Due to ever-changing business priorities, you may be evaluating your sales results to gauge how to forecast. The impact of the past few years has forced businesses to readjust their strategies. Rather than spinning your wheels searching for a quick fix, take some incentive insights from top-performing companies to optimize your reward program in order to accelerate your progress. There are many ways to avoid losing momentum throughout the remainder of the year.
Research by the Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) dives into what top-performing financial services, technology, and manufacturing companies do differently for incentives and rewards. These studies are applicable to additional industries as they prove how effective non-cash recognition can be. We pulled key points from the survey results to provide you with techniques to generate results consistently through your sales incentive programs.
- Offer rewards that don’t break the bank. The average combined award points of those surveyed are valued at $3,359. By combining the rewards into points versus one overall trip, your participants can select the option that best suits their lifestyle. The amounts can be tiered depending on how much revenue your top performers bring in.
- Set specific, realistic, pre-defined hit-and-win goals. Salespeople are more likely to achieve Hit and Win goals where they must hit 100% of their goal versus having to go beyond it (110%, 120% of goal). But when structuring the program make sure that the goal you want to reward them for achieving is more than their quota (otherwise they are just being paid to do their job). The goals should be achievable in order to avoid diminished egos. The qualification criteria should be simple in order to create clear guidelines and avoid adjustments.
- Show your team how they contribute to the overarching goals. Now, more than ever, people need to feel a sense of unity, especially within the organizations they work in. Cultivate a sense of purpose by allowing each team member to see how their contributions are helping the larger company objectives.
- Inspire your average performers. Incentive programs should do more than just reward your top performers. Your low-to-middle performers should feel that they have a chance of meeting their goals. Try setting a percentage increase to their goals, rather than setting targets that are nearly impossible to meet. By asking them to increase their sales by 15-20%, they will focus on their own improvement, inspiring them to continue raising their sales game. And remember to keep a healthy balance between achievement, sales incentives, and commitment to a positive culture.
- Focus on one program, not one for each team. Do you have teams in different regions or sales reps with varying priorities? One program is still possible, with adjustments to rules visible to only certain groups as needed. Enrolling your sales team in too many reward programs can confuse your audience, making it more difficult to stay on track to meet your goals.
The theme throughout each of these methods is flexibility. Creative Group can design a turnkey program with the ability to drive results long-term. As you look for answers to keep your business profitable throughout the year, consider an incentive that offers the above benefits.
