While interacting with customers and selling vehicles, it can sometimes be challenging to maintain high energy and focus. As the hours go on, minds can wander and exhaustion can creep in. This can have a detrimental effect on performance, not only affecting individual salespeople but the dealership as a whole. Sales managers need to find ways to keep their teams motivated, focused, and full of energy, ways that go beyond monetary incentives. Some of these tips may seem a bit too simple, but the overall effect they have can be enormous and far-reaching.

1. Organized Work Area

One of the keys to maintaining proper focus throughout the work day is keeping your work area organized. Think about what your work desk is like right now. Is it cluttered? If so, chances are it will be easy for essential tasks and paperwork to quickly get lost in the mess. Organized workspaces ensure everything has its proper place and salespeople can focus on the things that really matter. It also makes a great impression on people seeing your office for the very first time.

2. Sufficient Exercise

One of the best ways to improve your energy levels is through exercise. Whether that means getting up and doing some jumping-jacks in the middle of the dealership, or getting some regular exercise outside of business hours. Above all, this can be nearly any type of activity: jogging, swimming, basketball, cycling, yoga, etc. Getting your heart pumping after you wake up helps people be more energetic throughout the day. In addition to more energy, exercise is merely a great way to stay healthy.

3. Healthy Meals

At the same time, you’re getting enough exercise, be sure you’re eating healthy foods as well. A balanced diet filled with fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and more is crucial to keeping your energy levels up. Sugary foods like candy may provide a momentary kick, but they’re certainly not a sustainable lifestyle and won’t lead to better performance. You should also make sure that you’re eating at the right times during the day. It is important to know your body, some people do intermittent fasting. While others don’t go more than 3 hours between meals.

4. Cognitive Boosters

Perhaps you need that extra boost to improve your focus and increase your energy, something that you normally don’t get with your current diet. Many people choose to go with things like energy drinks or coffee for that boost, but the energy is only temporary, and there’s usually a big crash that comes later. As a healthier alternative, you may choose to go with special cognitive boosters called nootropics. Nootropics are a type of supplement specially designed to enhance the brain. As the Neurohacker Collective nootropics page explains, “nootropics are substances which can enhance a person’s cognition, leading to better executive functions such as improved focus.” Nootropics feature more sustained benefits with supplements that are safer than the typical stimulants people use.

5. To-Do Lists and Goals

Every salesperson should have a goal in mind while at work. This provides motivation while also helping them focus on what they need to do. Many goals, however, are for longer term ideas, such as monthly sales goals. A monthly goal is certainly helpful, but to keep focused, short-term goals should be set, such as for the week and even the day. Salespeople can break down these goals even further, creating a to-do list that they can adhere to. Some people may even have an extensive list of what they should do for each hour they’re on the clock. Knowing what you need to do at all hours of the day will help everyone keep focused on what’s most important.

6. Regular Sleep

Sleep is how people get refreshed and replenish their energy reserves. Jeff Liff said in his 2014 TedMed talk, “So what this new research tells us, then, is that the one thing that all of you already knew about sleep, that even Galen understood about sleep, that it refreshes and clears the mind, may actually be a big part of what sleep is all about.” If someone isn’t getting enough sleep, they’re going to feel lethargic during the day. Optimizing the amount of time in bed to get the right amount of sleep may take some experimentation and may change depending on the amount of activity in your life. For that reason, make sure you’re getting plenty of sleep so you’re rested and ready for your job. Sleep is so important that some offices actually allow people to take naps during work hours. Chances are you won’t have that opportunity, but that just makes it all the more important for you to get a full night’s rest.

As you can see from this list, some of the ways to improve your focus and energy can be done while you’re on the job while others are done outside of work. Many require planning ahead of time, but the benefits you can get from them are certainly worth it. A focused salesperson who has a lot of energy is simply going to perform better. They’re qualities every employee should strive for and every sales manager shoulder encourage.

Crafting a well motivated sales team can be of paramount importance for businesses and organizations seeking to improve sales figures or to optimize the efficiency of their operation. From improving internal communication to providing all sales personnel with the tools and resources they need in order to get the job done, effective leadership can make a critical difference in improving overall performance. The following five secrets can all make a measurable difference in the effort to better motivate and fully actualize a sales force.

One: Enhanced Communication

Poor and ineffective communication can do far more than impede efficiency, it may actually blunt motivation and rob professionals of the edge they need in order to capitalize on future opportunities. Enhancing and streamlining internal communication ensures that a salesforce will be better able to utilize available resources, address and resolve potential issues and contribute to larger tasks and projects. Allowing ineffective communication to sap morale or impede efficiency is a common problem that may end up costing many business owners, department heads and team leaders far more than they might imagine.

Two: Removing Obstacles Quickly and Efficiently

Situations that are unable to be resolved in an efficient manner can easily result in high levels of frustration and wasted effort. Whether you are a developer designing and deploying kafka on aws or a sales manager at a small used car lot, efficiency is crucial to your success.  Devising and implementing policies and operational processes that will ensure potential bottlenecks and professional obstacles can be more quickly identified, readily addressed and successfully resolved helps to ensure that employees are able to spend their efforts in a more efficient and productive manner. Getting stuck on the same problem over and over or being unable to resolve an issue that may be chronic and ongoing can quickly lower morale and drain motivation.

Three: Providing Incentives

While there is no real substitute for hiring ambitious and self-motivated professionals, providing incentives or implementing a rewards program can help even the most dedicated sales team to reach their full potential. While the chance to compete for prizes or earn rewards can result in a noticeable difference in performance, just having the chance to be recognized for their efforts, hard work and past success can spur many employees to go the extra mile. Ensuring that a salesforce is able to be properly recognized, commended or rewarded for their efforts is a proven way to ensure sales professionals are able to stay focused and well motivated.

Four: Utilizing the Right Tools and Resources

Motivation can be difficult to sustain, especially in situations where fatigue may become an issue. Access to the right tools, services and solutions can provide workers with the means to streamline their working process and optimize the effectiveness of their efforts. From automated phone dialers to external logistical support services, finding ways to lighten the workload a little is a great way for leaders to improve the motivation and efficiency of their team. Sales professionals who may be wasting their efforts on minor tasks and support work are rarely able to direct their full efforts, focus and concentration on the situations and opportunities that will make the most difference.

Five: Creating and Maintaining a Superior Working Environment

The social landscape and atmosphere of the workplace is an important concern, one which often goes overlooked in the quest to improve worker motivation. A working environment that is more lively and engaging can be a powerful motivational tool, one that may be used to inspire workers to greater success. Expecting a sales team to do their best while depriving them of an environment that may afford greater stimulation or more rewarding social and professional interactions is an approach that is rarely effective. Employers and team leaders who are struggling to find new ways to motivate their staff and associates would do well to consider the type of environment and atmosphere they are providing.