In this article, I am going to outline the reason for either considering running or adapting an existing sales incentive including some of the steps you need to follow to ensure it is as successful as it can be.
Imagine if I could give you a magic tap that allowed you to turn up or down sales virtually instantly AND you knew fed (paid for) itself many times over.
Whether you sell direct or though a sales channel, recognising and rewarding sales people through incentives is that tap – helping increase sales and deliver business growth – both short and long-term.
Few people would need help and advice to choose a chocolate bar or an apple which is why we leave customers to pick them off a shelf.
More complex purchase decisions (whether this is for technical reasons like IT of Financial Services, the cost like a car) are likely to involve a sales person.
In modern business, this sale is often through some form of sales channel – be it retail, dealers, consultants, brokers, advisors or more.
Each sales person is in a unique and valuable position having direct access to the customer at the exact time they are considering whether and what to buy and therefore the power to influence that purchase more than anyone or anything else.
Now put yourself in that sales person’s shoes – would you tend to suggest the product with 5% sales commission or the product with the same commission, that you are also:
- Guaranteed to win an exciting prize
- AND feel confident is suitable for the customer because you have found out more about it (as part of the launch of a sales incentive which you were interested in because it benefited you) ?
Engaged sales people are much more likely to sell your product and provide better customer service – simple! Recognition and reward is one of the most effective methods of driving that engagement.
I have run thousands of incentives across virtually every industry and have consistently delivered incredible results including:
- 900% for an insurance product for Mitsubishi
- 2000% increase for Honda Bikes
- A 2100 fold return on investment for Compaq Computer
- 212% increase in fragrance sales for Proctor and Gamble
- 428% increase in sales for Wella
- And these are just a few examples of where our solutions have worked with organisations large and small and can do so for you too.
So let’s look at some of the incentive fallacies we’ve heard over the years
- Too expensive
- They are already paid to sell so no need
- Don’t work
- Cannot do in my industry (unless your sales channel are public sector themselves this simply isn’t true)
- We only use cash/vouchers/debit card as it’s the best motivator
Each of these is not a sign of sales incentives being ineffective, it is a sign of ineffective use of sales incentives – as can be shown through research and case studies shown in detail in some of my other articles. Identifying how to maximize sales through channel sales teams can be tricky, not just because you’re so close to them but because you need to look at it strategically, and consider the psychology of how people sell.
Some of the most vital questions you want to ask yourself are:
- Are you rewarding large numbers of sales you would have received anyway?
- Do you suffer from peaks and troughs in sales – making it hard to plan?
- Would every sales person know what they need to do to succeed and what they could earn in return?
- Are over three quarters of your sales coming from less than one quarter of the sales people or channel partners?
- Is more than 25% of your sales and marketing budget spent on generating new leads?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then it is worth re evaluating your approach to channel sales incentives.
To start the journey to becoming a sales incentive guru, there are a number of more indepth articles here where, I will demonstrate how using a mix of incentive marketing, loyalty and sales solutions can be used to develop sales growth for you.
These solutions were developed with market leaders in your and other industries so you can learn from their experience.
I will include real life case histories along with the results they achieved and how you can implement them for success. These will help you avoid some of the most common mistakes including:
- Making sure you target the right people
- Reviewing if you have the correct channel partners in the first place
- Structuring the programme to maximise results
- How to ensure you launch it successfully
- Sourcing and structuring rewards to get maximum impact for your investment
- Avoiding costly mistakes on benefit in kind
Sales incentives can easily deliver sales increases of 47 to 900%.
Incentives can always be funded many times over by the profits generated – yet many aren’t because of 10 common mistakes that you will discover.
These strategies have been developed over 30+ years with some of the world’s leading brands and have been applied successfully in industries as diverse as: automotive, financial services, health and beauty, charity, housing, IT, Communications, Education and more demonstrates that these strategies work and deliver ROI in virtually any organisation large or small.
If you cannot spare the time to read numerous articles and you’re interested in exploring these strategies and how they might apply to your business, I invite you to book a FREE Sales Strategy Review with me.
It’s a 30-minute conversation over the phone, during which I’ll learn all about your business, what you’re looking to achieve and then provide you personalised feedback so you can get started increasing sales.
Sound interesting? Book your Sales Strategy Review now
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Tim Peniston-Bird