Motivation and Job Performance - Coursework Example

Motivation Plan Name Institution Name Course Name and Code Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Motivation and Job Performance 4 4Ps Marketing Strategy 4 Customized Motivational Mix 6 Improving the sales environment 6 Motivational Strategies 7 Conclusion 9 References 10 Introduction Motivation is regarded as a process that is tasked with producing goal-oriented behaviour in a person. It is strongly associated with initiating desired behaviour within an individual as well as directing it towards attainment of organisational goals. In general motivation comprises of three elements; need, drive and goal. It has been established that individual need satisfaction hinders the drive in him to work towards satisfaction of the need. With regard to this understanding, the effectiveness of the sales force plays a critical role in the overall success, growth and prosperity of the organisation. Accordingly, for the organisation to meet its organisational goals, it is vital for the sales team to be highly motivated. Motivation in the sales function is defined as the amount of effort a sales person is willing and ready to expend in the selling job. It is also important to note that not all sales people are self-motivated and thus the need to be motivated in order to perform. Sales managers can use motivational theories like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, goal-setting theory, Herzberg’s two-factor theory, expectancy theory, and job design theories. This paper discusses how sales managers can create a motivation program for the salespersons team. Motivation and Job Performance Motivation is a crucial factor that compels every human being to achieve or accomplish his/her goals. It is the guiding principle that allows people to remain focused on the success path regardless of the obstacles and challenges encountered (Reid & Plank, 2004). Individual performance is largely determined by his/her capability to do the job, the working environment including tools, materials together with the information or knowledge needed to do the job, and Motivation which is the desire to do the job (Laporta, 2003). It has been established that work environments where work is monotonous and unchallenging, employees tend to be bored and annoyed and hence compromise their performance levels (Dixon & Adamson, 2013). Accordingly, by encouraging workers to work in teams thus making their work more interactive, employees become more competent, highly motivated and highly flexible to undertake multiple tasks thus increasing their performance levels (Vashisht, 2006). Similarly, when the employer is reasonable and fair, employees will feel happier and motivated. In general, employee motivation increases the employee performance levels, which on the other hand help the company to succeed in its objectives. 4Ps Marketing Strategy A marketing strategy is an essential tool that a company uses to ensure that their products, promotions and services are noticed or recognized by the consumer (Bidgoli, 2010). For instance, a company can produce best products and introduce them to the market; however, without good communication between the company and the perceived product consumer, the company will not be able to sell these products (Gupta, 2009). ASDA after its acquisition by Wal-Mart it has become a chain store that is renowned for its low prices for household and other products. Since its entry into this market, Wal-Mart has grown to become one of the best and biggest Britain chain stores (Hoover & Sparkman, 2006). The company’s massive growth and success has been attributed to its marketing strategy, which has ensured customer retention as well as attraction of new ones. This section discusses Wal-Mart UK marketing strategy using 4Ps marketing mix Product: this is a tangible item that satisfies consumer needs. Wal-Mart has a wide variety of household products. These products are of high value but are offered at low prices, thus the company is able to attract and maintain a wider customer base. Place: this is the location of the business where customers can conveniently access. Wal-Mart UK has stores in major cities like London (Barker, Valos & Shimp, 2012). Similarly, the company has built stores in rural areas where customers from these locations can conveniently access company products (Moore, 2010). Accordingly, the company has a strong online presence, which on the other hand has allowed many customers to have knowledge of the company operations. Price: this is the amount the customer pays for the product. Price is a very important aspect of marketing as it determines the company’s profitability as well as its survival. Wal-Mart is renowned of selling its products below cost (Daft, 2008). In this regard, the company offers its products at a cheap price something that has influenced the attraction of many customers. Promotion: this refers to all methods of communication that the company use to inform current and prospective customers about its products (Stevens & Kinni, 2006). Wal-Mart use different communication channels to reach its customers including advertisement, sales promotion, direct marketing, and public relations Customized Motivational Mix Sales managers in any organisation are tasked with continually looking for better ways to motivate their sales staff. Salespersons are exposed to immense pressure including market changes, quotas and new territories (Gerson, 2006). With regard to this, sales managers must always create a motivating workplace. Proper motivation requires employee recognition, support and reward (Kroemer, 2002). An effective motivation program must be one that is aimed at improving the sales environments and has excellent motivational strategies. Improving the sales environment In order to improve the sales environment the sales manager must 1. Regularly schedule meetings with sales persons Rather than focusing on what the sales people are not doing right, it is important for the sales manager to have a one on one meeting to address the work environment issues (Dyck & Neubert, 2008). For instance, ask the salespeople what their main points of motivation are, this will help the manager to understand what motivates who (Riley, 2006). 