Motivation – For once it's not about selling
In almost any kind of business, sometimes there is a need to motivate others. (NB: This is as distinct from "motivational programs" which are structured incentive schemes, usually aimed at sales staff to get them to sell more. This is a different area altogether and one which we can look at another time...
FOR ONCE IT'S NOT ABOUT SELLING
The cynics amongst us would probably say that all you need to do to motivate people, is to use sales techniques on them. There might be a bit of truth in that from the point of view that in order to motivate people, you've got to show them "what's in it for them." However that's probably where the resemblance ends.
I believe there is a difference between selling people an idea and motivating them to "buy into it." With motivation you need to focus more on generating and activating desire. That's not something you necessarily have to do with selling, because in that case you should be selling into a ready-prepared market opportunity. (But that's straying into marketing issues which we're not discussing now.)
