Sales Coaching for Accelerated Results

by Cindy Stradling CSP, CPC

Coaching is about change. Change comes from a dream of something better.  Coaching engages your imagination and at the same time is immensely practical in the real world.

When we dream we use our imagination, we soar beyond the confines of our lives into a wider world where many things are possible and we are not restricted to the cards we have been dealt.  We are free to take any wild card and transform our hand.  Dreams take us beyond ourselves.  Every change in our life starts as a dream, We use our imagination to project ourselves into the best of all futures.

What is Sales Coaching?

Coaching is about giving salespeople the opportunity to generate their own insights, solutions and possibilities that will have them drive their results.  It is an advise free conversation and process of discovery.  Coaching is based on the belief that the question is the answer. Coaching is a process of inquiry that is interactive and collaborative.  Coaching builds accountability when it is performed in a safe environment for people to honour their commitments.

Coaching helps tap into a person’s unused strengths and talents that advances their personal growth and learning.  Coaching helps people discover their personal best.

Effective sales coaching is a co-creation without attachment and wanting more for your sales people than they want for themselves.  Coaching is about the sales person not the coach. If you find yourself thinking about or using the word “I” a lot while you are coaching – it has become about you.  Sometimes new coaches make it about themselves and wanting to “do it right.”

Often new coaches are so committed to providing results they give the person the answers prematurely.  Give the sales person the space they need to arrive at their own conclusion.  Sometimes just listening is a powerful coaching process and may be all that is needed. Providing a safe place during a coaching session where the sales person can talk freely and openly without feeling vulnerable is one of the most powerful coaching strategies.

Coaching salespeople is about what they want for themselves more that what you want for them.  People unintentionally lie to themselves and believe the lies to be true. 

Sometimes people are afraid to admit they don’t have the skills. Good coaches need to constantly gauge the resistance level, if pushed too hard salespeople will either shutdown or push back.

Finding out what the salesperson’s expectations are from the coaching, the value they expect and how they would like to be coached will greatly impact the results.

Once the sales manager takes full accountability for themselves as well as their team members, they will then be able to empower others to be fully accountable for themselves.

Making your people right, even when they are wrong makes a huge impact on their productivity and attitudes.  To see the rightness in salespeople, you must believe that people are doing the best they can at any given moment.  If their best doesn’t meet your standards, you always have the choice to make changes.

Managers may think they don’t always have time to coach their salespeople, but think about the things that are taking you away from coaching and meeting with your salespeople in the first place.  Many of the issues and problems that need to be dealt with are often actually a result of not coaching and connecting with our salespeople.

Coaching is about having the salespeople grow on their own.  Questions broaden their peripheral vision so they can best respond to the events or things that are coming at the.  Ask your salespeople how they want to be coached. Three fundamental rules of sales coaching:

1. Let your salespeople do all the work.
2. Let your salespeople do all the work.
3. See rules one and two and let your salespeople do all the work.

“Inspired” Leadership
by Cindy Stradling CSP, CPC

 “Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.” 

By Ralph Waldo Emerson

Definition from Dictionary.com

in·spired [in-spahyuh rd] Show IPA, adjective

1. aroused, animated, or imbued with the spirit to do something, by or as if by supernatural or divine influence: an inspired poet.
2. resulting from such inspiration: an inspired poem; an inspired plan.
3. inhaled: inspired air.

Can you think of someone who has inspired you? Was it a teacher, parent, friend or leader in your organization or community?  What were the qualities that this person demonstrated that connected you to them?  Do you exhibit these qualities yourself?

 When I deliver my sales or presentation skills programs, participants often tell me I am inspiring. I simply tell them I love what I do and love watching others grow and that inspires me.  They in turn they get inspired as well.  I think this is a critical component when inspiring others to action.  When you are engaged in activities you love to do, you generate a more positive energy and people can connect to that.  I think much like laughter is contagious so is inspiration.  If you are a leader you want people to be inspired by your vision and connect to make the vision a reality.

 At times when things don’t go as planned, others watch to see how you handle these challenges.  You can inspire others by the integrity, attitude and actions you take in difficult times.  It is easy to be inspiring and passionate when things are going well, it is when things derail is when leaders need to “walk the inspired talk” or “practice what you preach.”  Inspired leadership means being willing to express your passion and excitement.  We are naturally curious and when you share openly personal triumphs and challenges it engages people.  Be curious about employee’s passions and what inspires them as well.  Be open to provide them guidance. It is impossible to inspire others if you are not inspired yourself. It goes without saying inspired leadership requires consistent, positive attitudes and actions.  When failures or setbacks occur, be prepared to review with an open mind and no judgement.  People need to feel safe to step up and take responsibility for their actions and outcomes, and inspired leaders create a space where employees can grow.

