Sales is a demanding profession; targets shift, priorities compete, and the pressure to perform never goes away. Yet when you look closely at the people who consistently deliver results, the difference isn’t skills, product knowledge, or even experience. The difference is energy, and the ability to manage it.
We will follow the story of Alex, a capable salesperson whose performance fluctuates from day to day. Through Alex’s journey, you’ll explore how motivation works, consider what drives your own energy levels, and how small shifts in self-awareness can transform the way you sell. Along the way, you can complete reflective exercises to help you uncover ways to improve your self-awareness and thus your performance. If you are a sales manager, this will apply to you as well; it’s just the nature of your activities that are different.
It’s 08:30 in the morning as Alex opens the laptop to a familiar sight: a full inbox, CRM reminders, and a monthly target that feels both achievable and intimidating. If anyone was to ask Alex what their energy level was this morning, they’d say, “A six out of ten”. They’re thinking “Not bad, not great, just… fine.” Yet what would their day look like, and how would they be feeling if they had answered 8 out of 10?
Reflection exercise
Privately rate your own energy right now from 1–10.
If it’s less than 8, consider why that is and what needs to change. If it’s 8 or above, reflect on why that is and how you can keep it at that level.
Research shows that energy levels in the first 90 minutes of the day strongly predict productivity for the rest of it. For Alex, and for most of us the day’s trajectory starts here.
Like Alex, many sellers will experience up and downs in their energy during the day. This is the main challenge for sellers and their managers and is due to the crucial role that motivation plays in performance.
The motivation chain
Motivation drives focus. Focus directs consistency of effort. Consistency of effort leads to performance.
Aggregated research studies show that only 16% of salespeople consistently hit quota year‑round, and the biggest differentiator isn’t skill, it’s sustained energy.
To understand what fuels that energy, we need to look at two types of motivation:
- Extrinsic motivation: the external conditions around you
- Intrinsic motivation: the internal drivers within you
Both shape your day, but in very different ways, as we will see as we follow Alex during their day.
It’s 9.00 and Alex’s morning begins with friction: the CRM freezes, pricing updates cause confusion, and their manager asks for a report they weren’t expecting. These are classic extrinsic factors: the hygiene elements of the job that are usually outside an individual’s control.
When extrinsic factors are poor, they drain energy quickly. Studies show salespeople lose up to two hours a day to admin and system friction. This is almost a quarter of their potential productive time.
Leaders need to ensure that extrinsic or hygiene factors are seen as appropriate. Good extrinsic factors by themselves will not improve motivation; they just ensure that energy doesn’t drain away as a result.
Reflection exercise
Write down one extrinsic factor that currently supports you, and one that frustrates you.
Decide on what to do about the one that frustrates you. This can range from accepting it for what it is and focusing on using your energy in other ways to raising it with someone who can do something about it.
Alex decides to work round the CRM issue for the next 10 minutes and then get in touch with their manager. Alex finds that their frustration disappears and their energy rises. What Alex doesn’t know is that ‘action often precedes motivation’. If you’re struggling to start something, commit to just 10 minutes because making progress fuels motivation. Noticing small progress (finishing a tricky email, solving a problem, helping a colleague) boosts dopamine which builds momentum. (Dopamine is an important neurochemical which boosts mood, motivation, and focus)
At 9:30am, Alex joins a customer call. Now everything changes. They’re energised, focused, and fully engaged. This is their intrinsic motivation at work: the internal drivers that create momentum.
Alex thrives on building relationships and helping customers get better results. Alex is also energised by the opportunity to develop new skills. These motivators give them energy, and when they’re activated, performance becomes self‑sustaining. Research shows intrinsically motivated salespeople are three times more likely to exceed quota.
Reflection exercise
Choose your top three intrinsic motivators from the list below and also identify the one that energises you the least.
- Making a difference
- Working autonomously
- Being creative & innovative
- Achieving a high standard of living
- Becoming highly skilled
- Being in control
- Having security
- Building relationships
- Earning recognition and respect
The energy slump
After a series of energising customer calls and the need to update the CRM as well as do related admin, Alex’s energy begins to tail off.
Then, it’s prospecting time. Alex hesitates and their energy dips further.
This is not because they’re bad at prospecting, but because prosecting doesn’t excite them.
They’re not alone: 40% of salespeople say prospecting is their least favourite task, and tasks we dislike take more mental energy to complete.
Reflection exercise
Write down two tasks or activities that energise you and two that drain you. Now check these out against your high and low intrinsic motivators that you identified above. Can you see a connection?
