Design a Successful Sales Incentive Program

ROI, ROI, ROI. More than ever, our clients are taking the time to properly analyze the economics of their sales incentive programs. Every program should be designed with quantifiable objectives in mind. The good news is that, in the world of sales, we have access to more data than ever before, whether it be from a global CRM application or a collection of carefully managed spreadsheets. But don’t give into temptation and over-complicate the program with all of that great data at your disposal. It’s still important to keep the program rules simple: if I do X, I earn Y. To design a successful sales incentive program, the basics still apply.

Another important element to sales program design is to put yourself in the sales team’s shoes and think, “What’s in it for me?” Is the reward meaningful enough to change the behaviors and results of your sales team?

Finally, don’t skimp on communications. This is where I see most programs fail. So much work is done on the front-end to design the program, but after launch, the program goes on auto-pilot with no active oversight or ongoing communications to drive engagement and keep the program top of mind. If you can relate to this scenario, I’d be happy to share other best practices to maximize your program’s success.