Have you ever wondered why people do what they do?
Maybe you’ve had a team member say they’d make those follow-up calls — and they didn’t.
Or a rep who swore they wouldn’t discount — and then did it anyway.
Sales managers across Austin ask me all the time: “How do I get my people to do what I want them to do?”
Here’s the tough truth: You can’t.
People only do one thing — what they want to do.
Motivation Starts With Understanding “Why”
If you don’t know why your team members get up and go to work each morning, motivating them becomes a guessing game.
A salesperson might tell you they’ll follow the new playbook, but if they don’t want to, their effort will show it. Deadlines slip. Details get missed. Deals stall.
That’s because real motivation doesn’t come from your sales goals — it comes from their internal drive.
Why Salespeople Say What You Want to Hear
Most of us learned early in life to tell others what they want to hear. It’s how we avoided punishment or criticism.
Your reps might still be doing that today — saying yes in meetings, then doing what they actually want once they leave.
When there’s a disconnect between what a manager wants and what a rep truly wants, performance suffers. That’s not a behavior problem — it’s a motivation problem.
Step 1: Build a Foundation of Trust
Before you can uncover what motivates someone, you have to earn their trust.
If a salesperson feels you’re just trying to manipulate them into doing something, they’ll never open up.
Building trust takes time — consistent coaching, transparency, and genuine curiosity about their personal and professional goals.
Once trust is in place, people will start telling you what really drives them — whether it’s hitting a number, earning recognition, gaining independence, or building mastery.
Step 2: Ask Better Questions
Once you’ve earned that trust, the next step is simple — ask questions that uncover motivation.
For example:
“What part of this project are you most excited about?”
“What does success look like for you here?”
“Do you have the time and resources you need to make this happen?”
If a rep isn’t excited about a project, lacks time, or doesn’t feel capable, forcing them won’t help. You’re better off finding someone whose goals align with the task.
That alignment — between what the business needs and what the rep wants — is where real motivation happens.
Austin Sales Leaders: Your Challenge
In Austin’s fast-moving business scene — from tech startups to B2B service firms — sales leaders can’t afford to rely on surface-level motivation.
The best leaders create teams that want to perform because their personal motivations are connected to the organization’s mission.
So here’s your challenge:
What steps are you taking to discover what truly motivates your team?
