TITLE GOES HERESubtitle Here

Psychology Of Sales People...How To Stroke Their Ego

TITLE GOES HERESubtitle Here

Click to edit Master title style

Sales is a competitive fieldand it attracts people who like visible, immediately gratifying accomplishments.

Many elements of the famous sales ego are

external, such as outward competition with co-

workers and rival organizations, or charismatic

and persuasive interactions with customers. The

motivations underneath all those extroverted

displays, however, are very emotional and

personal. The source of ego-driven motivation is

not always a combustive characteristic like

aggression, ambition, or energy. Ego-driven

motivation often comes from a need to enhance self-esteem (Greenberg, Herbert M., 2010).

TITLE GOES HERESubtitle Here

Click to edit Master title style

Incentive programs play into self-esteem

enhancement by offering rewards that are more

personal than cash and compensation. Cash is

not a very visible or sentimental reward. You

can’t show it off, and it’s gone as soon as it’s

spent. By using non-cash rewards to motivate

sales teams, managers can tap into the deeper,

personal self-esteem needs of ego-driven

individuals. Companies like Incentive Solutions

focus on non-cash rewards in their incentive

programs to reach these emotional needs.

TITLE GOES HERESubtitle Here

Click to edit Master title style

The Complete Guide to Accelerating Sales Force Performance

Visit Us:

defines these five ego-focused motivators, each of which can be addressed with Incentive Solution reward program enhancement modules:

1. Achievement (“I’m succeeding.”)

2. Social Affiliation (“I have friends.”)

3. Power (“I run things.”)

4. Gratification (“I’m the best.”)

5. Survival (“I don’t want to fail.”)

TITLE GOES HERESubtitle Here

Click to edit Master title styleSalespeople who are driven by success and achievement often have their own “personal best” goals, separate and more challenging than the team’s goals. They are often top earners and like constant reaffirmations that they are doing what’s best. They like to do things the right way and are always looking to improve their abilities.

1. Achievement (“I’m succeeding.”)

Visit Us:

Modules like Incentive Solutions’ Mobile App make achievement-oriented people feel more connected to their personal goals. Mobile devices have become the command centers of our social and professional lives. We use phones to maintain our personal relationships, shop for our favorite products and communicate with business contacts. When incentive program rewards are part of their daily mobile activities, accomplishments stay on the forefront of salespeople’s minds. Every time they tap the app the program and immediately see their achievements, they feel more like a successful person.

TITLE GOES HERESubtitle Here

Click to edit Master title styleSalespeople who are driven by social interaction are easy to identify. They love communicating and connecting with people. They most likely enjoy or excel at public speaking, networking events, and meetings. Attention and appreciation from others satisfy these salespeople’s need for social affiliation.

Visible, non-cash rewards give social-oriented salespeople something to brag and talk about with others. The trophy value of a tangible reward means they can start conversations about their success, share stories, or show off pictures if the reward was a trip or ticketed event. For socially affiliated sales team members, their success is often validated by the attention and admiration of others.

2. Social Affiliation (“I have friends.”)

Visit Us:

TITLE GOES HERESubtitle Here

Click to edit Master title style

3. Power (“I run things.”) & 4. Gratification (“I’m the best.”)

Visit Us:

Power and gratification are very similar motivations. Those driven by a sense of power enjoy being seen as the best at what they do. They’re often highly independent and like to feel that their accomplishments are entirely their own. Likewise, those driven by gratification are concerned with their ranking and public acknowledgement (awards, speeches, etc.) for their achievements.

Those who are driven by power and gratification are most responsive to recognition for their efforts. Incentive Solutions’ Leader Board module is an effective tool of recognition and engagement for these types of salespeople because it promises immediate visibility. If they’re not high-ranking, the Leaderboard can give them the extra pressure they need to push beyond their average performance and show their skills to everyone.

TITLE GOES HERESubtitle Here

Click to edit Master title style

5. Survival (“I don’t want to fail.”)

Visit Us:

Those who are survival-motivated are usually lower-performing salespeople. Often, they are content as long as their paycheck is meeting their basic needs like food, shelter, transportation, and a few luxuries. They may not feel much need to impress others or “show off” their persuasion and closing skills.

The diversity of awards available in the Incentive Solutions online catalog means that everyone on the sales team can enjoy them. Many items like books and movie tickets have a low point cost, so low-performing salespeople can still experience the personal satisfaction of non-cash rewards. They can also set higher goals for themselves by adding bigger and better rewards to their online catalog wishlist. Program administrators also have the ability to set multiple kinds of goals with the Performance Tracking module, assigning different promotions for salespeople with different performance levels and motivations.

TITLE GOES HERESubtitle Here

Click to edit Master title style

Conclusion

Visit Us:

Ego-driven salespeople are often outgoing, gregarious types who love interaction. When looking a little deeper at the ego, however, you can distinguish many different personal motivations underneath. Companies like Incentive Solutions have years of experience working with sales managers and sales teams; they understand that incentive rewards should resonate with a variety of emotional drives. With inclusive incentive program features, sales managers can motivate multiple personality types.