From poor timing to inconsistency, there are all sorts of hurdles that might be stopping your Sales Incentive Programme from being as effective as it could be.
Sales Incentives Programmes hold huge benefits. They motivate your employees, leading to increased sales and higher profits for your company. In addition, they also serve as a point of difference with your competitors, helping to entice the best talent in and lower turnover. However, all too often sales incentives programs are poorly planned, resulting in lower ROI than anticipated. At Power2Motivate, we have years of experience creating rewards programmes that work - here are some of the most common mistakes we've seen companies make when creating a Sales Incentive Programme.
1) Timing
An incentive programme is the perfect tool for getting your sales team out of a bad patch, right? Well, not quite. Sales come in natural peaks and troughs, and creating an incentive program when the team are already struggling isn't going to help that much. In fact, it might do more harm than good, as your team members will get even more frustrated that they're missing out on prizes.
Instead, the best Sales Incentive Programmes are proactive, long-term arrangements that are in place all year round. This consistency is what's going to raise team morale and performance across the board in the long run.
You might be thinking you've already got a rewards programme in place. But how structured is it?
2) Inconsistency
You might be thinking you've already got a rewards programme in place. But how structured is it? Do your employees actually understand the rules of the scheme? Is everyone rewarded for the same work, or do you tend to do it on a more ad hoc basis? If you don't create consistency in your programme, some of your sales team are going to feel like they're being unfairly treated, harbouring resentment when they see someone getting a reward for tasks that they have also completed.
To create consistency it helps to instigate a points system. Employees receive points for completing a particular action, and they can spend them on a reward of their choice. This way, team members understand exactly what behaviour will get them a reward, and they have more control over their prize.
A study by the Incentive Research Foundation found that 99% of respondents had unique preferences for rewards i.e. their preferences were different from every other person surveyed. Points are the best way to take everyone's differences into account while also keeping your programme consistent.
3) Unsuitable technology
It's much more difficult to be consistent if you are using an incentives platform that doesn't suit your needs. Worse is if you're not using any technology at all. When using a paper-based points-logging system, for example, it's much easier to incorrectly enter information and for an employee to miss out on the reward they deserve. A digital platform that provides all the information an employee needs, including how many points they have and how the programme works, is going to help provide your programme with much-needed consistency.
4) Only incentivising sales
Finally, it's very common for a Sales Incentive Programme just to focus on revenue. However, there are all sorts of behaviours that make up a good sales person. Completing training and undergoing product demos, increasing lead-referrals and maximising cross-selling opportunities are also activities you want to incentivise in order to create the best and most balanced sales team possible.
Sales Incentive Programmes with Power2Motivate
If you want help creating a Sales Incentive Programme that actually works, consider contacting the team at Power2Motivate. With us by your side, your salespeople will be living and breathing your brand. We specialise in motivating employees to achieve their KPIs, maximise cross-selling opportunities and increase lead-referrals, all while reinforcing positive behaviour and engaging team members.