Sure, the traditional sales contest is an option. Give sales reps points based on closed deals, offer an incentive for the top earner and encourage productive sales activity. But don’t limit your team there.
Allow work contests to reach beyond traditional limits, and you’ll realize that you can motivate just about anything with a little competition.
Not sure where to start? We have a few ideas:
Assign points to team members for…
1. …obtaining customer reviews and testimonials.
Successful contests change habits. That means running competitions around who can obtain the most testimonials can lead to employees remembering to ask for customer statements even after contests are over. Then they’ll be supporting those marketing initiatives on instinct. (For details on how to run the type of contest that can change habits, download our Contest Toolkit.)
2. …logging data into one specific field in your company’s CRM system.
Your CRM investment renders useless if your team won’t use the platform. Encourage CRM adoption by offering one point each time team members enter data into one specific field. For example, does your team never enter data into the “industry” field in accounts? Run a contest around that. The key in getting employees to adopt your CRM is to start simple, and this is one way to do that.
3. …cleansing data in one specific field in your company’s CRM system.
You can have a wealth of information in your CRM, but if that information is unorganized, you’ll find yourself again in a place where you aren’t realizing your investment. Encourage your team to review one certain field – anything from a company’s website, to its contacts’ email addresses – in their accounts. They should make sure the data is accurate and filled out in a way that’s consistent with the rest of the team’s data. Give them a point for it and get clean data in return.
4. …creating Chatter posts.
A lot of leaders question how their team should use Salesforce’s Chatter. If you’re one of them, create a contest around Chatter adoption. Once your employees begin using the platform, they will find all sorts of ways to obtain value from it. Then they’ll truly adopt it. For good. (For more on Chatter adoption, read 10 Ways Your Team Could be Using Chatter.)
5. …calling established clients.
Are you doing all you can to ensure that when it’s time for your clients to upgrade, offer referrals or resign contracts they’ll act in your favor? Not if their account managers aren’t regularly communicating with them. Make sure your salespeople nurture the relationships they already have — not just the ones they’re trying to obtain.
6. …closing customer support cases.
Whether this contest goes live in a call center or on a support team, it will encourage efficient customer service. Plus, remember: You have no way to track points if the employees closing cases don’t log their activities. So you’re encouraging efficient data input while you’re at it.