 Here are five tips on how to inspire others:

1. Be Compassionate – put others success ahead of your own. People feel inspired when they know you are pulling for them!
2. Be the Change – others are truly inspired when they see a leader being vulnerable and asking for support. This will endear employees to a leader versus someone who sends the message that they have no weaknesses
3. See the potential and believe in others: I love this quote by Mark Twain it pretty much sums it up perfectly “Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you believe that you too can become great.”
4. Accept others without wanting to fix them – this simply doesn’t work and it won’t inspire anyone.  As a coach I have experienced many clients who want to “fix” one of their employees. It isn’t until they are able to accept the employee the way they are and the way they are not, that they can begin to inspire change and address their areas for growth.
5. Just Be Great – a few years ago I create a very short exercise where I had participants create Just Be Great cards for themselves.  They were to create an acronym that was personal to them using the letters GREAT. It was a huge hit.

The GREAT acronym I created for myself was:

G – gracious and grateful
R – respectful of others
E – engaged and empathic
A – acknowledge others freely
T – tenacious

When I am being all these things I know I am being great for others. 

Take a minute now and create your own acronym for the word GREAT and the next time you have a challenging situation, use it and say to yourself “Just Be Great!”

Timeless in Sales

by Cindy Stradling

For many decades sales people were taught to create and deliver persuasive presentations that were often called “pitches.”  Sales training programs taught many closing techniques and would repeat the mantra – the ABC’s of selling = Always Be Closing.  Those days are gone and effective sales people of the 21^st century involve a much more collaborative approach.  This approach includes focusing on the customer’s needs versus the old days of using manipulative tactics to close the sale so the sales person could meet their sales targets, regardless if it was a good fit for the customer.  I never sold like this, it simply didn’t fit with my personal values.

Like everything else in our society today, sales is evolving and changing.  Clients want to work with suppliers who are aligned with their values.  They want trusted advisors and organizations who are interested in win-win partnerships.

I have been in sales for 20+ years and I have noticed many differences and yet there are some things that have never changed.  People buy from people they trust and like, that has been my reality since my first cold call.  People want to know they can count on their salespeople to keep them informed and provide them with the best solutions possible.  I am pleasantly persistent when it comes to follow up and staying touch with both clients and prospective clients.  I think this is one of the keys to success in the long run.  Customers have told me the reason I won their business because I never went away when things got delayed or they were not ready to buy.  Often sales people will give up too soon. 

Good salespeople will always qualify a prospective client before starting to prospect them as a possible customer.  Effective selling involves asking great questions versus the “gift of the gab” approach of the sales people of the past.  Another thing that is never changed, in my opinion, is customers expect salespeople to be professional in their approach to business.  Although the business attire in some industries is more business casual than in the past, the sales person still needs to be professional.  They need to be punctual, respectful, articulate themselves well and listen intently to the needs of their customers. 

There are many new and different ways to meet and connect with potential clients today.   Social media has opened up many doors that would not have been accessible in the past.  A few of the younger salespeople I have spoken with do not use any other method than social media.  Seasoned sales people like myself need to incorporate social media as part of our business development strategy.  I still do cold calls and prospecting like I have since the beginning and for me it still works.  I have also started to work with LinkedIn as part of my business development strategies.  I challenged one of my students who didn’t believe in cold calling to give it a try, since she had never done it before.  We talked about what she would say and who she would call.  She reported back to me that it was easier than she thought and that the few people she did speak to her, didn’t yell at her (like she thought they would) and they were all very professional and one person asked her to call back in a few weeks that she was interested in speaking with her when she got back from her vacation.  She now incorporates cold calling as part of her business development strategy.

So what is my point to all this?  It is simply to say that some things are timeless in sales no matter what method(s) you use for prospecting and business development.

• Professionalism
• Persistent
• Great listening skills
• Collaboration for a win-win
• Authenticity and honesty

Does Your Verbal and Non Verbal Communication Jive?

by Cindy Stradling CSP, CPC

We all know that we communicate both verbally and non verbally.  Even when we are not talking, we are communicating with our bodies.  This includes our gestures, eye contact, facial expressions and even how we are standing/sitting (posture).

