My experience with giving recognition using certificates, trophies, and gift cards, quite honestly, has been somewhat blasé. I’m never sure it has accomplished the goal that I had intended. Many times it was received with a lackluster thanks. Maybe I was at fault with my presentation… criteria used? What has been your experience?
We are all trying to stay motivated, motivating others, right? Training, meetings, one on ones, rewards, bonuses, spiffs and the list goes on. We even go to the negative with imposed pressure, tensions and ultimatums to motivate. How has that worked for you? Long-term? If you’re like me it didn’t. I needed to change something. Was it me or them? And then it hit me… everyone is already motivated.
At the end of our meeting a wonderful family going through a very trying time spontaneously gave me hugs for all I had done for them. Wow. They were dealing with the imminent death of their dad and husband. An emotional time to say the least. The reality of making pre-need plans had hit them hard and I helped to take this confusing burden off their plate. I have been in sales for many years and had never experienced getting a hug before. After that meeting I thought… “what could I do to make sure all my families felt the way these folks felt?”
You paid the price. You did your due diligence which included; attending meetings, passing out business cards, swapping leads, and building referral relationships over massive amounts of coffee. Then, while talking with one of these important lead swapping partners, you find out they bought from a competitor. What’s up with that! Why wouldn’t your sales network partner have come to you first?