What Do Sales People Want To Be As They Grow Up? Happy!

Do you know what makes your sales people happy? Drive sales growth within your organization by tapping into the secret of their happiness. Happy sales people produce more sales.

Legend has it that when John Lennon was in school his teacher asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. A young John Lennon, recalling his mother’s wisdom, simply proclaimed he wanted to be happy. The teacher suggested he didn’t understand the question …. to which John claimed the teacher didn’t understand life.

Whilst many have challenged the source of truth about that story, Charles Schulz later confirmed the sentiment in 1960 in his famous Peanuts comic strip. When “Professor” Linus was asked the same question by his pal Charlie Brown he too responded by saying he wanted to be “Outrageously Happy”.

These tales from long ago are certainly reflective of a time in many of our lives when we thought about our future and what we truly wanted. And whilst the list of goals and dreams are long and varied the common feeling we consistent strive for as we continue to grow up is that of happiness.

In business, our sales people are motivated by a long and varied list of goals and targets, but ultimately they too are simply striving to continually achieve happiness. Understanding this motivation is key to driving greater performance from your team.

As parents, our overarching ambition is for our children to be happy as they grow up – Lennon’s mother had a point! So we support, guide and teach our children in a number of ways so they grow more confident in doing the activities that make them happy.

As a Sales Leader it’s important to invest time in learning what makes your sales people happy. Even though what makes your sales people happy will vary from person to person, gathering this vital bit of information will underpin your sales success for the next year.

Everyone ultimately prefers to do things that make him or her happy. Better yet, people excel in activities that they are happy to perform. As Sales Leaders, when developing your sales strategy it is important to research the conditions for happiness as much as your market conditions in order to improve your chances of success.

Happy sales people produce more sales

Many Sales Leaders wrongly assume that the primary driver of their sale people’s happiness is greater commission and income. Sure, financial rewards enable us to afford a better quality of life that contributes to our happiness. But income, like greater sales results, is simply an output from being happy.

For sales people to grow within an organization and to grow results (ie. grow up) what are they seeking to make them truly happy is support, guidance and teachings through the sales process.

Happy sales people are confident sales people

Happiness and confidence are simply feelings driven by past experiences, expectations and, more specifically, beliefs. As Sales Leaders it’s important to determine what beliefs your sale people have that underpin their understanding of your sales strategy and their performance.

Improve your sales people’s confidence by collaboratively creating defined and focused sales plans and by consistently developing their behaviors, skills and beliefs.

Help them positively overcome any concerns and anxiety so that they can confidently – and more happily – pursue sales opportunities and convert deals.

Of course as they happily achieve more sales by confidently executing the right activities with greater skills and confidence, you will soon discover the other outputs that contribute to their happiness – promotion, autonomy, customer satisfaction, ease of job, goal achievement and yes …. financial rewards.

So as Sales Leaders it is important to discover what your sales people want to be in order to grow the company up and grow up in their career? Don’t make the same assumption that John Lennon’s teacher made. Take the time to better understand what makes your team “Outrageously Happy”.

Article written by Joe Micallef – Sales Strategist & Coach – Grow UP Sales. For sales leadership coaching and guidance contact Joe at joe@growupsales.com or visit the webpage www.growupsales.com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @growupsales