3 Questions to Ask Every one on Your Team

There’s an interview question I have been asked (and heard asked by others) very often:

What motivates you?

If you work in sales, the answer is most likely MONEY.

Which taps right into the stereotype that all salespeople are driven by cash.  And like all generalizations, they’re based in some semblance of reality.  But like most stereotypes, they don’t fully apply to everyone.  In fact, I’d argue that most salespeople have other motivators that are far more impactful than finances; but they’re much more difficult to uncover and explain.

Intrinsic motivators take time to unpack and understand.

Intrinsic Motivators are complex enough that most salespeople struggle to articulate them, largely because they aren’t fully aware of them.

Hence why the answer to that initial question of “what motivates you” is “money.”

Why then, don’t all AEs jump all over financial incentive opportunities like SPIFFs and cash bonuses?  

When I was managing a team, I was flabbergasted with the number of reps who would be unaware of how their compensation structure actually worked, or how much literal $$ they were leaving on the table by ignoring a juicy SPIFF that leadership recently rolled out.

Money only drives us so far.

So if salespeople are motivated by money, why then do they so often ignore financial incentives?

It’s simple: money isn’t their primary, deep motivator.

Even someone who says they’re motivated by money are actually motivated by something deeper: what money means to them. 

So while most sales people will tell you that money motivates them, it will be helpful as a leader to figure out what is the deeper driver that drives them to succeed, dig a little deeper, and work just a little harder.

Getting your team to perform at a high level takes understanding their psychological drivers at a deeper level.

How do you uncover those (non-financial) drivers?

Three Simple, Open Ended Questions that Get to the Heart of What Drives Your Sales People

• What motivates you most besides money, bonuses or commissions?

  This is really similar to the first question “What motivates you?”, but by taking the “money” answer off the table, you challenge them to self reflect a bit before answering the question. 

• Think back to a time when you felt highly energized at work - what was happening that made you feel that way?

  Having reps recall a specific experience when they were motivated can reveal insights into what drives them. Be sure to ask follow up questions here… so if they answer by describing a big deal win, ask more about what part of the deal win felt good?  Was it the shout out they got from their VP, or the fact that they gained confidence they could handle a complex situation, or that their manager trusted them to do it all on their own?  Keep it conversational and focus on getting them to talk.

• What's most important to you in terms of work-life balance and job security?

  This question gets at a few common motivators - balance, autonomy and security. Reps may share their need for flexibility, or their desire for stability and consistent income. Understanding these can help you tailor your management approach to them as an individual.

The key is to use open-ended questions to get them to open up with personal stories. This allows you to uncover what gets them excited to work hard beyond the surface “money” answer. 

If you’d like to learn more about what motivates individual sales reps, and how to use that knowledge to boost productivity, performance and engagement, download the guide: 8 Key Motivators of Salespeople.