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Using direct sales incentives to reward and retain

Written by: Sheryl Strasser

Article Overview: Direct sales incentives come in many forms, from cash bonuses for selling a given amount of a specific product, to selling to reach a specified sales quota. Some of these direct sales incentives do not always have an immediate cash value, but the idea of company wide recognition for that month, quarter or year, with perhaps an end of year bonus.

Using direct sales incentives to reward and retain

The major questions might well be: What is the best direct sales incentive? What direct sales incentive will help companies keep their best and most productive representatives? The answer to these questions is not universal, every company has to evaluate their staff and create a direct sales incentive that is geared to their needs and their triggers. A good direct sales incentive is not necessarily the one with the largest cash value, unless of course that is the driving force that gets your reps going.

There are companies that have survived on direct sales incentives that only provide certificates or letters of recognition and maybe also recognition at big company meetings or parties at the end of the year. This may not sound like much, but if recognition for a job well done is what your people need, then that will be the direct sales incentive that will work in your establishment. We often go into business and see plaques on the wall with employee of the week or month. These are the direct sales incentives that have no monetary value per say, but the employees are quite satisfied when they see customers looking at their plaques, they know that they are being acknowledged by the company and by customers.

In order to really create an effective direct sales incentive plan you really do have to know your staff. What will cause staff be motivated to improve performance? What will the direct sales incentive tools cost the organization? What is the value that these direct sales incentives bring to the performance-increase forecasted for the organization? What types of direct sales incentives will motivate individuals to meet the set performance goals? The answers to these types of questions will help evaluate your sales teams and get you to develop a strategy that will be most beneficial to your company. It is also important to allow the employees an opportunity to contribute their ideas to what they value as a direct sales incentive. This will give them a greater sense of responsibility, and sense of value.

There is such a variety of possibilities in reference to what you can offer as direct sales incentive. You could offer a team a vacation to some far off exotic place, for the whole family if their team reaches a specific goal. The most important thing to remember is that the most valuable direct sales incentive is genuine recognition for a job well done.

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Article Tags: certificates, company meetings, driving force, job, monetary value, performance goals, performance increase, plaques, sales incentive plan, sales incentives



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