Success Circle Call #8: Are You A Benefit Seeker or A Consequence-Avoider?
Did you know that there are two kinds of salespeople in the world? That's right, there are two different kinds of salespeople and they sell very differently. Knowing which one you are and how to use that information will make the difference between a mediocre or meteoric career in sales. See if you can tell which type you are.
The first group of salespeople is those who are benefit-seekers. These folks are the ones who are always looking to the stars, seeking opportunities to grow and sell more. They love open-ended commission scales. They are motivated by the opportunity to achieve, get more out of life and seldom think of the possibility of failure. Benefit-seekers are self-motivated and will maximize any incentive program. The top salespeople in every field are benefit-seekers. Only about 15% of the salespeople fit into this category.
Benefit-seekers tend to find their own motivation and are able to reach higher levels of achievement by using rewards and incentives. They seek to gain from their achievements and want to win trips, make bonuses, win trophies or contests, receive recognition and generally get more than they have now. If you are a benefit-seeker you can motivate yourself by promising yourself a reward when you achieve your goal. It could be a trip someplace, a new purchase or a new experience such as a dinner at an expensive restaurant. Make it something really special, something you wouldn't normally do for yourself.
The second group of salespeople is consequence-avoiders. These are the folks who prefer a salary with their commission and who like to avoid risk if possible. Rather than stretching for unlimited income, they add up their monthly personal expenses and earn just enough to cover them. Consequence-avoiders are motivated primarily by the desire to keep bad things from happening, such as losing their jobs or not being able to pay their bills. Approximately 85% of salespeople are consequence-avoiders.
Since consequence-avoiders tend to find their motivation by keeping bad things from happening, they usually require the threat of dire consequences to push themselves to higher performance. If you are a consequence-avoider, you may find yourself working best under the gun, when it's close to quota time or when you're faced with losing a job.
If you really want to achieve greater results and learn to be a benefit-seeker, you'll need to self-impose some penalties to get you started and reward yourself with benefits when you achieve your goal. Make the penalty the loss of something you already have and make it something that hurts. For example, get rid of a favorite possession or take away a privilege, like TV, that you really enjoy. It motivates your teenagers, why won't it work with you? Make sure you get the reward, though, when you do well. You'll train yourself to seek rewards rather than avoid consequences and you'll be well on the way to greater sales success.
Did you know that there are two kinds of salespeople in the world? That's right, there are two different kinds of salespeople and they sell very differently. Knowing which one you are and how to use that information will make the difference between a mediocre or meteoric career in sales. See if you can tell which type you are.
The first group of salespeople is those who are benefit-seekers. These folks are the ones who are always looking to the stars, seeking opportunities to grow and sell more. They love open-ended commission scales. They are motivated by the opportunity to achieve, get more out of life and seldom think of the possibility of failure. Benefit-seekers are self-motivated and will maximize any incentive program. The top salespeople in every field are benefit-seekers. Only about 15% of the salespeople fit into this category.
Benefit-seekers tend to find their own motivation and are able to reach higher levels of achievement by using rewards and incentives. They seek to gain from their achievements and want to win trips, make bonuses, win trophies or contests, receive recognition and generally get more than they have now. If you are a benefit-seeker you can motivate yourself by promising yourself a reward when you achieve your goal. It could be a trip someplace, a new purchase or a new experience such as a dinner at an expensive restaurant. Make it something really special, something you wouldn't normally do for yourself.
The second group of salespeople is consequence-avoiders. These are the folks who prefer a salary with their commission and who like to avoid risk if possible. Rather than stretching for unlimited income, they add up their monthly personal expenses and earn just enough to cover them. Consequence-avoiders are motivated primarily by the desire to keep bad things from happening, such as losing their jobs or not being able to pay their bills. Approximately 85% of salespeople are consequence-avoiders.
Since consequence-avoiders tend to find their motivation by keeping bad things from happening, they usually require the threat of dire consequences to push themselves to higher performance. If you are a consequence-avoider, you may find yourself working best under the gun, when it's close to quota time or when you're faced with losing a job.
If you really want to achieve greater results and learn to be a benefit-seeker, you'll need to self-impose some penalties to get you started and reward yourself with benefits when you achieve your goal. Make the penalty the loss of something you already have and make it something that hurts. For example, get rid of a favorite possession or take away a privilege, like TV, that you really enjoy. It motivates your teenagers, why won't it work with you? Make sure you get the reward, though, when you do well. You'll train yourself to seek rewards rather than avoid consequences and you'll be well on the way to greater sales success.
