performance.  They want recognition to be objective. Goals and objectives set for them can be challenging but must be attainable. This subject area is one that managers are particularly interested in when attending management courses.

The Bureaucratic

They gather all relevant facts together and pronounce their judgment which is often black or white. Inflexibility is a virtue to them, and they claim loyalty to their principles.

They like the environment to be manageable and well ordered. Therefore keep uncertainty, changes and any unresolved issues away from them. They are renowned for their appropriate and flawless recommendations when requirements are precisely specified.

The Spontaneous

They are spontaneous, flexible and have a healthy, realistic outlook. If required, they will willingly also concern themselves with details. Official routine is boring for them.

Break up their routine with special tasks or extra assignments. Remain accessible to them and distance them from routine. Do not impose any self-organisation methods on them as this would just slow them down.

The Average Sales Person

They are not conspicuous and only display ambition to a certain extent. They like the status quo to remain. They earn reward mainly by virtue of their length of service with the firm.

Give them the feeling that work is fun and induce gentle competition with their colleagues.  

The average sales person is an ideal candidate for customers that have constant targets and that seldom encounter problems.

People respond very positively to a working environment that suits their individual style. Therefore through identifying their personality types, and meeting their requirements, you can enhance business performance by obtaining higher levels of motivation. Your motivational skills can be further developed by receiving training on management courses.

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