By: Matt Tyre, Director, Client Services

In the mind of great sales people you may think that compensation is the primary driver in attracting, motivating and retaining their talent. I was in discussions with a Sales Executive recently and we were talking about what would attract a sales person at the senior management level to make a move from their current position. To be honest, I was not shocked to hear that monetary compensation was not their only motivator. Looking at a balanced total reward mix (compensation, benefits, recognition, work life balance, and career development opportunities) was more important to experienced sales people. Younger, less experienced sales people will typically look at money as the main attraction. Senior sales people seem to be more selective on what will attract them to make a move or stay with their current organization.

Here are some key motivators that came up in my conversation:

1. Work flexibility - working from home and flex hours
2. Less travel
3. Reduced distance from home to the office
4. Other monetary benefits - stock options, deferred profit sharing programs
5. Desire to have a leadership role
6. Willing to take slightly less in monetary compensation if some of the above concessions can be made.

You can see that work life and career-advancement opportunities seem to play a prevalent role in the discussions, more so than money. Sure, if you're offered an obscene amount of money most sales people will strongly consider the option, however it just goes to show that money doesn't by happiness and that to get great sales people to work for your company you must look at the total reward mix to attract them.

If you are in a senior management role, what would motivate you to make a move?