Sales incentive programs are, basically, strategies and strategic tools that are used in a company or any type of business, so they can reach the sales goals. It’s a long-term plan on how to run a successful strategy, which may include target sales, promotions, pre-orders, advanced analytics, and so on. As the strategy is created, the team leader, together with the team members, should create motivating incentives, assign different roles, create a unique approach, and come up with solutions for every potential issue team may have.
Before you start planning, you have to know how to do that. There are many different approaches that can result in different outcomes, and you and the employees should have a few plans, just in case something goes wrong with the initial one. The plan also depends on the goals you want to accomplish. Probably you want to maximize the performance with this incentive program. There are a lot of ways how to improve it, but here are some tips and tricks that usually work perfectly when it comes to sales incentive plans:
1. Create a structure in your team
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We aren’t all equal. Someone should lead the process, another employee will analyze the results, some of them will work on the prices, and the others can create special offers. It’s very important to assign balanced roles, so everyone can know what is their task, and how much time they have to complete it. If you split the goal into smaller tasks, it may work smoothly, but there is no excitement and competition in that. Include rewards, bonuses, and motivate the people to work on what it’s assigned to them. They can also work in groups, but still, have individual goals to accomplish. They really need to know what their job is and do what they have to do, to create exceptional team results at the end of the day.
2. Motivation is a priority
When people aren’t motivated, they won’t do anything creative to promote your products and services and try to sell them. It’s bad for your company, and if you think the strategy will work out, you can still manage to give rewards to the most effective people in the team, without discouraging those who didn’t accomplish the same results. So, define the roles, tell the employees what they get based on it, give instructions for their approach and behavior, and of course, create a time frame, and motivate them to do that. Probably you already know this, but you can’t motivate grown-up adults with candies and toys, and we all know why are they working, so make sure you can afford nice chunks of money as a bonus for most effective team members.
3. Set realistic goals
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We know that you trust your product and you think everyone will be interested in at least try it, but things really don’t work like that. So, calm down, and be realistic with this one, because if you set unrealistic goals, the team wouldn’t reach them, and both of you will end up angry and disappointed. You must be realistic, especially if your product is new on the market, and you want to promote it nicely. You must avoid the aggressive approach in the marketing and sales strategy, and avoid the MLM schemes of work because we all know how all of them end up.
4. Organize 1-on-1 meetings with every team member
You may have team meetings, but it’s also important to meet every employee who works on the sales incentives, so take your time, and talk to them individually. You can be surprised how many things are hidden from you. Also, every person may have a bunch of ideas on how things can work nicely. Maybe the one who has some leadership role in the team is not a good fit for that. As a leader, it’s your job to listen to all of them, and use the information you get to improve the sales and overall performance of your company.
5. Give a chance to everyone
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This one is related to the 1-on-1 meetings, because you may have exceptional people in your company who can’t really show what they know because someone else wants the spotlight all the time. Give yourself enough time to get to know them better, and who knows, maybe you will discover a hidden gem among them.
6. Ask them for more ideas
It’s really good if you know your ideas and strategies are the best ones in the world, and you have a complete right for that, but what if someone in the team has additional ideas that may improve yours? When in the meeting, listen to their ideas, ask them to come up with something better, give them time to think about it, improve the communication, and be available for them through the working day. You can’t come up with the best sales incentives at the first team gathering. It’s a long process that may bring negative results first, but as you adjust it according to the market’s preferences, and keep the people motivated, you will surely create a successful story, and everyone will be satisfied with the results.
7. Collect the useful data so you can analyze it
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Analyzing the results is something that is really boring, and we all know that, but at the same time, you must do it, so you can be sure you are performing well on the market. These results will also help you adjust the incentive programs and improve them, so they can be more effective, place the product better on the market, and motivate the team of employees to take a more serious approach while doing that.
The final words
It’s all about teamwork. Without your team, you are nothing, no matter how experienced and educated you are. Give them your ideas and instructions, but also get ready to listen to them, because they may have better ideas than yours. Work together, motivate each other, and successful results are guaranteed.
