The Hidden Lever in B2B Sales Performance: Include DISC + Motivators Report When Designing Training and Coaching
Most CROs and sales leaders try to improve performance by adding more: more pipeline reviews, more CRM enforcement, more training sessions, more reports, more meetings, more pressure. But performance doesn’t improve because behavior doesn’t change. And behavior doesn’t change because you’re not addressing what drives it. I have found the fastest, most overlooked way to improve B2B sales performance is this: Add a DISC + Motivators assessment to your sales effectiveness and improvement analysis when you design your sales training and coaching program to accelerate improvement.
What Does Research Say About Sales Motivation and Sales Performance?
Dr. Good’s research in her dissertation, Motivating Salespeople Toward Greater Productivity. In a first-of-its-kind study, her research reveals that a sense of purpose – a belief that one is contributing to a cause great and more enduring than oneself – is more positively related to salesperson effort and performance over time than a desire for financial rewards.
How are your salespeople motivated today?
What is a DISC + Motivators Report?
I became certified in DISC in the early 2000s. I was the VP of Sales and Marketing for a manufacturing company, and I just hired a consultant to help our team improve internal communication and execution to support the revenue growth we were experiencing. I was shocked by how accurate the assessment was for me (I’m a high D, by the Way) and for each of my team members. Once we had our DISC assessments and finished our report debriefs, I needed to learn more about DISC to coach sales teams, help salespeople quickly understand buyer personality styles, and speak the language they need to hear.
Today, our no-smoke-and-mirrors sales enablement process starts with gathering current data. We assess the sales teams’ current sales effectiveness and how much more effective they can be. When we add the DISC motivators report, it helps me and the client leaders customize the training and coaching we prescribe next to fill skills gaps and/or coach through limiting beliefs.
A DISC + Motivators report combines two powerful lenses to improve sales performance:
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DISC = How someone behaves
Based on the work of William Moulton Marston, DISC measures observable behavior across four dimensions:
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Dominance (D): Results-driven, direct, competitive
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Influence (I): Outgoing, persuasive, relationship-focused
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Steadiness (S): Patient, consistent, supportive
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Conscientiousness (C): Analytical, precise, quality-focused
This tells you how a salesperson shows up—how they communicate, sell, handle pressure, and make decisions.
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Motivators = Why someone takes action
Often based on research by Eduard Spranger, Motivators measure internal drivers such as:
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Theoretical: Desire to learn and understand
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Utilitarian: ROI, efficiency, practical results
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Aesthetic: Harmony, balance, experience
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Social: Helping others
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Individualistic: Power, recognition, influence
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Traditional: Structure, rules, belief systems
This reveals why a salesperson does what they do—what energizes them and what drains them.
Mine?
Social and Utilitarian.
I have a strong need to help others and drive practical results for them.
Why This Matters More Than Any Sales Training Alone
Most B2B sales training fails for one simple reason: It assumes all sales managers and salespeople are motivated and wired the same way.
They’re not.
You’re trying to coach behaviors without understanding:
- Natural tendencies
- Internal drivers
- Stress responses
- Decision-making styles
- Current skill level
- Beliefs
That’s like giving the same workout to a marathon runner and a powerlifter and expecting the same results.
What the DISC + Motivators Report Actually Measures
When done correctly, this assessment gives you deep, actionable insight into:
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Communication Style
- Do they ask questions or dominate conversations?
- Do they listen or pitch?
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Sales Strengths & Blind Spots
- Are they strong in hunting but weak in closing?
- Great at relationships but avoid tough conversations?
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Reaction Under Pressure
- Do they become aggressive, passive, or analytical?
- Do they avoid conflict or create it?
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Decision-Making Patterns
- Fast and instinctive?
- Slow and data-driven?
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Internal Motivation Triggers
- Money?
- Recognition?
- Learning?
- Purpose?
Can your salespeople do the job?
Will they do the job?
How to Use DISC + Motivators Report to Improve B2B Sales Performance
This is where most companies get it wrong: They take the assessment… and do nothing with it.
Or they plan to do something with it, but get busy with the next burning trash-can fire they need to put out.
Here’s how to actually use it to drive results from the DISC + Motivators report.
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Customize Coaching (Stop Generic Coaching)
Bad coaching:
Sales managers who coach have top-performing sales teams when they are trained in sales management coaching skills. If they have bad coaching, it reduces team performance toward goals.
What are some examples of Bad Sales Manager Coaching?
Telling salespeople to :
“Ask better questions.”
“Be more proactive
“ Make more calls.”
” Be more accountable.”
“Improve your close rate.”
What does an effective sales manager coach sound like?
How do we apply what we learned in the sales effectiveness assessment and the DISC motivators?
