SALES CONTESTS
Sales Contests
Increasing Revenues and Profits
I
’ve been selling for six decades and
this much I know: Sales people love
competing and companies can tie
sales-incentive prizes to desired
revenue and margin goals. Let me
say that another way. Done with thought,
sales contests are not expenses but
rather investments. Before digging into
the contests directly, let’s step back and
look at compensation for salespeople.
All too often, companies will tweak one
or two components of the overall “comp”
plan, which is not the best approach. Here
are the component parts of a comp plan:
salary and benefits, reimbursement of out-
of-pocket expenses, target incentive pay,
over-target incentive pay, contests and
recognition. When looking at restructuring
your salesperson compensation plan, we
recommend each component be reviewed
and cobbled togeth