Have you ever had the experience when someone was telling you something and there was something “kind of off” or you weren’t quite sure why but you didn’t connect with their message.  Often this is because our non-verbal communication actually speaks louder than the words we use.

According to Albert Mehrabian, best known for his publications on the relative importance of verbal and nonverbal messages,  he stated that  7% of our communication is the words we use, 38% is based on the tone of our voice and the remaining  55% is our non verbal communication.  We cannot fake our non verbal communication and when there is a disconnect in messaging, the listener will more often than not will believe the non verbal.

I can remember my first management job where the Purchasing agent reported to me.  She would often leave my office looking confused and frustrated.  I thought she was just going through something in her personal life and really didn’t think too much of it.  One day she came into my office and presented me with her resignation, I was shocked.  I thought she was doing a great job and I thought we got along well.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.  She explained that she couldn’t work for me anymore because the words I used communicated that she could take her time to finish projects but my tone and body language communicated that I wanted it done NOW!  She said she actually felt like I was screaming at her.  That was a big eye opener for me as I wasn’t aware of the mixed messages I was sending her.  From then on I was very careful to make sure what I was communicating both non verbally and verbally was what I wanted to say.  This was no easy task as we do so much of our non verbal unconsciously.  I did some research on the topic and found out very quickly I was not alone, many people have faced this same challenge.  I learned that how others perceive and respect you has a lot to do with your non verbal skills, not just when you are giving a presentation, but how you communicate every day.

One of the ways to manage your non verbal communication is to learn to manage your stress levels.  If you have to communicate with someone when you are really stressed out, it is best to take a break first.   Because our emotions control our non verbal language you can actually send a mixed or confusing message to your listener when you are stressed.   One of the recommendations is to develop your emotional awareness.  By being tuned into your own emotional state, it will help you accurately read others body language, respond appropriately showing you are listening and create trust by sending congruent messages. 

Here are a few tips to evaluate non verbal communication:

• Tone of Voice – how intense is it?  Is it warm?  Does the person sound strained or confident? Is there care or concern in their voice?
• Eye Contact – is the amount of eye contact comfortable or does it feel intense?
• Posture – how are the standing/sitting?  Do they look relaxed or uptight and stiff?
• Timing – does the conversation flow easily and do the non verbal cues support the flow?

The one thing I have learned over the years is to trust my instincts when it comes to listening to whole person.  If my instincts tell me something is not quite right I believe them.

I recommend doing your own emotional awareness assessment to make sure when you communicate your message will be heard, understood and believed.

Building Amazing Teams

by Cindy Stradling CSP, CPC

Through all the research I have done and in my personal experience I have found there are many factors required to build amazing teams.  The key one is communication, which is really not surprising because it is the key to any great relationship, whether in a personal or professional context. 

Often when I speak to clients about their particular situation when they are looking at having a team development session delivered, they frequently want the same results.  They want their teams to develop more cohesive, a new level of respect for each other’s differences and a bond of trust that allows for open and authentic communication.  There are many ways to design programs and exercises that can create these outcomes. 

The most important step is to tie the outcomes of any training initiative to the company’s mission and vision.  By doing this, it gives people the tools and skills to learn to walk the talk and everyone is working for a common goal.  When leaders clearly define what they want to create with their team, there is a higher likelihood that the learning will transfer back to the work place. 

Effective leaders know that building an amazing team something that needs to be worked at everyday, not just when they are engaged in team building activities.

Here are my recommendations to building an amazing team:

• Team members have a clear understanding of their role on a team and they understand what is expected of them
• They have Team Operating Agreement (or sometimes called a Code of Conduct) – this is an agreed upon set of rules on how the team members will interact and communicate with each other.
• Team members are empowered to make some of their own decisions (this is of course once they have the adequate training, experience and skills)
• They have a sense of collaboration – that everyone feels they are an important part of the bigger picture
• Effective teams have excellent communication skills – they are able to give and receive honest feedback
• There are opportunities for individual growth and continuous learning
• Encourage social interaction with the team members – a pub night out can go a long way to building deeper relationships (of course this is only if any drinking is kept to a minimum)
• There are opportunities for team members to express their creativity
• A sense of fair play needs to be present – that everyone has the same opportunities to advance and that everyone is treated equally
• Leaders need to provide ongoing feedback on what is working and not working, not just once a year during appraisal time

Acknowledgement for a job well done goes a long way to encourage employees and teams .  It is also important to acknowledge when someone takes initiative to make things better. This will encourage others to attempt new more efficient ways to do things.

