The home furnishings industry has been on a wild roller coaster ride over the last five years, with little sign of slowing down. From navigating the disruptions of a global pandemic to now facing potential import tariffs early in the year, retailers continue to adapt to a shifting landscape. Since furniture is largely a discretionary purchase, introducing price increases during uncertain times is understandably concerning. Yet, we may soon be left with no choice. In this climate, strong leadership is more important than ever—especially when it comes to coaching your sales team. Now is the time to lean into motivational and coaching strategies that not only guide your team through volatility but also empower them to stay focused, engaged, and productive on the sales floor.
I’m very fortunate to have the chance to speak with furniture retailers all over the United States regularly. One of the big concerns I hear from them consistently is their inability to ensure their sales team is engaged consistently to successfully sell on the sales floor daily. The overall traffic of consumers coming through the door is down for virtually everyone, so making the most of every opportunity is paramount to sales growth. This group of sales professionals is the most critical part of any furniture retail business, so their ‘care and feeding’ is an important priority.
Motivating a sales team during tough times can be challenging, but implementing a structured approach can help foster resilience, boost morale, and improve performance. Here are several motivational and coaching strategies for you to consider as you are contemplating how to keep your team moving forward:
- Set Clear Goals and Expectations: Clearly define what success looks like for each team member and your team as a whole. Ensure these objectives are realistic and achievable, even in tough times. Give each person a say in the end goal, and work together to ensure you are on the same page about how to achieve it.
- Provide Regular Feedback and Support: Offer constructive feedback frequently. I highly encourage establishing regular and reoccurring 1:1 sessions to keep the dialog going. Acknowledge what they’re doing right and provide areas for improvement. Recognize individual and team achievements to reinforce positive behavior and energize and engage the team.
- Offer Continuous Training and Professional Development: Equip your team with the tools they need to succeed by offering ongoing training opportunities. Improving their refreshing selling skills, product knowledge, and customer service techniques can help them feel more confident and effective. Periodic ‘Lunch and Learns’ with various content and webinars is a good and efficient way to constantly reinforce the need for continuous learning to keep all skills sharp and current.
- Improve Product Knowledge: Ensure the team is well-versed in the features and benefits of the furniture products they are selling. This will increase knowledge and confidence, improving selling results. It will also help them better provide solutions to their customers while building successful, long-term relationships.
- Create a Positive Work Environment: Focus on building a supportive, collaborative team culture where everyone feels valued and included. Encourage open communication, hold team-building activities, and maintain a positive leadership attitude to boost morale. This effort is more critical than ever to ensure your team feels their contributions are appreciated. Studies show that people who feel undervalued in their workplace are four times more likely to resign and move to a different position during challenging times, an important area to focus on.
- Incentivize Performance: Develop and implement contests and other incentives to reward exceptional performance. Consider using monetary and non-monetary options like bonuses, commissions, gift cards, or employee of the month recognitions for reaching and exceeding targets. Look at all areas of compensation for your team and find ways to provide more opportunities to increase their take-home pay.
- Leverage Competition: Great sales professionals are motivated by two primary things: money and competition. Introduce healthy competition through contests and challenges to inspire team members to push themselves for more. Ensure the goals are achievable and the competitive event encourages rather than discourages each one.
- Focus on Customer Relationships: Encourage the team to build strong relationships with customers, focusing on always providing excellent service. Positive customer interactions can lead to repeat business and referrals.
- Adjust Strategies as Needed: Be willing to adapt sales strategies and approaches based on the current market condition. Find creative ways to update a process or do what you typically do differently. Encourage the team to offer ideas and feedback and be part of the solution-finding journey towards better results.
- Be Transparent and Communicative: Keep the team informed about the company’s status or condition, changes that affect them directly, and steps to improve the results. Transparency can help build trust and reduce anxiety, so talking and sharing challenges and wins is critical to keep everyone positively focused during these times.
- Encourage ‘Wellness Days‘: Recognize the stress your team is feeling during tough times and offer them an opportunity to change the landscape and environment by taking some time away from the sales floor. This will allow your team a break from the daily pressure they may be feeling, clear their heads to think and act more positively, and carefully address any anxiety they might be feeling.
- Lead by Example: Your attitude and energy significantly impact the team, so being aware of that each day is significantly important. Demonstrate resilience, optimism, and a strong work ethic to inspire and motivate your team to do the same.
Implementing these motivation and coaching strategies requires consistency and discipline. It is so important to demonstrate genuine care for your sales team’s professional and personal well-being. By cultivating a supportive and motivating environment, you can help your sales team navigate challenging periods effectively, which is a great benefit for you both!
