How to use incentives for success
I love being incentified - having work that pays you what you earn. I love earning the extras too… yep, throw a carrot out and I am going to chase it every time. Most great salespeople feel the same way about this.
What is important when working toward an incentive:
The goal must be clearly defined. A great salesperson will work hard if they know exactly what they are working for. It can be pay, it can be a trip, it can be a car or jewelry, and it can be a combination of many things - it just must be clearly defined.
It must be easy to track and see your results in real time. If your company does not have a process, then you need to create your own process.
It has to be attainable. There cannot be roadblocks in your way. Your company has to want you to earn the incentives. If very few people earn the incentives, that is an indication that it is too exclusive for many to succeed.
My first incentive trip was to London, England in 1995 with The Pampered Chef. I earned great money as well as a fabulous trip for my husband and I. There were also extras I could earn while we were there. We earned a special bonus to tour a castle, and I also earned an exclusive trip for us to ride on the Orient Express and enjoy a wonderful meal. Let me tell you it was a trip my husband and I will never forget!
If you are incentified you will want to do several things to help you earn the incentive:
Build your cheering section. My family all knew we wanted to go to England and so there was no complaining about extra working hours and there was always the offer to lend a hand if I needed some help.
Share your goal. My clients, friends and extended family knew I was working toward an awesome goal. They were happy for me, they were cheering for me and they wanted me to earn the incentive.
Break it down into small increments. You need to break down your goal by month, week, and day so you know exactly what numbers you need to achieve your goal. Each week I keep track of where I am.
Be specific on HOW you’re going to earn it. You need to have specific activities that work toward the goal. You need to block time to do those activities and not get distracted.
Be willing to “begin again” over and over again. So what if you don’t make your goal one week or one month? Some weeks and months you will reach over your goal. And if you don’t, you have to begin again. Recalculate instead of giving up. You need absolute sticktoitiveness!
What if you do really well but you don’t make the goal? Well, you probably earned quite a bit of business and I am sure it increased your bank account. And hopefully you learned from this loss to correct your process for the next incentive.
Incentives are fun and bring excitement to our lives. I hope you reach your goals and enjoy all the riches of your incentives!