Can Mental Practice Enhance Your Leadership Effectiveness? 

By Cindy Stradling CSP, CPC

In the world of sports it is common to hear that a professional actually does mental practice in addition to actual practice to enhance their performance.  I was curious what some of the experts say about imagining yourself performing tasks like giving presentations or training, delivering a difficult message, conducting an interview or being interviewed or going on a sales call.  I know when I deliver both my sales and presentation skills programs I always recommend that people mentally rehearse their presentations.

According to Dr. Scott Williams, Department of Management, Raj Soin College of Business ,Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio leaders can most definitely improve their leadership effectiveness and master their managerial behaviours.

Research has shown that when someone does both mental and actual practice they achieve better results than by just actual practice alone.  This is not just in the world of sports.  I know personally I have used visualization for many years prior to any program or what I thought might be a difficult situation.  Often people who worry a lot about negative things happening to them don’t realize that they are actually contributing to the likelihood that what they don’t want to happen, will in fact happen.  That is what they mentally rehearsed. 

So how can you use this to enhance your leadership effectiveness?

By mentally rehearsing you experience more confidence as you will be more prepared.  We have all heard the saying “practice makes perfect,” actually that is not 100% true because if you are practicing incorrectly you will not achieve mastery in whatever you are trying to improve on .  With mental practice you are practicing perfectly and it can really increase your confidence even though it is imagined.  The assumption here is that you would already have a certain level of experience or skills for whatever it is you are working to improve upon. Mental practice is effective as a supplemental way to develop your skills and does not replace normal avenues for learning new skills.

Mental practice can also help reduce stress.  By taking the time to mentally rehearse you are giving yourself an edge that can support you to be at your very best.  Think about the areas where you can start to use this in your everyday activities:

• When giving difficult feedback
• When you have to give a very important presentation
• When you are working in areas that you are a little less confident
• Day to day visualize yourself handling everything that comes your way with ease and confidence
• To improve your ability to listen and communicate

The techniques we have been taught to mentally practice for sports can also be applied in business and all areas of your life.

What area are you going to mentally practice to enhance your leadership skills?

A few Tips to effectively create mental practice:

• Find a place where you will be uninterrupted
• Close your eyes, take a couple deep breaths, relax and mentally go through the steps to perform perfectly what it is you want to practice
• Pay attention to as many details as possible
• Actually create the practice in your mind exactly how you want it to go, notice how you feel, what you see, hear or smell (include as many of your 5 senses as possible)
• See yourself successfully completed
• Do this several times (up to seven is said to be most effective)
• Open your eyes, smile and go about your day with new confidence

Productive Meetings – Are They Possible?

By Cindy Stadling CSP, CPC

I hear it all the time, people complaining how unproductive meetings are in their organizations.  I have participated in meetings that have proven a waste of time as I am sure everyone reading this has.  There are some key areas where meetings fail:

1. The chairperson is not skilled or interested
2. Often they are too long
3. Often the wrong people are attending
4. They don’t have a strong purpose and objective
5. No one is held accountable to execute on any action items
6. In some meetings Egos are running the show
7. Often not everyone participates or if they do, they pay lip service

Pretty uninspiring, wouldn’t you say?  It doesn’t have to be this way.   Here are 7 tips to running effective meetings:

1. Create an agenda – with clear outlines and objectives.  The chair is responsible to have distributed in timely manner and making sure only those who need to be there.  List the priority items first and leave small agenda items to the end (these could be things that could be addressed in a follow up meeting or email after the fact.  The chair needs to keep things moving and on track also recognizing when they need to exercise flexibility. This should be the exception, not the norm.  Having clearly defined expectations of the participant’s participation will help make sure everyone comes with the necessary information.

2. Assign a minute taker – having the information captured from all the presenters after the meeting will serve your team well.  This will give those in attendance and those who missed the meeting a summary of discussions, any of the decisions that were made, any agreed upon actions.  This is also a great follow up and tracking tool for future reference on things that did or did not get accomplished.  It is a respectful way to raise accountability.

3. Schedule shorter meetings – these are great 10-15 minute check in meetings.  The agenda can go out just prior to the meeting and is very useful for updates on the status of projects or how the team is performing.  As a leader it could be beneficial to have two short meetings instead of one longer one – especially if the attendees need only be there for part of a longer meeting.

