Motivating the personnel of the sales organizations in the period of an economic downturn (Motywowanie personelu organizacji sprzedazowych w okresie turbulencji rynkowych)

In order the endure the period of an economic downturn in a relatively unscathed condition, a firm requires a successful sales force more than ever before. Motivating employees to achieve ambitious targets in times of market volatility has become one of the greatest challenges facing sales organizations. Firstly, the financial resources in such times are constrained, which somewhat limits the availability of using common financial incentives, such as commissions, bonuses, etc. Secondly, most managers are, in general, unfamiliar with some of the most effective non-financial motivational techniques. Furthermore, there is a wide array of myths regarding the effective motivational strategies adhered to by sales managers. For instance, one of the deepest rooted myths is around the effectiveness of negative motivational approaches, such as threats of compensation decrease or redundancy. In reality, as shown by various studies, such techniques often lead to the opposite of the intended effect and are actually a strong discouraging factor. The analysis of consequences of common mistakes made in relation to staff motivation also highlights the fact that managers, in general, consider only potential short-term negative effects of their decisions, such as missed sales targets. However, the long-term side effects of ill-suited motivational techniques, such as rising employee dissatisfaction levels, employee burnout or increasing level of fraud within the organization are usually overlooked or ignored.