It is impossible to overstate the value of inter-team sales contests. By motivating sales team members, organisations can enhance sales performance and increase sales revenue.
What is a sales contest? A sales contest is an event where salespeople compete against one another to see who can sell the most goods or services. In addition, sales managers are given an opportunity to identify non-performers and encourage them. The contest may have a set duration or be contingent on a set threshold of sales. Prizes for contest winners have included tangible incentives as well as recognition.
Why do we hold sales contests? What is the major goal? Competition is sparked by contests by nature; some even promote unity. Winning sales competitions helps strengthen team spirit. But more crucially, sales competitions encourage participants to exert more effort, like in marathons.
These competitions can come in a variety of forms and share the same goal. Others are not financial in nature. The latter is significant to notice because the institution frequently responds, “We can’t afford it,” when the topic of competition is brought up.
Examples of sales competitions abound. However, not everything has to be that glamorous. Another example would be having a straightforward lunch with the CEO or receiving an account from a capable sales manager. Other contest ideas are creative and merit admiration.
Are sales contests effective? The quick response is yes. The issue is that the majority lack due consideration. Either because it takes a lot of labour to come up with one or because the creators are engrossed in the excitement. Creating entertaining sales competitions or even inspiring concepts for contest names might be difficult.
How to conduct a successful sales contest? In my long experience in sales as a sales manager, I have managed sales teams for over thirty-five years and have learned some important things about hosting profitable sales contests.
The first rule is to keep things simple. Your sales team needs to have no trouble comprehending how your competitors operate. Their interest in taking part in your promotions will decrease if it is unclear how to win or who is currently in the lead.
Holding an uncomplicated competition is an easy way to motivate your salesmen to close more deals. You may provide prizes to your best-performing sales representatives, or you could just recognise the top five achievers. You may ensure that everyone comprehends the guidelines by making things simple.
Complex process
Selling in any situation is a complex process, and salesmen are constantly working under pressure. They constantly face rejection from customers on one hand and are pressured by employers for performance on the other hand.
Therefore, it is the duty of the sales manager to provide maximum fun whenever time permits. The sales manager must demonstrate genuine interest and commitment in helping his team members be relaxed and happy.
Inter-team competitions can be an entertaining way for your sales staff to bond. It also promotes bonding and makes the encounter unforgettable. Consider holding a fun competition to demonstrate to your team members your commitment to their success. You might design it around a joke that everyone in the office laughs at, and the victor could get a gift in return.
The sales manager must work with the team at the planning stage of the competition. I have received amazingly creative ideas from my sales team members when planning a contest. What kind of prizes would your sales team like? I once asked my team during a sales meeting, “Do you prefer a team incentive or an individual gift?”. The answer in unison was “yes.” After explaining the guidelines, the sales manager should ask them what gifts they wish to have after the competition is over.
This strategy offers several useful advantages. First, the sales team will be more committed, the reward will be what they desired, and they’ll appreciate that you gave them the reins. Second, the team members know what they will receive as a reward, and that was their own suggestion. Also, the sales team spirit is elevated because they are aware that their manager trusts them in decision making.
It is important for the manager to keep the participants informed about the ongoing situation. Hence, delivering updates must be done to keep enthusiasm at a high level. Inform your salespeople frequently about how they compare to the competition. You might wish to provide an update every day or once a week, depending on how quickly each sales cycle moves.
The prize distribution must be prompt. A performing sales team is naturally aggressive and can get disappointed and discouraged easily. Therefore, the most important part of running a contest is to distribute prizes on time. Delays in rewarding not only lowers morale but also keep salespeople from engaging in similar behaviour.
Contests
There are hundreds of different types of contests available for sales managers to choose from. However, during my long career in sales, I chose several simple and cost-effective but result-oriented contests for my sales team back then.
The Daily Prize was one of my favourite contests at the time. It may seem unimportant because the prizes are small without much monetary value. However, since the prizes are given daily, the engagement of participants is higher, and it can be fun to expect a result every evening. The daily prize model also resets the sales and the leads daily, and tracking is easier.
Selling can be pretty tiring sometimes, as salesmen constantly face rejections and refusals from customers. Hence, to provide something extra by way of monetary gains as well as fun, choosing the best salesperson of the month is quite effective. Aside from individual revenue accomplishments, a sales manager can be creative in nominating salespeople for other categories such as customer reviews, most leads, or even most rejections.
Sales contests can be extremely important to motivate non-performing salesmen as well. Therefore, I have not let my sales team members down when they are not at the top of the charts. “Surprise Salesperson Appreciation” is an effective way to encourage such salesmen. On a chosen day, the sales manager must identify a salesperson who needs extra motivation and reward him or her. This not only motivates the receiver but also encourages others when they realise their manager does not abandon them in failure. This can keep the overall morale high.
Humans are extremely competitive creatures by nature. People gain a sense of pride and purpose from competition. In particular, salesmen who are constantly working under tremendous pressure and often in unfriendly circumstances can get demoralised if additional concentration is absent from sales managers.
In light of this, sales managers and leadership might use sales competitions to take advantage of human nature. Sales competitions should focus on enhancing individual performance, encouraging teamwork, and raising spirits.