Don't Push Me, Show Me: Aligning Incentives for Successful Selling

Rethink The Way You Sell

While we’re on hiatus preparing for a new season of Rethink the Way You Sell, we wanted to bring you some content from Jeff you probably haven’t heard before. Jeff produced a premium podcast called Deeper Thought from 2020-2022 and you’re about to hear one of those episodes. Enjoy!

In this thought-provoking episode, host Jeff Bajorek tackles the age-old management question of how to motivate people and get the best out of your team. He dismisses the antiquated "push them" mentality, arguing that trying to forcefully motivate those who don't want to be pushed is an exercise in futility that only breeds resentment. Instead, Jeff advocates understanding what truly drives each individual and aligning their motivations with your goals - making it a mutually beneficial endeavor where you're not "pushing" but rather "showing" them a path forward that enriches you both.

Using colorful metaphors and real-world examples, Jeff illustrates how meeting resistance with more force is counterproductive, but leveraging someone's existing ambitions can exponentially increase your combined progress. He drives the point home with personal anecdotes about motivating his sales team, his own children, and even "old dogs" set in their ways - all through finding the intrinsic incentive rather than futilely pushing against the grain. It's a masterclass in emotional intelligence for leaders and managers of all stripes.