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High D → Coach patience, listening, gathering details, note-taking, and discovery
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High I → Coach structure, qualification, handling objections, and closing discipline
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High S → Coach urgency, prospecting confidence, discovery, handling change
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High C → Coach speed, risk-taking, and simplifying conversational intellegence
Now you’re coaching the person, not the role.
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Align Roles with Natural Strengths
Not every salesperson should be doing the same job.
We are all destined for greatness. Some salespeople should be hunters, others farmers, or perhaps the new sales type, fishermen.
When we combine the results of the sales effectiveness assessment, which help us understand skills and beliefs, with the DISC = motivation report, we can ensure we have the right people in the right roles with the right skills and motivations.
What are some examples of sales roles using the DISC + Motivators Report?
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High D → New business, closing roles
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High I → Relationship expansion, account management, key account growth
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High S → Customer success, long-cycle nurturing, data-driven, value-based sales
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High C → Technical sales, sales engineering
Misalignment here is one of the biggest hidden performance killers.
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Tailor Motivation (This Is the Game-Changer)
Comp plans and incentives only work if they match motivators.
When I started my career and led most of the sales teams I have led over the years in the 1990s and 2000s, the majority of B2B salespeople were extrinsically motivated. They were often utilitarian…If I make 10 more calls and close 8 more deals I will make $10,000 more commission. However, as we assess B2B sales teams we have seen a huge shift to intrinsic motivation. They want to learn, grow, receive more frequent feedback and they are not motivated by more money, sales incentive contents, trips, etc..
Get how your B2B salesperson is motivated wrong and not only will your coaching not deliver the performance improvement you desire but you will be spending a lot more money than you would need to.
Examples of Strategic Compensation Plans Aligned with Motivations:
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High Utilitarian → Show ROI, compensation leverage
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High Individualistic → Recognition, leadership opportunities
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High Theoretical → Training, mastery, knowledge
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High Social → Customer impact, helping others
If you don’t align motivation, you’ll constantly feel like: “They should be more driven.”
They are driven—just not by what you’re offering.
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Improve Sales Process Execution
Different profiles struggle at different stages of the formal sales process:
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Prospecting → Fear of rejection (S), overthinking (C)
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Discovery → Talking too much (I), rushing (D)
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Closing → Avoiding conflict (S), needing perfection (C)
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Qualifying → Avoiding conflict (S,C), Fear of hurting relationship ( I)
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Handling Objections → Avoiding conflict (S,C), Fear of hurting relationship ( I)
Now you can diagnose pipeline issues at the human level, not just the data level.
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Build Better Managers
Sales managers often coach through their own bias.
One of the biggest mistakes I have seen sales managers make over the past 40 years is assuming their salespeople need to be or are like them to be successful.
A high D manager might think:
“Just push harder.”
A high C manager might think:
“You need more data.”
DISC removes bias and replaces it with objective coaching language.
Real-World Example Of how DISC = Motivators Report Improved Sales Results.
A manufacturing company had:
- Strong pipeline
- Strong brand
- Known for quality products
- Seen as an innovator, industry leader
- Poor close rates
- Inconsistent performance
After running DISC + Motivators with a Sales Effectiveness Assessment:
We discovered:
- Most reps were high S / high Social
- They avoided conflict and pricing conversations
- They were motivated by helping, not winning
- They did not follow up
- They did not ask for the order
- They had never received sales skills training
Sales Problem Fix:
- Trained on assertiveness and closing conversations
- Reframed pricing as “helping customers make decisions.”
- Adjusted coaching language
- Identified six sales skills gaps and delivered training and coaching
Result:
- Close rates increased quickly many salespeople experienced a 15%-20% increase
- Sales cycle shortened
- More new meetings with ICPs
- Confidence improved
- Margins increased
- Customer satisfaction increased
No increase in marketing spends
No additional salespeople hired
No new CRM.
No new strategy.
Just better alignment.
No Smoke
No Mirrors
The Bottom Line on DISC + Motivators Report Added to a Sales Effectiveness Assessment to Increase sales and Margins:
If you want to improve B2B sales performance, stop guessing.
Start with understanding:
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How effective are the salespeople today and how much more effective could they be?( sales skills & beliefs)
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How your people behave (DISC)
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Why they act (Motivators)
Then build everything else around that:
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Coaching
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Training
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Role design
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Incentives
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Sales process
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Role plays
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Sales playbooks
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Scenario simulations
Because the truth is: You don’t improve sales performance by managing activities and behaviors alone.
You improve it by understanding your people.
Final Thought for CROs and Adding a Disc + Motivators Report
Before your next:
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SKO
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Sales training
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New sales compensation plan
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Performance review
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Pipeline intervention
Ask yourself: Do I actually understand what drives each salesperson, each sales manager on my team, and do they have the skills to execute our sales growth plan?
If the answer is no,
That’s the first problem to solve.