Somebody said, “A person who feels appreciated will always do more than what is expected.” And this quote is timelessly true in every field of life, including sales teams for every business big or small.
In the case of the sales team, it is the sales incentive that becomes one of the biggest motivations. The ways of selling might have changed in 2024, but the basic and core aims remain the same. Advanced sales methodologies include the use of digital means such as social media and email campaigns, and therefore the sales team needs to be on its toes now more than ever. But they are still humans and every human needs motivation to move further.
What are sales incentives?
The simplest and easy to use tool to keep the sales team motivated and the sales channel working at its full efficiency is sales incentives. They can be in the form of cash, coupons, discounts, shares, and other benefits. Incentives are based on the principle that investing in your employees is investing in your bottom line. It is a simple way to tell your sales team that they are valued and you appreciate their hard work and time.
Sales incentives can be material or financial, depending on what works for your employees and what is feasible for your business. The incentive is usually offered as a reward for meeting a sales target, or pushing a number of prospects in the sales channel, closing a number of deals, or how the deals are closed. The rewards can be monthly, quarterly, half yearly or years and are usually clearly spelled out in the contract of employment of the employee. The incentive or compensation for the sales force is one of the biggest marketing investments for most B2B companies.
In simple words, a sales incentive is a motivating tool to exceed their sales goals. It helps the businesses boost morale, improve productivity and drive better results across their sales channels.
If you are still wondering about the benefits of timely and justified incentives to the sales team, then here is a comprehensive list of the advantages:
The Advantages of Sales Incentives for sales team
- Boosted employee retention and satisfaction
A satisfied employee is a motivated employee. A sales incentive is the way to make your sales team feel valued and part of the family. Holding on to the sales team can be a difficult task, especially in the digital world where key sales employees often tend to move to better working conditions and hikes. Attractive sales incentives are a way to retain employees and keep them satisfied.
To further fortify this point: the Incentive Research Foundation says that incentive programs boost performance up by 44%, and a Deloitte study indicated that 44% of the people prefer staying at a job if they are fairly incentivized. Rewards such as bonuses, trips, recognitions create a healthy competitive environment that encourages the team go the extra mile to hit the sales goals.
- Improved productivity
A sales team that is motivated and dedicated directly impacts the productivity of the entire business. Incentives lead to efficiency, which leads to sales channels maximizing their productivity, leading to the production, and the designing team also keeping up by providing the product or service on time and keeping it of high quality. Clear and achievable sales goals tied to specific incentives are a great way to maximize the productivity of your sales channel.
- Positive increase in sales performance
Sales incentives, such as performance-based rewards, motivate the team to meet or exceed their targets, which strives for a higher performance. For the business, it means increased revenues across all sales channels. These rewards can be in the form of an all expense paid trip or a dine-in or a voucher etc.
- Creates an atmosphere of healthy competition
A prime way to generate more sales is to keep the competitive fire well lighted. A good and well-structured sales incentive program is the way to get a cut above response from the sales reps. Competition is what makes them strive to be better and leads to improved collaborations, better sales techniques, improves productivity. Individual and team-based goal sales incentives foster an environment of health competition and hard work.
- Creates loyalty and retains top talent
The harsh fact is that when your employee feels underappreciated, they lose the morale to work and often seek new work possibilities. This causes the business to lose on good talent and revenue. Good sales incentives help retain the best and most highly motivated sales people. Incentives reward the high performing reps, and they are more likely to stay with the company and continue delivering exceptional results. It also helps maintain consistency in the sales channels. This incentive also aids your business in retaining top customers as they develop a long-term business relationship with the sales reps and get better customer service.
- Streamlined sales funnel
Incentives can be used to encourage sales reps for growth across specific channels in the sales funnels. By offering incentives for sales made on e commerce platforms or direct sales or on specific tasks or sales processes, businesses can streamline and optimize the sales funnels for maximum revenues and balanced growth.
- Enhanced productivity
Sales incentives have a direct impact on increased productivity. They are a clear and measurable performance indicators. You can clearly see what is working in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. This allows you to shorten the sales cycle, fine tune your incentive program, refine the sales funnel, and allocate resources more effectively.
A well-structured sales incentive program is a must in every business. It not only keeps the sales team motivated, engaged, and focused on the sales goals, but it also helps boost morale, productivity and brings in more revenue across the sales channels for overall growth of the business.
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