Sales leadership is never more challenging than when your team is facing declining numbers. In times like these, keeping motivation high is critical to driving performance and ensuring your team doesn’t lose morale.
And who better to tackle this challenge than expert sales coaches who have been there and done it?
We spoke to four of our seasoned sales coaches here at MySalesCoach:
Kaitlen Kelly, Neil Bhuiyan, Richard Bounds, and Bryan Mulry.
We asked them four fundamental questions about keeping a sales team motivated during tough times. Their responses offer practical, actionable strategies that any sales leader can implement, and start seeing results from quickly.
Heres what we'll discuss:
1. How to motivate a sales team during tough times
2. How to encourage a sales team when sales are down
3. Improving sales movitation - real life examples that work
What is the Most Important Factor to Consider When Motivating a Sales Team During Tough Times?
When it comes to motivating a sales team during a downturn, Kaitlen Kelly believes that reconnecting each individual to their personal "why" is the most powerful tool a leader has. As Kaitlen explains, every sales rep is motivated by something different, and a one-size-fits-all approach won’t work.
“If a rep is feeling like they’re just going through the motions without understanding why they’re doing it, motivation suffers,” Kaitlen notes.
By taking the time to understand each person’s deeper motivation, whether it’s financial freedom, career progression, or personal fulfillment, leaders can help their reps create a tangible connection between their daily tasks and their long-term goals.
Building on Kaitlen’s focus on personalisation, Bryan Mulry introduces the importance of psychological safety. In his view, it’s not just about helping reps clarify their personal goals, but also about creating an environment where they feel secure enough to pursue those goals without fear of job loss.
“If they know they’re not going to get dropped at the first sign of underperformance, they’ll focus on the right behaviours,” Bryan explains.
By fostering psychological safety, you prevent your team from falling into short-term, desperate tactics, and instead allow them to focus on the activities that truly drive long-term success.
While Bryan emphasises security, Richard Bounds talks about the importance of breaking down goals into manageable segments. Like a runner breaking a marathon into smaller milestones, Richard suggests setting shorter-term goals that allow the team to celebrate small wins along the way.
“It’s essential to remind them of past successes and set stepping stones toward bigger objectives,” Richard says.
This approach not only builds confidence but keeps momentum moving, even during difficult stretches.
Adding another layer, Neil Bhuiyan highlights the need for honesty and transparency. Neil argues that sugarcoating the situation or pretending everything is fine can erode trust.
“Be upfront about challenges and recognise the difficulty,” Neil advises.
By being open about the tough situation, you build trust and allow your team to rally around a shared challenge. Neil also suggests framing the situation as a collective effort:
“Your team needs to know that together, they can overcome these obstacles.”
Sales Motivation Tips:
- Understand each rep’s personal motivation and connect it to their work goals.
- Foster psychological safety by assuring job security, allowing reps to focus on the right activities.
- Break down large goals into smaller, short-term milestones to keep momentum high.
- Be transparent about challenges to build trust and unity within the team.
How To Balance Accountability and Encouragement When Sales Numbers Are Down?
Balancing accountability with encouragement is key when sales numbers are not meeting expectations. Neil Bhuiyan starts this conversation by highlighting the importance of focusing on facts rather than blame. He suggests reviewing sales performance data collaboratively, instead of pointing fingers.
“Use sales performance data to identify trends instead of assigning blame,” Neil says.
By framing the conversation as a team effort to find solutions, leaders can reduce the pressure and encourage reps to improve without feeling demoralised.
Kaitlen Kelly agrees with Neil’s collaborative approach but adds a focus on autonomy. She believes that giving reps the freedom to create their own action plans based on their strengths can be highly motivating.
“Let your reps design their own plan of action,” Kaitlen advises.
She notes that once reps take ownership of their plan, leaders can hold them accountable to their own goals. This balance of freedom and accountability empowers reps to take control of their performance, rather than simply following orders.
Bryan Mulry complements these ideas by offering a practical solution: shrink the time horizon for accountability. Instead of looking at long-term goals that might feel unreachable, Bryan suggests focusing on short-term tasks and wins.
“You don’t look at three months down the line. You look at this week or the next three days,” Bryan explains.
This approach not only makes goals feel more attainable but also gives leaders frequent opportunities to check in and provide support.
Finally, Richard Bounds rounds out this discussion by emphasising the importance of reviewing all metrics, not just closed revenue.
“Accountability should include all results and metrics beyond just sales,” Richard says.
By having open, team-wide discussions about performance, you ensure that everyone is aligned and understands where improvements can be made. Richard’s approach reinforces the idea that accountability is a shared responsibility, where leaders and reps work together to achieve better outcomes.
Sales Motivation Tips:
- Collaboratively review performance data to focus on facts, not blame.
- Give reps the autonomy to create their own action plans based on their strengths.
- Set short-term, achievable goals with regular check-ins for accountability.
