Motivation
3/2/99
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Discussion Questions
What is the best way to motivate a
salesforce?
How can you systematically design a
motivation system?
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Three Major Determinants
of Motivation
Environmental conditions
The firm’s management policies
compensation
supervision
task characteristics
Personal characteristics of the salesperson
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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
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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
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Locus of Control and
Motivation
Locus:
External vs. internal attributions
Stable vs. unstable attributions
Examples:
External Stable:
External Unstable:
Internal Stable:
Internal Unstable:
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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)
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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
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Examples:
Ej
Vj
Mj
Level of Performance
80% 60
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If j=$200,000 in sales
40% 100
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If j=$300,000 in sales
10% 80
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If j=$400,000 in sales
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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
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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
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That’s nice, but who
cares?
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
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Expectancy-Value Model
Advantages
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
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Implications for How to
Motivate
 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
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undesirable (vi: doomed strategy for the most part)
Glengarry Glen Ross
 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?
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Motivators
Positive Motivators
Commission
Recognition
Acceptance
Respect
Trust
Achievement
Pride
Negative Motivators
Fear
Intimidation
Revenge
Obligation
Social Comparison
(one-up)
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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
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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
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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
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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
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personal life
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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