Why incentivise?

Whyincentivise?

The InTouch why?guide to sales incentive schemes

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InTouch Why incentivise?

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Peoplemake profi t.Whether you employ an internal sales team or work through distributors or dealers, an incentive scheme can help to motivate people, focus effort, drive sales and improve communication.effort, drive sales and effort, drive sales and improve communication.


£!Why would I need it?Why on earth would I need to incentivise sales teams? They’re paid enough already!

It’s a common question.

But the benefits of running a good scheme can reach far beyond the cost, and it can become a vital communication tool to help raise awareness of your business’s goals.

People create the profit for any business (not just the sales force, of course). However the barriers to continual improvement and people reaching their full potential are many and varied: apathy, cynicism, lack of targeting, lack of communication and not feeling appreciated are all top of the list.

So, the answer is that an incentive scheme helps to break down the barriers to real communication within an organisation and changes behaviours to get teams thinking about continual improvement.

£!www.intouchmarketing.co.uk

!!The key benefi ts are twofold: fi nancial improvement of the business and boosting team morale.

An effective scheme could help:

> Boost productivity> Create better teams> Improve retention of existing

personnel> Persuade new recruits to join> Build your brand internally> Teams feel more valued> Reinforce valuable training> Extend product knowledge

Encouraging freedom to think and act proactively will ultimately bring fi nancial rewards to your business, and incentivising behaviour is a currency which people appreciate and understand.

What are the key benefi ts?


How does it work?

Incentive schemes can take many different forms, from simple, instant ‘tactical’ rewards, to rolling annual programmes. Some reward fi nancially, some in ‘perks’, some merely in recognition.

The basics to any scheme are:

> Reward> Recognition> Feedback

The best planned schemes create a structure which takes into account roles and potential. It is pointless, setting the same level of reward for two people who’s opportunities to sell are wildly different, because they are in different geographical territories, for example.

Rewarding behaviour can be just as effective as rewarding sales. Look at what people do and reward behaviour accordingly, thereby tailoring your scheme to create realistic targets and achievable ‘performance improvement’. The outcome can be better customer retention or brand awareness.


It is also important to be clear and transparent. People can be cynical about such initiatives. They often assume it simply means more work and more ‘Big Brother’.

So the way you communicate and the tone is as important as what you say. As is the approach. Like all communication, it will be more engaging if it is designed to be entertaining, with a creative theme, well designed visuals and imaginative rewards.

It is vital to design a scheme which is measurable and not a burden to administer, so setting objectives that are realistic is key. It is better to start with something simple and communicate it well to achieve ‘buy in’ than create something too ambitious at the outset – complexity can be added at a later date, if necessary. Running a short pilot can iron out any kinks.

A fl exible scheme is paramount. It allows you to change course at short notice and focus tactically when the need arises.

What else do I need to think about?


InTouch is an experienced team of communication specialists with one aim: to grow your business faster.

For the last six years we have run Drive Up, a sales incentive scheme for Mercedes-Benz Fleet.

Designed to deliver sales volume, Drive Up has also become a vital internal communication tool, helping to bring new ideas forward and even shape sales strategy.

As the scheme has evolved and developed, we have added incentive layers such as Sales Person of the Year as well as introducing spot prize quizzes to build brand knowledge and keep the scheme fresh.

Communications are delivered through a variety of media including regular emails, a protected and personalised website and a printed magazine.

Why choose InTouch?


Drive Up is supported with a variety of media such as personalised web, email and printed communications, and our dedicated team ensures that all targets, prizes, leagues and queries are administered on a daily basis.


Active Customer Development™

We believe that integrating the effort of both the sales and marketing functions within a business is the key to developing strong and resilient brands, harmonising your personnel, energising your sales potential and turning your customers on.

We have used our experience to develop a powerful blueprint for sustainable business growth, called Active Customer Development™

Contact [email protected] to request a copy or visit our website and click on the link.

Communication specialists We are InTouch Marketing.

We take your marketing communications challenges and turn them into effective customer-driven solutions.

We help you build the right integrated strategy, fi nd the right customers and deliver superb creative.

We make it easy for you.

www.intouchmarketing.co.uk© InTouch Marketing 2011.

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Why incentivise?

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