How can I help my sales team be happier?
Happy people sell! This may not sound very revolutionary but how many times in a day do you hear people complain, whine and moan about their jobs, their life or their relationships? So what makes us happy and how can you help your team and colleagues achieve more happiness?
There are many studies into the psychology of happiness and I in know way claim to be a psychologist but there are an agreed list of principals that if adhered to can drive happiness and contentment in life (and sales!)
1. CERTAINTY- Pay rent, eat food, warmth, routine.
2. UNCERTAINTY- Variety, surprise.
3. SIGNIFICANCE- Need to feel important, special, unique.
4. CONNECTION- Friendship, prayer, a dog, partner.
The first four needs are always ascertained in one way or an other and if through extreme circumstance you cannot fulfil any one of the first four principals then your happiness level will deteriorate severely. Numbers five and six are strived for by the successful and the balanced.
Very few people stop striving before they’ve reached the certainties in life, and few people watch the same film every night, eat the same meal and tell the same joke repeatedly.
Significance is gained in different ways dependant on circumstance and chosen paths. The nurse will gain significance helping the sick while the gang member instantly gains significance by shooting the shop owner!
In recent studies of happiness it was found and well documented that ‘connection’ or being a part of a group/community gave much greater and longer lasting happiness than material wealth and status. Be it part of a football team, customer service team, armed gang, church group or family.
Think of the team you manage, how well catered for are they on the first four human needs within your business?
Are there certainties in their work?
Is there variety, surprises?
How important do they feel?
Is there a team spirit?
5.YOU MUST GROW- Learn, evolve, prosper.
“You are either green and growing or ripe and rotting” – Ray Kroc
Learning a new subject or language, travelling to new cultures and communities or simply developing your current skills to a new level is proven to increase happiness, decrease stress levels and inflate your self-esteem.
6. TO CONTRIBUTE BEYOND OURSELVES- Community, family, greater world.
Numbers five and six go hand in hand. You learn and grow and pass these skills on to others or use them to create a better world/community.
‘To stand still is to stagnate’
What are you currently doing to help your team/individual team members grow? What are you doing to contribute back to the team?