Want to add some zip to your incentive program? Try mini-sales contests and awards. Go ahead, get creative. Have fun. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Award "Bonus
Bucks" to employees for wearing promotional buttons, meeting mini-goals,
cross-selling, or submitting articles to your sales newsletter. Hold
an auction at the end of the promotional period, and let employees
bid on prizes such as a weekend getaway, a day at a spa, an extra
holiday, home electronics, dinners-for-two, and theater or concert
tickets with limousine service.
- Hold a raffle.
For each referral or sale, an employee receives a raffle ticket for
a grand prize drawing of a trip or other large prize.
- Launch a one-week
"Gold Rush" to increase sales of the "Gold" tier of your checking
package. Ask staff to dress as prospectors or Western pioneers. Decorate
branch lobbies in a Western theme. Double your Gold incentives to
really boost sales. Reward branches that meet their goals with a barbecue
lunch served by senior management.
- Plan a "President's
Trip" to a restaurant, a sporting event, or a theme park to reward
top performing teams or individuals.
- Sponsor a pizza
party sales blitz in which branch staff take to the phones after hours
to promote your product. Divide a list of prospects among staff members.
Give top sellers a three-day pass for a long weekend with friends
or family.
- Branch managers
can run mini-contests that last from a few hours to several days or
even a week. Prizes could include: a designated parking space, a car
wash in the parking lot by the branch manager, a hot-air balloon ride,
a flower arrangement, or a "Star Performer" mug. Tying prizes into
the theme of the promotion is also fun.
- Play poker. For one week let staff members draw a card for their first sale or referral of the day. At the end of the week the person with the best hand wins a $25 jackpot.