4. If someone is talking too much, interrupt them and speak to them privately. Be respectful of their contribution as you don’t want to offend anyone and the agenda needs to be followed.

5. Often there are quiet people with great ideas and because they have a tendency to not speak up, valuable ideas and input could be lost.  Invite them by using their first name to speak. “Barbara, do you have anything to add to what Henry shared?”  If needed, put them on the spot.

6.  Occasionally conversations will stray but an effective chair will always bring them back to the topic. Encourage the participant to come back to it at another time.

7.  Stick to the Agenda Timing – sometimes new ideas and breakthrough discussions can take time.  Take this into consideration when setting the agenda.  If the topic is very important allow extra time for discussion.  Start and stop on time as participants might be heading to another meeting right after.

These tips may or may not work in your organization, but give them some thought and possibly come up with your own creative ways to run more effective meetings.

Customer Service – A Little Goes a Long Way
by Cindy Stradling CPC, CSP

Recently a friend of mine was sharing the excellent customer service experience she had during their annual Christmas function.  She told me how the catering company had taken care of every detail, including emery boards in the washroom.  As she was speaking a memory of a time I had were I felt so very taken care of, came to mind.  The entire incident came vividly back like it was yesterday.

I too was at a Christmas function at the Royal York Hotel in downtown Toronto.  We were a very small group of about 50 people.  The meal was a buffet set up and waitresses walked around offering us champagne, wine or spirits to drink.  They were smiling and attentive, exactly what you would expect in a place as prestigious as the Royal York.  The food looked spectacular and the room was decorated in a classic Victorian style Christmas.   I was standing chatting with a colleague of mine when she offered me a piece of brie with cranberry on a cracker.  It looked delicious and I declined, explaining to her that I was gluten sensitive and didn’t want to take a chance on eating the cracker.

My colleague expressed her concern and how difficult it must be to eat out with such a sensitivity.  I said it really didn’t limit me; I just needed to be careful.    As we continued to chat, one of the waitresses came over to me and excused herself.  She explained that she had overheard my conversation and asked me if I would like her to get me a gluten free plate.  Both my colleague and I were so impressed with this young lady.  I gratefully accepted her offer and when she returned she gave me this wonderful plate of chicken, salads and cheeses, all very delicious and gluten free.

At the end of the evening I thanked her again and also found out who the manager was and told her the exceptional customer service experience I had that evening.  That incident happened over five years ago and I still remember the experience as though it was yesterday.  I learned so much from that short interaction and it has helped me with my level of customer service.

If we look at this situation, what can you and your customer service team learn from it.  What can you do in 2013 to create an experience that would be remembered five years later? 

What immediately comes to mind is go beyond what is expected.  Everyone expects good customer service, but having a commitment to give great or exceptional customer service can be the differentiator.  Look for small ways to make a difference.  Listen and pay attention to what your customers are saying and ask yourself “Is there something I can do here that could have an impact that will last 5+ year?”  There may or may not be something you can do every time, but by asking the question there is a higher likelihood over the year you will have absolutely delighted your customers on more occasions.

Think of a time when you have been delighted.  What made it so special?  What was your experience? How can you transfer that experience into your workplace? 

Remember this quote by Mother Teresa: 

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echos are truly endless.”

Visualization- The Lazy Man’s Tool for Success???

When I ask participants in either my sales or presentation skills training programs if they visualize, I often get a blank stare back at me.  I then go on to explain that visualization is a mental practice that can help you achieve more of what you want in your life and prepare you mentally for success.  The great news is that you can do this from anywhere, sitting on your couch or lounging in your backyard.  It requires no accessories or tools.  Whether you are mentally rehearsing your next presentation, your golf swing or asking for a raise, you are setting yourself up with a better chance for success.

Some research shows that mental practice is almost as effective as physical practice and by doing both was more effective than doing each one alone.  Many athletes both novice and seasoned create very detailed mental practices engaging all their senses to enhance their performance.  Tiger Woods has been doing this since his pre-teens.

Jack Nicklaus, World Champion Golfer has said: “I never hit a shot, not even in practice, without having a very sharp in-focus picture of it in my head.”  Muhammad Ali, Heavyweight Champion used different mental practices to enhance his performance in the ring such as: affirmation; mental rehearsal; visualization; self-confirmation; and the most powerful epigram of personal worth ever uttered: “I am the greatest!”

