How do you stay motivated over the long term?

A critical issue in the world of work, all the more so for sales positions: Having to prospect prospects - Remaining enthusiastic in the face of disdainful customers - Reaching second-quarter targets only to start from scratch on the first day of the third quarter, etc...

⇒ Nothing natural about that!

To maintain the enthusiasm of the early days, certain levers can be used. This is where companies with the means to do so bring out the heavy artillery: exorbitant salaries, large variable bonuses, extravagant team building, promises of rapid development, benefits of all kinds, and so on.

Many factors influence motivation. Although they vary from one individual to another, there is a universal and largely underestimated one: continuous training.

The promise of a gradual, steady rise in skills. In a fast-moving profession like sales, this is particularly important.

Forget the myth that "the field is enough". Of course, practice is still an essential part of the job: let's say 80% to 90%. But you always have at least 10% of your time to devote to training, to be spread over the diary! This is all the more important for young teams (less than 2 years' experience).

Marginal cost, exponential results: here's why training is so important and how you can easily integrate it into your routines.

I. Continuing training: a powerful motivator

People who want to do their job well. We all want to prove that we're up to the job. As Confucius, the great sales team leader, said:

"The worker who wishes to do his job well must first sharpen his tools."

⇒ Learn how to sharpen their tools!

First of all, "continuous" training, i.e. spread out over time, produces magical results over the long term. But that's not all! At the end of a good session, you can feel a real boost of motivation within the team. It's as if the whole team had caught a mushroom in Mario Kart! Fast and effective.

On a more serious note, numerous studies show that training increases long-term self-confidence and reduces stress. It makes you feel supported. When your company takes the time to invest in you, you feel invigorated: "They trust me. And when someone invests in you, you want to prove that you're worthy, that you can be trusted. By the way, this has a name: "the law of reciprocity".

On the other hand, an employee who feels he's stagnating won't stay for long... Opportunities for advancement are an essential part of the job, and training is a major contributor to this. Training = progress, and the feeling of progress is very comforting.

In short, it's as powerful as it is indispensable. And to ensure that training pays off in the long term, the first step is to integrate it into your routines.

II. Establish an ongoing training routine

Before you start, please note the following points: Training sessions must be mandatory.

This is not negotiable. No excuses. This is how it will become a habit.

Now, if you're leading the team, take 2 minutes to explain:

1. What's today's topic?
2. What is the aim of the session?
3. For how long?
4. What skills and knowledge will the training provide?

As in a customer meeting, we always start by presenting the context. That way, your teams will know where they're going and feel involved.

At Modjo, for example, we're currently focusing on"How best to manage our objections". Since the Modjo tool enables us to visualize and dissect our customer exchanges, here are 3 innovative ways of integrating continuous training:

1. The coaching session

Every Friday morning, we organize a one-hour coaching session, led by a top player or myself. All sales/BDRs are present:

1. We choose a specific theme. Let's say: "3 objections encountered this week and how to respond to them".
2. Then we listen to several customer exchanges again, focusing on the key moments of each call.
   ⇒ Offers that failed, trying to understand the causes and what could be improved.
   ⇒ Successful offers - to get an idea of their structure and pitch.
3. Everyone takes partin the debate and has to give their opinion. As well as bonding the teams, a "beginning" of collective intelligence emerges, unheard of among dirty players! (Just kidding, of course 😄).

Why? By studying extracts from real negotiations carried out in-house, you base your training on the problems you encounter on a daily basis. You get away from the "off-the-shelf" training courses that work for everyone and, ultimately, for no-one.

2. Peer-to-peer rebroadcast

Sales representatives are divided into teams of two, and 30 minutes are set aside to listen to each other's calls. Everyone comments and gives their opinion directly on the recording. Simple and effective

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Tips: Works well as a challenge. Ask each pair to set a minimum number of comments/per call.

3. The shared library

The idea is to isolate extracts from calls, including the best responses to objections we all encounter, and then centralize these extracts in a "library" objection.

• Anyone can access it at any time.
• Whenever an objection makes us wobble, we listen to five extracts where this has already happened and how our experienced colleagues have dealt with it.
• This resource center reassures newcomers and helps them quickly gain confidence.

In concrete terms, count on two 30-minute sessions per week, usually at the end of the day. You can even go a step further and suggest that your team replace their Netflix series with Modjo re-listens! They'll love it.

III. Repeat, repeat, repeat...

Did you spend the first 15 years of your life at school without ever studying how your memory works?

Here's a key I wish I'd known when I was younger => The Ebbinghaus curve, or "memorization curve".

This is amemorization techniquethat involves repeating a given piece of information over time. If you want to memorize a lesson effectively, for example, you need to read it several times:

• 1st time within 10 minutes of the lesson
• A 2nd time on D+1
• A 3rd time at D+7
• A 4th time at D+30
• A 5th time at D+180.

It's sad, but when you teach a concept, 80% of your team I've forgotten it within 6 months... This timeline helps reinforce and revitalize these concepts. Plan follow-ups and train regularly. Session after session, you're getting closer to excellence. Don't give up until you've mastered the skill.

Conclusion

I can only encourage you to set up continuous training, as soon as possible, and in your own way. Given the rate of change in today's society and the multiplication of tools, I'm sure there won't be a company not training its employees in 5 years' time!

Beyond the obligation to participate, the training session must remain a moment of relaxation (hence the Friday morning slot, for example).

Last but not least, continuing training is increasingly popular with candidates, and is becoming a real differentiating factor when choosing a new employer. Put it to the fore when recruiting;)

We conclude with this beautiful quote from Benjamin Franklin:

"Tell me and I'll forget; teach me and I may remember; involve me and I'll learn.

Better,