Leveraging Enthusiasm

Where does excitement come from? During a one on one session with a member of my inside sales team yesterday, the subject of a recent four day long sales promotion arose. The number of widgets sold across the four days were 18, 6, 9, and 8, respectively. I asked my associate what was different between day one and days two, three, and four. Her response was that everyone was focused on the specific task of increasing sales of widgets because of the excitement surrounding the beginning of the event (in not so many words, actually). I asked what an individual in her department could do to spread the excitement to other days of the event in the future. Her response was so simple and so complex at the same time. She thought for a moment and said, "Just get excited." The look on her face showed that she'd had an epiphany: Excitement can be summoned at will.

Many associates and managers wait for events, promotions, or incentives to come around in order to act as a catalyst for change or for increased productivity. I have to admit that sometimes I find myself doing just that. The key to breaking that cycle is to make rallying the troops a daily activity. Creativity and a little jocularity go a long way towards lightening loads and turning exasperatingly impossible tasks into manageable challenges to be overcome.

Excitement is contagious and leads to excellent results if your team has a firm training base and the skillset to direct their enthusiasm. Be sure you're not selling yourself and your team short by not capitalizing on easiest "event" to set up and maintain... your team's excitement and enthusiasm.