You Can’t Motivate Anyone (Including Customers!)

You’ve likely heard the line, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.”  I’m not sure who first penned the phrase, but it’s applicable not only to horses, but also to people.
Watch this short video clip from a keynote at Dreamforce I did on this subject:

The best any of us can do is to be able to create an environment where people can motivate themselves.   Now think about this also from the standpoint of a salesperson and customer.  A salesperson can’t make a customer buy. All they can do is create an environment where the customer feels it makes sense to buy.
It all comes down to the environment we operate in.
If those we want to be motivated, customers included, don’t see the value in what we have and can’t see an outcome from which they would benefit, then why should they do anything?
Sales and leadership have