2. Train salespeople The sales manager should or must train their employees on different marketing strategies in order to increase their motivation levels (Grant, 2004). Some of the methods used here include Appointing salespeople to train their peers; this is one of the excellent ways to recognize special skills among the sales staff (Lawoyin, 2008) Taking a sales field trip which will help the sales staff to discover new sales strategies (Darmon, 2007) Outside consultants can also be chose to train the salespeople; these consultants must be picked carefully. It is important that these consultants be experts who have diverse knowledge in time management skills. Mentors should be appointed to train young sales associates 3. Invest in new sales tools The sales manager should also make sure that the company’s CRM is improving the sales environment instead detracting from it (Ohai, 2008). For instance, it should have good reporting, mobile app or mass mail tools; these are essential in improving the salesperson’s efficiency and making them to achieve their sales goals, which on the other hand improve their motivation. Motivational Strategies a. Tailor the motivational plan to each employee If the sales manager has the capacity to adjust the incentive schemes, he/she should use it. Each person has a unique motivational attributes; in this regard, the sales manager should try to align each salesperson motivational attribute to the incentive offered (Havaldar & Cavale, 2006) b. Create an effective and reasonable commission structure In the event that only a few salespeople are meeting their quotas, the sales manager should review how effective the company is working to motivate employees (Husted & Allen, 2010). In this essence, he/she should reconsider the caps on commissions or quotas; for example, they can be placed at lower levels particularly when the market has dropped and/or rising them, accordingly when there is a market boom (Castaldo, 2007). c. Implement daily, weekly and monthly incentives It is important for the sales manager to offer a salesperson a trip, large gift card, day off, free lunch, coffee, and/or gym/club membership particularly if the salesperson has achieved most sales in a week; this will automatically encourage the sales staff to go an extra mile (Hunt, 2003). The bonuses offered on interim basis consequently help salespersons to meet their larger quotas through helping them to hit milestones during the season. It has also been established that incentives nurtures friendly competition (Friedman & Friedman, 2009). In this regard, competing on a daily basis for new marketing leads and/or lead qualification will influence the salespeople to push each other to do better. The sales manager should maintain incentives at a value that nurtures friendly competition but does not encourage sabotage. d. Create a personal goal The sales manager must also keep in mind what motivates each individual employee; for this reason, they can tack on an incentive to each employee’s commission, which applies to their desire (Downey, 2007). For example, if you have knowledge that an employee is having an important personal event like an anniversary, it will be more appropriate to offer him/her one or two paid days offs particularly when they meet their goal. e. Encourage a team environment In some occasions and for various reasons a salesperson can feel like his/she is working alone towards a company’s set target (Saxena, 2010). Given this understanding, it is important for the sales manager to create team incentives, which will encourage salespersons to help one another and thus share information and knowledge for a common goal. f. Recognize sales achievements It extremely important that the time the sales manager takes to appreciate or congratulate an individual salesperson for his/her hard work can largely decide how hard he/she work to reach the next quota. In this regard, it is important to consider the following recognition strategies: Congratulation should be public; their achievements should be brought up during sales meetings (Trehan & Trehan, 2012). Accordingly, the sales manager should be as specific as possible in their success details. Write the person a note; it is essential not to wait until their yearly review in order to recognize their work. A letter can be send to their house informing them of how the company value them; this can be accompanied with a gift card to their family (McClay, 2010). The hardworking salesperson can also be introduced to the company executive for their achievement. Recognition to the top management hardly comes by particularly when the salesperson has high turnover (Cheverton, 2004). If an individual surpasses goals, it will be appropriate to schedule meetings for them to meet the top management staff or they can just be invited to sit in on a strategy meeting (Schiffman, 2007). Conclusion Motivation is a process that is involved with producing goal-oriented behaviour in an individual. It is highly linked to initiating desired behaviour within an individual as well as directing it towards attainment of organisational goals. This paper has brought to light various aspects of motivation including the importance of motivating the salespeople. Accordingly, the paper has discussed how performance affects job performance. In the same line of discussion, Wal-Mart UK marketing strategy using 4ps marketing mix has also been extensively discussed. 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