- Review all metrics, not just revenue, to get a complete performance picture.
How To Improve Sales Motivation With Real Life Examples that work
When it comes to real-world examples of motivating sales teams, our experts have years of in-the-trenches experience to inspire you. We asked our experts for examples of sales motivation strategies they've used on their own teams when numbers have been down, which have worked for them.
Kaitlen Kelly recalls an experience where her leadership team participated in a “four-box” conversation. This exercise had nothing to do with sales performance but instead focused on sharing personal stories about family, career journeys, hobbies, and personal goals.
“We got to know each other on a human level, which gave us a better understanding of each other’s ‘whys,’” Kaitlen shares.
The result was a deeper sense of connection within the team, which in turn led to a stronger, more collaborative effort to tackle their business challenges.
Similarly, Neil Bhuiyan shares a story about how he helped underperforming SDRs through Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs). But instead of treating the PIP as a punishment, Neil approached it as an opportunity for growth.
“We’d sit down, review the numbers, identify weaknesses, and build an actionable plan together,” Neil says.
His collaborative approach helped many SDRs turn things around, while others realised that sales wasn’t the right fit, allowing them to transition into other roles. In both cases, the reps felt supported, not threatened, which is key to maintaining motivation.
Bryan Mulry also offers an example of how collaboration can drive performance improvements and get your team to sell more. He organised “office hours” where his small team would gather to work on the same tasks together.
“The speed at which we improved was much faster because we were all working on the same problem together,” Bryan recalls.
This peer-learning approach not only helped reps overcome specific challenges but also built a stronger team dynamic as they worked side by side to solve problems.
For Richard Bounds, motivation was rekindled in a struggling team by shifting focus from revenue to behaviours and activity. By setting smaller, achievable objectives and celebrating small wins, Richard and his leadership team rebuilt the team’s momentum.
“We brought positivity to every interaction and shared successes, which helped build morale,” Richard says.
He also made some personnel changes, bringing in fresh energy, which revitalised the team and improved overall performance.
Sales Motivation Tips:
- Create team-building activities focused on personal connections to foster deeper collaboration.
- Use PIPs as opportunities for growth, not punishment, and build action plans with your reps.
- Organise peer-learning sessions where reps can work together on common challenges.
- Focus on behaviours and activity rather than just revenue to rebuild momentum and morale.
What Are Some Long-Term Strategies for Keeping Your Sales Team Morale High, Even When Results Aren’t Favourable?
Looking beyond immediate challenges, Neil Bhuiyan advises that long-term motivation comes from focusing on pipeline building and continuous skill development.
“Encourage your team to build a strong pipeline for future quarters and invest in weekly coaching,” Neil says.
This ensures that reps stay engaged even when short-term results aren’t where they need to be. Training also keeps reps focused on improvement, which fosters a growth mindset.
Richard Bounds supports this idea and adds that it’s essential to promote teamwork and maintain a positive outlook.
“Focus on personal and professional growth to ensure constant progress,” Richard advises.
He suggests creating regular opportunities for reps to discuss the value they bring to customers, which helps them stay connected to the broader impact of their work, even when the immediate numbers aren’t there.
Kaitlen Kelly highlights the importance of building a supportive community within the team.
“Create a safe environment where reps can connect off the sales floor and support each other,” she says.
Kaitlen suggests activities like team bonding exercises, setting up a buddy system, or celebrating effort-based wins to foster camaraderie. These actions build trust and provide a sense of belonging, which can keep morale high even during tough times.
Finally, Bryan Mulry brings it back to psychological safety. He believes that long-term morale is maintained by ensuring that reps feel secure in their roles, even when results aren’t immediately favourable.
“Make sure reps know they’re contributing to the long-term goals of the business, even if short-term results aren’t there,” Bryan advises.
By aligning individual contributions with the bigger picture, leaders can provide reps with a sense of purpose that extends beyond immediate performance metrics.
Sales Motivation Tips:
- Focus on building a strong pipeline for future growth and provide regular coaching.
- Promote personal and professional growth to maintain consistent progress and positivity.
- Foster team camaraderie through bonding exercises, buddy systems, and celebrating effort-based wins.
- Ensure psychological safety by aligning reps' efforts with the long-term vision of the business.
Blending Strategy with Empathy
Motivating a sales team during tough times is no easy task, but the collective wisdom of these sales coaches shows that success lies in combining empathy, transparency, and strategy.
From helping reps reconnect with their personal “why” to fostering a culture of psychological safety and focusing on continuous development, sales leaders have a variety of tools at their disposal. Ultimately, the goal is to create an environment where every rep feels supported, empowered, and motivated to keep pushing forward—even when the results aren’t immediate.
By blending short-term wins with long-term vision, you can guide your team through the toughest of times and emerge stronger together.
Looking for further Sales Leadership tips?
Why not check out some of our guides around: Sales coaching techniques, sales team building activities and mastering sales team management!
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