Motivation

1. Motivation

2. Discussion Questions • What is the best way to motivate a salesforce? • How can you systematically design a motivation system?

3. Three Major Determinants of Motivation • Environmental conditions • The firm’s management policies • compensation • supervision • task characteristics • Personal characteristics of the salesperson

4. Motivation Session Objectives • understand the components of motivation through the expectancy-value model • relate management tools to components of the expectancy-value model, to use in influencing motivational levels • consider how management style and the use of various “tools” influence motivation

5. Motivation Session Outline • Locus of Control and Motivation • Expectancy-Value Model of motivation • what is it? • Who cares? (implications of the model) • Glengarry Glen Ross & the impact of the sales manager on motivation • The impact of role stress

6. Locus of Control and Motivation • Locus: • External vs. internal attributions • Stable vs. unstable attributions • Examples: • External Stable: • External Unstable: • Internal Stable: • Internal Unstable:

7. The Expectancy-Value model • Why are people motivated • to initiate a task • to choose a certain effort level • to persist in a task • Expectancy Principle: salespeople choose a level of effort based on the expected payoffs of alternative effort levels • Most popular model of motivation (at least among sales force researchers)

8. Expectancy-Value Model in Notation • Mj=Ej x Vj where: • Mj=motivational drive to achieve level j of performance (e.g. sales, number of new accounts etc.) • Ej =beliefs about the effort to performance linkage: perceived chances of achieving level j of performance given effort • Vj = overall subjective utility (valence or value) of achieving level j of performance

9. Examples:

10. Valence/Value: Vj • Valence is a composite of the utility you derive from the suboutcomes (consequences) that accompany achieving level j of performance • These might include: • more pay, promotion, liking & respect, lack of leisure time, personal growth • security, sense of accomplishment, recognition, hurting personal life • Outcomes can have negative utility/valence • Obviously the list could be longer & vary across individuals

11. Vj=  (Iij x Vi) Vj = expected overall utility to an individual of achieving performance level j Iij = beliefs about the performance to suboutcomes linkages: the individuals subjective probability that achieving performance level j would create suboutcome I (instrumentalities) Example: 30% chance that selling $300K (performance level j) would get one a promotion (suboutcome I) Vi = the utility an individual derives from suboutcome I (e.g., a promotion) Note: this can be negative

12. Nobody thinks like this (it’s too complicated) But model holds up well in field testing (good “as if” model) Explains up to 40% of variance in performance That’s nice, but who cares?

13. Model is a handy way to structure a messy question Forces you to project o each individual’s underlying beliefs (expectancies) and needs/wants (values) Different people can exhibit the same level of motivation for very different reasons Nice vocabulary to talk about motivation Expectancy-Value Model Advantages

14. No reward is motivating if it is out of reach (low expectancy) Raising the goal (performance level j) often depresses motivation Introduces negative outcomes Depresses expectancies Can motivate by trying to induce sales people to: raise expectancy (I.e. through training, encouragement) consider a negative suboutcome unlikely consider a positive suboutcome likely Add a new positive suboutcome Change their ideas about whether suboutcomes are desirable or undesirable (vi: doomed strategy for the most part) Implications for How to Motivate

15. what is the impact of management style on the components of the expectancy value model? What motivational “tools” are used? How do these tools impact motivation in the short-term? Over the long term? How do these tools impact extrinsic motivations? Intrinsic motivation? Glengarry Glen Ross

16. Positive Motivators Commission Recognition Acceptance Respect Trust Achievement Pride Negative Motivators Fear Intimidation Revenge Obligation Social Comparison (one-up) Motivators

17. Sales Manager Objectives & Tools • Objectives: • Increase magnitude and accuracy of expectancies • Increase accuracy of instrumentalities • Understand and work with valences • Key: • reduce role stress arising from role ambiguity & role conflict • Tools: • training: expectancies • evaluations, reviews: expectancies, instrumentalities • communication, participation: instrumentalities • selection: hire SP whose Vi’s match company suboutcomes

18. How to Motivate • Define each employee’s motivating factors and provide an environment that incorporates those factors • Praise performance • Address poor performance • Set goals & clearly communicate expectations • Share your vision and include your team in creating it

19. Measuring Components of the Model • May be done informally for small sales forces, but beware of biases (e.g. we believe what we want to believe; we think everyone else is like we are) • periodic surveys can be conducted to quantify each component of the model • expectancies: to what extent do you believe that if you do x, y will happen • instrumentalities: to what extent do you believe that if y happens, you’ll receive z • valences for suboutcomes: how important is .. • Quantified information is valuable at both the aggregate level and the individual level

20. Role Stress • “A primary influence on how salespeople perform is their perceptions of the demands placed upon them” • “A role is a prescription: • it tells you the activities and behavior that are expected of anyone in a position • Role partners • communicate expectations • pressure salespeople to meet them • A role partner is anyone with a vested interest in how a salesperson does the job, such as: • the boss, the customers, other executives, other salespeople and support people, people who are significant in the sales rep’s personal life

21. Role Stress (continued) • Role stress is like a disease; most reps suffer complications of role stress • Why? • Sales is at the boundary of the firm; salespeople are boundary spanners, which means lots of role partners • Salespeople often have to be creative; find solutions; reconcile needs • A sales reps performance affects performance of lots of other people • Sales reps personify the cruel voice of the marketplace (scapegoat- kill the messenger) • Time and resource constraints necessitate tradeoffs between role partners’ expectations

22. Role Stress (continued) • Day after day, salespeople grapple with the messages their role partners send them and the pressures role partners put on them. • Two things create role stress (create problems that eventually will make the salesperson miserable): • Perceived Role Conflict • Perceived Role Ambiguity

23. Perceived Role Conflict: • you feel that the demands of your role partners are incompatible. To make one happy, you have to upset another (perceived). • Upshot: misery & poor motivation

24. Perceived Role Ambiguity: • You feel you don’t have the information to cope with your job demands • don’t know how to do a task • don’t know what role partners expect • don’t know how your performance is being evaluated • don’t have clear objectives • SUM: unsure how you’re doing and what to do next

25. How to reduce Role Stress • Communicate! Give feedback! • Even bad news is better than news • Salespeople must have accurate expectancies & instrumentalities • Training and encouragement: increase expectancies for desired levels of performance- people who believe they can, often do • Accept that some role stress is normal (even desirable) • but be especially alert for dysfunctional levels of role stress in inexperienced people

26. Sales Manager Atmosphere Creation • Traditional Approach • Authoritative “management” • Emphasis on rewards the manager gives out: • pay • promotion • recognition of achievement • Leading to: • Motivation to work harder: intensity, persistence

27. Non-traditional atmosphere • Participate leadership • Emphasis on intrinsic rewards & motivation • people work because selling satisfies them with: • challenges • pride in serving customers • pride in skills • “Warm Culture” • informal • sense of shared values • identify with company • long-term employment

28. Motivating • A motivator is one who can understand an overall goal and inspire others to make a personal commitment to this goal • 5 ways to provide a motivating environment • Participation: involvement in decisions that affect the team • Environment: climate for success, creativity • Recognition: giving credit, praise, rewards • Knowledge: having it, communicating it • Style: use appropriate style for each situation: • coaching, supporting, delegating, directing