The coaching intervention
It’s now 1.30pm and Alex’s manager, Priya, calls to check in. She notices Alex’s lack of energy but she isn’t the “How many calls have you made?” type. She’s the “What’s getting in your way?” type. Priya asks Alex one simple question: “Alex, tell me what gives you energy in your day, and what drains it?” Alex pauses. No one has ever asked them that before and they had to really think about it.
Reflection exercise
Write down Priya’s question where you’ll see it this week. As you notice what energises you and what drains you, create a list that you can use to take control of how you can develop and maintain your energy level as you’ll see later.
Priya continues: “Your performance isn’t inconsistent because you’re not capable. I think its inconsistent because your day isn’t aligned with what really motivates you.”
This becomes the turning point: coaching that focuses on motivation and not just activity, increases performance significantly.
Priya asks Alex to rate some of their daily tasks in an “energy audit” on a simple 1–10 scale. Alex comes up with the following:
- Customer calls: 9
- Prospecting: 3
- Admin: 2
- Learning new product features: 8
This quick audit reveals a pattern: Alex’s best work happens when their intrinsic motivators are activated.
Reflection exercise
Choose five tasks that you must do regularly. Rate each of them on how energising they feel, from 1 to 10. (10 is highly energising)
Priya asks Alex what this audit tells them. They reply with the realisation that they are highly motivated by making a difference and building connection with both customers and colleagues. Also important is developing knowledge and skills. Priya follows up by discussing with Alex how they can think differently about necessary work tasks that are demotivating.
After their call, Priya makes a mental note to connect more frequently with Alex, as she understands that this will help maintain Alex’s motivation.
Managing self-awareness
It’s now 2:00pm and following their 20-minute conversation with Priya, Alex is using their new self-awareness of what energises them and what drains them to change how they think about and approach work activities. Priya called this ‘temptation bunding’, which she said is a proven behavioural science approach to improving productivity.
Alex realises that they must think differently about prospecting and recognise that every prospecting related activity is a step that takes them closer to being able to create a positive outcome for a customer. They also know that they must translate this knowledge into real activity by using the technique that Priya discussed with them. Priya and Alex also discussed identifying and learning new ways to prospect. Alex felt energised by this as it related to all their intrinsic motivators.
Accordingly, Alex changes their plan for the afternoon and starts designing the rest of the day so that they maximise their energy.
Alex focuses on creating high impact activities that they think will be of immediate value to their prospects, then make sure that they complete the necessary admin while their energy is still riding high.
Alex then implements another micro-prospecting block, and they reward themselves with two activities that will connect to their intrinsic motivators. They allocate 10 minutes to reviewing a positive testimonial from a customer and taking a short walk to reflect on a recent customer win.
Reflection exercise
Look at one task you rated as a low energiser.
Write one way you could reframe it using one of your intrinsic motivators and then identify how you can bundle this with something you find highly energising.
Changing the game
It’s now the close of the day and Alex spends 15 minutes reflecting on what they have achieved, ready to plan tomorrow’s priorities. During this review period, Alex realises they have a clearer picture of their energy system, which is their motivational profile.
Alex’s motivational profile comprises an understanding of what their top intrinsic motivators are and what does not energise them. This helps them develop their self-awareness and understand what energises them both intrinsically and the impact of extrinsic motivators on their energy.
With this self-awareness, they reflect that these will be the basis for more consistent performance. Their final action of the day is to plan the next day, using their strengths, thinking about how to reduce friction, and create the consistency that will improve their results.
Alex’s story is not necessarily your story, as we all have a unique motivational profile, so rather than dismiss this, think about how you can make this your story.
Motivation isn’t something you should wait for, it’s something you can build. Consider one thing right now that you have learned about motivation from Alex’s story. Your next breakthrough begins with that self‑awareness.
Finally, if someone was to ask Alex tomorrow morning how energised they feel, what do you think they’d say? Probably higher that 6 out of 10.
Taking action: your one-week challenge
Choose one small action you could apply right now and then again tomorrow. Remember to find a way to reward yourself for completing activities that drain you.
Build that into a strategy you’ll use this week work to with your motivators and minimise your drainers.
Small changes compound. One aligned action can shift the trajectory of your entire week.
Rewatch the webinar: The motivated seller: How self-awareness drives results
Written by David Mason, Director, The Sales Managers’ Academy
David has a proven track record in strategic sales and sales and commercial leadership. This has involved new business development, account development and leading sales teams both as a sales director and a business unit leader. This has been recognised through David being appointed a founding fellow of the Institute of Sales Professionals. David now specialises in helping sales teams develop performance through improving motivation.