A study by the Incentive Research Foundation revealed that a well-built incentive program can boost sales teams' performance by up to 44%. No wonder 90% of top-performing companies use sales incentive programs.

For you, that could be the biggest differentiator in hitting (or even exceeding) your company sales goals. You can launch an incentive program this summer to help motivate your internal sales teams and independent channel sales partners to new heights.

In this article, you will learn effective sales incentive ideas that

• Improve your sales team’s productivity
• Boost job satisfaction among your salespeople
• Keep team morale high
• Grow collaboration among teammates, and
• Ultimately, close more deals and drive revenue.

Let’s dive in…

1. CYOG - “Create Your Own Gift”

People are motivated for different reasons. So, how about letting them choose the prize they desire?

This free-to-choose approach can come in handy when you aren’t sure what they’ll appreciate and gives an opportunity for sales reps to choose from a list of pre-approved gifts that will motivate them to sell.

Examples could include monetary or perks (non-monetary incentives) such as
A billboard featuring the salesperson’s name and desired content
VIP parking space for a week or month, etc.

2. Gadgets

Gadgets are designed to be highly practical, allowing people to do many tasks toward accomplishing a specific goal better. We can use them for entertainment, efficiency, or learning.

These electronic tools give people the confidence and efficiency to do their sales jobs even better. So, offering gadgets that help them improve their sales figures would be a bonus.

Examples include

• Hand-held devices: iPhones, smart watches, and tablets
• Household electronics: Smart TVs, sound systems, smart coffee maker
• Gadgets for hobbyists: Musical equipment, outdoor lifestyle equipment, gaming gadgets

Because gadgets are practical, they stick around longer as a reminder of their excellent work, motivating them long after they’ve received it.

3. Subscription Boxes

Is your sales team remote? If so, having a personalized subscription box filled with something they can enjoy shipped directly to their homes is an effective way to incentivize your sales team.

Four examples are

• Dollar Shave Club: Grooming products for men and women
• Birchbox: Beauty and skincare products
• Frank and Oak: Eco-friendly clothing and style packages for men and women
• TryTheWorld: Gourmet foods from all over the world

4. Extra PTO

Offering your salespeople additional PTO is a great way to say, “You’ve done an excellent job. Now, take a little rest and refresh yourself.”

Not only does it show appreciation for the effort it takes to be exceptionally good, but it’s also a productivity booster.

5. Office Improvements

The same goes for office improvements — you help make their work easier and much more enjoyable with improvements like

• A newer model ergonomic chair
• A higher-grade ergonomic keyboard
• Standing desks
• Extra equipment for video calls — ring light, pro microphones, high-resolution webcam

6. Free Courses, Seminars, etc

Here’s an incentive that will excite a team member who values professional growth. This benefits the salesperson as well as your company because you’ll have a more skilled professional representing the brand.

Offer professional development opportunities such as

• Tickets to an upcoming sales event or conference
• One-on-one sales training with a professional coach, or
• Online courses for advanced sales techniques

7. Travel Vouchers

Add a sprinkle of recreational activities to your salespeople’s lives. Most will appreciate all-expense-paid trips to exotic locations. But if that’s above the budget for your company, you can split it into coupons for specific aspects of vacationing and combine those with extra PTO days.

For example

• Plane tickets or airline travel points
• Hotel vouchers
• Cruises
• Travel coupons of $1,000 to $2,000, or any amount

This is an exciting offer to look forward to, especially in summer.

8. Shows and Sporting Tickets

Another incentive your team members would have an eye for is tickets to their favorite entertainment. The catch here is to keep it open — you may not know who everyone’s favorite sports team is or an important show they’re looking forward to.

So, this should be an offer to sponsor them at their favorite sport’s game or favorite entertainer’s show up to a certain amount. It’s even better to make it a ticket for two. These events are best enjoyed when shared with a loved one.

Note that entertainment can also include a fancy dinner ‌or food or wine delivery at their home to end the day.

9. Set Goals and Measure Outcomes

Most sales incentive programs benefit from the SPIF (sales performance improvement fund), therefore it’s important to set the right goals and record the right metrics so you can make an accurate report.

This will help other members of the exec team see how important your incentive program is in boosting revenue numbers, as well as inform you about what needs to be adjusted to improve results.

Whether you’re working with an in-house sales team, sales agents, or resellers, follow these tips:

• Set reasonable objectives
• Make sure your criteria are measurable
• As in (2) above, keep it simple and transparent, and
• Align your sales incentive goals with the overarching company goals for the quarter