6 Motivational Sales Videos to Fire Up Your Team

Will Schmidt

March 20, 2024

10 min

Table of Contents

Summary:

  • Motivational videos are a powerful, free, and easily accessible tool for inspiring sales teams.
  • Understand that each rejection is not a setback but a step closer to success, reinforcing resilience and the importance of persistence in the sales process.
  • Embrace rejection as an opportunity to learn and grow, with failures providing valuable lessons that lead to improvement and eventual success.
  • Adopt a champion mindset to push through rejection, exploring new methods and strategies instead of giving up, inspired by the idea that nothing is truly impossible.
  • Utilize motivational sales videos as a resource to inspire your team, providing them with the mental boost needed to overcome challenges and achieve their sales goals.
  • Encourage the sharing of motivational content among team members to maintain high energy levels and a positive outlook, essential for sustained success in sales.

Everybody needs an extra dose of motivation here and there. Even the most motivated of salespeople can still benefit from an inspirational push to start their day, close out the quarter strong, or push high-priority deals across the finish line.

As a team leader, that responsibility of inspiration and motivation falls to you. And in those situations when you need to fire everyone up, it never hurts to have some powerful, motivational sales videos stashed in your back pocket.

That way, you can pull one out when the going gets tough, you want to keep the team fired up after achieving major milestones, or you simply need to keep the energy high on a Monday.

We rounded up six motivational sales videos below that you should bookmark. Whenever you need them, you'll have them ready and can ignite your team's motivation at the drop of a hat.

6 Motivational Videos for Sales Teams

1. How Bad Do You Want It? (Success)

Let me quickly paraphrase the opening anecdote of this motivational sales video for you.

A young man wants to be successful. He goes to visit a guru, and asks the guru to teach him how to be successful. The guru tells him to meet at the beach tomorrow morning.

The next day, the young man shows up and the guru tells him to walk into the water. So, he does.

Then, the guru says walk further out. So, he does.

Finally, the guru tells him walk even further. The young man can barely reach the bottom of the ocean.

That's when the guru decides to push the young man's head under water and hold him there.

Just as the young man is about to pass out, the guru lets him up. And he says:

"When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you'll be successful."

So, how badly do you want to succeed in your personal career? How badly do you want your team to succeed in their careers? Is everyone willing to give up the happy hours, face self doubt head-on, and work harder than ever before to close deals?

If success is the end goal, you can't be half-hearted in your approach. The "fake it until you make it" mentality will not work. Only dedication, hard work, and genuine effort will net success.

My favorite part about this motivational sales video is the young man going through his football training while the narration plays over his regimen. It takes it to the next level knowing he himself wants to succeed as badly as he wants to breathe.

I think you and your entire team will find something here that can push you to new heights. And, in keeping with the spirit of the fitness-focused protagonist in the video, I'll quote from bodybuilding legend Ronnie Coleman. It's a much more direct, simplified version of the video:

"Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder. Nobody wants to lift heavy ass weights."

2. Kodak Carousel from "Mad Men"

In one episode of Mad Men, the executives from Kodak come to visit Don Draper. They want to see an advertising presentation that incorporates the concept of the wheel—the original technology—into their newest product. But, per usual, Draper takes their initial idea and makes it light years better.

"It's not called the wheel. It's called a carousel."

This is in reference to the circular projector that Kodak wanted to bring to market. And Draper pairs it with a heartwarming presentation about nostalgia and emotional connection to the product.

What can we learn from this motivational sales video?

First, when selling your own product, remember that people buy with their emotions. Your prospects appreciate features, but they won't buy features.

They buy solutions to problems and answers to prayers.

Prospects want to buy your product because it will help them overcome challenges and become the hero at their company. Remember: your reps should be viewed as trusted consultants to their prospects.

If you have reps who have trouble connecting with the product you're selling, this motivational sales video can be a gentle, yet powerful, reminder of the "why." Remind them why they're selling, what they're selling for, and who they're selling to.

3. Denzel Washington's Commencement Speech

On May 16, 2011, Denzel Washington gave a riveting commencement speech to the University of Pennsylvania graduating class. This would go down as one of the most motivational videos for sales teams—or any other team—in internet history.

Here's how it starts:

"Reggie Jackson struck out 2,600 times in his carer. The most in the history of baseball. But you don't hear about the strikeouts. People hear about the home runs. Thomas Edison conducted 1,000 failed experiments. The 1,001 was the light bulb. Every failed experiment is one step closer to success. You've got to take risks."

The lesson here, as Denzel goes on to say, is that you will fail. You will embarrass yourself. You will suck at something.

Don't run from it. Don't let it hold you back. Embrace it. Move on.