We have learned from brain studies that our thoughts produce the same mental instructions as actions.  We can train our brain through our mental practices.  This can result in increased effectiveness, improved motivation, increased confidence and simply setting yourself up for the expectation of success!

So how can you use this at work?  Great question!

Start by getting very clear about your desired outcome.  Imagine you are looking at a TV screen and you are watching yourself in the future, having already achieved what it is you are wanting to achieve.  Engage as many of your senses as you can.  Notice how you are feeling once you have achieved success.  Notice if there are other people involved, what are they doing and saying?  Practice, practice, practice!  It is good to practice just before going to bed or just when you wake up.

The next time you have an important presentation to deliver, practice it in your mind as well as physically go through your presentation.  You will be amazed at how much more you will be in “flow” and confidence you will feel. 

If you are in sales and have a new client you want to impress.  Of course, you will do your due diligence and thorough research about your potential client, but this time you are going to go one step further.  You are going to step up your sales game and spend some time before the call visualizing how the call will go.  You will see yourself connecting with the prospect and watch in your mind’s eye how you easily and effortlessly you interact with this person.  You will visualize how the call will end and see agreement to your desired outcome.  I recommend doing this several times before an important meeting.

The next time you have to engage in a difficult or challenging conversation, see yourself with the other person working things out so it is a win win for everyone.  By mentally rehearsing in such situations can help calm your nerves and help you stay more present during the actual conversation.

Doing visualization exercises doesn’t guarantee that you will get everything you want but studies have shown that results increase when they are combined with practical practice.

“Ordinary people believe only in the possible.  Extraordinary people visualize not what is possible or probable, but rather what is impossible.  And by visualizing the impossible, they begin to see it as possible.”  ~ Cherie Carter-Scott

Motivation – An Inside Job!

The word motivation is derived from the word motive, which means the internal drives, desires, needs and wants of a person.  It is important to note is that it is “Internal” and is the process of an internal drive that causes people to take action toward their goals.  People have many different factors that can personally stimulate their behaviour.  In the workplace it can include such things as a desire for money, recognition, job satisfaction, success, teamwork, leadership and others.

The performance of employees is a product of both their abilities (e.g. skills & experience) and motivation.  An employee who is de-motivated by their circumstances is unlikely to perform well at work, whereas a motivated employee can often deliver far more than is expected from them!

I think one of the most important things a leader needs to understand is the ways in which they can arouse an employee’s interest in performance. By creating an incentive plan that fosters the desire to work and encourages employees to commit to achieving goals, will help leaders create teams that have the motivation to succeed.  Leadership is creating a powerful vision that others are motivated and empowered to work toward.  When the need to produce the vision is satisfied, employees are motivated to continue to reach other goals.

Anyone in a leadership role understands the need to lead by example, do what you want others to do. If you observe people’s behaviour you can often determine what motivates them.  There are both internal and external motivators.

So where does motivation come from?  It comes from different sources:

• The satisfaction of doing a good job or successfully completing a difficult task or project.
• When you love what you do every day, especially if what you do is in alignment with your values
• People can motivate you (actually inspire you too)
• Fear can motivate us (fear of reprimand) –this can be negative and motivating just the same (ie could take us away from danger)
• Beliefs you hold about live can be motivating (living in possibility)
• Seminars, trainers, books can be motivational
• Messages in cards, songs, poems and stories can all motivate

Messages in cards, songs, poems and stories can all motivate

Is money a motivator?

In his book “Drive” Daniel Pink notes that any discussion about motivation in the workplace is a fact of life.  People need to make a living.  Contracts, salary, benefits and a few perks are only baseline rewards.  If someone’s baseline reward is not adequate or equitable, the focus will be on the unfairness of the situation and the anxiety of the situation.  As a leader you can expect to get very little motivation.  The best use of money as a motivator is to pay people enough to take the issue of money off the table.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

A theory in psychology proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper “A Theory of Human Motivation”.  Maslow subsequently extended the idea to include his observations of humans’ innate curiosity.  His theories parallel many other theories of human developmental psychology, some of which focus on describing the stages of growth in humans.  Maslow used the terms Physiological, Safety, Belongingness and Love, Esteem, and Self-Actualization needs to describe the pattern that human motivations generally move through. 
Source: Wikipedia

Depending on where a person is in their life could change what motivates them.

We all have a deep source of motivation that is available anyplace, anytime all you need to do is look and connect with it

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily” ~ Zig Ziglar”