Fail fast. Fail Forward.

Failure is ever-present, especially in the world of sales. As such, it's crucial that you don't let your team adopt a negative mindset regarding failure. If they do, they run the risk of burning out and losing the fight against self doubt.

Instead, focus on what you can learn from each failure. What lessons can you carry forward with you into the next deal, and the next, and the next?

We did an entire blog that highlights 16 common sales mistakes reps often face, and how they can do exactly what Denzel talks about here. I highly recommend you read it and share with your team—plus it's got a bunch of fun GIFs in it.

Just remember what wise, old Yoda said to Luke Skywalker:

"Pass on what you have learned. Strength, mastery, hmm… but weakness, folly, failure also. Yes: failure, most of all. The greatest teacher, failure is."

Also, yes, I realize that's from The Last Jedi and a lot of people are unhappy with the newer Star Wars movies. Yoda is still the best, and this quote is still insanely applicable.

4. Make Positivity Louder by Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary Vaynerchuk, or Gary V, is probably the most successful marketer alive. He's also an incredibly accomplished public speaker, and this video is highly motivating for a sales teams' perspective and brilliant.

The set up is brilliant.

Yes, there are issues with our careers, our countries, and our world. And if people want to look at the pessimistic side of life, they're more than welcome to do so.

But Gary V chooses to look at life through a lens of optimism.

After all, every one of us got to be a human being. Do you know what the odds on that are?

They're 400 trillion to one. Those are the odds each of us rolled the dice on in order to be sitting where we are right now.

Positivity is one of many different sales traits that can help a salesperson succeed in their job. It impacts willingness to learn, the ability to connect with others, and resilience to push through adversity.

Gary V's motivational sales video might be a bit direct and blunt at times, but there's no doubt about it: it'll fire your team up in a big way. And keeping a positive mindset in sales is crucial to make more sales.

5. Get Up and Grind Mentality

Motiversity is a YouTube goldmine for inspiring and motivational sales videos. One of my favorites is the Get Up and Grind Mentality.

"Hundreds of people give up on their goals on a daily basis. It's usually because they realized, quickly after starting their journeys, that they're alone. Nobody wakes them up in the morning. Nobody pushes them when they start to make excuses. Nobody pats them on the back when they hit a milestone."

In sales, it's so easy to get sucked into a lone wolf mentality. That can be damaging to your individual reps and the unity of your team.

As this video says, people give up on goals because they're alone.

Teach your team to lean on one another when they have trouble selling or need help staying on deadline. And when they crush important milestones, encourage them to celebrate together.

You should also let them know that you, as a leader, will always have their back and support them throughout their sales journey. VPs, executives, and even C-suite are there to help as well—everyone wants to see them succeed.

"This is you versus you. Get out of bed. We've got goals to achieve...You started this journey for a reason. What are you waiting for?"

6. How Successful People Think, from Video Advice

What do Magic Johnson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Idris Elba, Serena Williams, Usain Bolt, and Conor McGregor all have in common? Aside from being in this motivational sales video, they were all willing to put in years of hard work to achieve their goals.

"Have a clear vision and clear goal of where you want to go. Only then will you get there. You can have the best airplane or ship in the world, but if the captain doesn't know where to go they'll just drift around. See your goal always in front of you."

As you think through your sales team's goals, and as you help your reps manage their own goals, don't be afraid to dream big. However, you have to remember to execute smartly against those goals.

Anyone can say they want to attain 150% of their quota this year. But how will they actually do it?

Use this motivational sales video as a jumping off point with your team to brainstorm tactics they can use to set goals. Then, lay out a clear roadmap for how they'll achieve them.

This could be a tactic you use in your 1:1 meetings with reps, or something you implement at an all-team meeting. Either way, keep this mantra in your back pocket:

"Dream big. Execute Smart."

Use These Motivational Sales Videos to Hype Your Team

From goal setting and professional development to team bonding and emotional connections, use this list of motivational sales videos whenever you need to fire up your squad. Showing motivational videos can be a powerfully inspiring habit that encourages them to keep the positive momentum alive.

After a few weeks, they'll start sharing their own motivating videos. Maybe it becomes a staple for a weekly Monday meeting. Maybe you send one in Slack or MS Teams each week.

However you implement it, don't write off the power that a short video has when it comes to motivating your sales team. A few minutes each week could produce massive ROI where more dials, meetings booked, demos attended, and deals closed are concerned.

And, if you're looking for even more inspiring sales content, be sure to check out these motivational sales quotes from real-world sales professional, or start listening to these 22 sales podcasts. We're always looking for more motivational sales videos, so if you have any feel free to send them to us on LinkedIn—we want to hear from you!

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