February is a great time to consider launching a sales contest. Love is in the air, and so are sales leads. We’ve made it through the first month of the year, and many of us are looking to finish out the quarter stronger than ever.
Boost team morale, encourage healthy competition, and liven up the company culture this month by implementing a sales contest (or a few). These contests can get your reps hyper-focused on specific goals or metrics for a short period of time to promote the right activities to achieve them.
There’s a lot of science on our side when it comes to this form of gamification in the workplace, and we’re here to help you get started. Keep reading for a few quick and easy sales contests to get you through the rest of winter.
1. Minute to Win It
A time crunch can do wonders for productivity— just look at the game show “Minute to Win It.” The goal of this sales contest is to inspire more calls and meetings under the tight deadline of an hour.
Length: 60 minutes
Focus: Generate conversations
Points: Call — 1 point
Book a meeting — 2 points
Prize: Award $1 for each minute a rep was on the phone, or give the overall winner a watch or small clock for their desk
2. Breakfast of Champions
There’s a reason people say the early bird gets the worm. So much value lies within the first few hours of the workday, especially in sales. This contest asks reps to be divided into two teams and start picking up the phone.
Length: 30-minute contest each morning for one week
Focus: Generate conversations
Points: Call — 1 point
Email — 1 point
Book a meeting — 2 points
Prize: Breakfast catered for the winning team
3. Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner
Inspired by the classic romcom, “Dirty Dancing,” this contest is all about forgotten leads. Reps will be asked to resuscitate old and/or outdated opportunities, which will help with both pipeline and skill development.
Length: 1 week
Focus: Pipeline health
Points: Opportunity advanced: 1 point
Bonus point awarded to opportunities created more than 90 days ago
Prize: Dance lessons
4. How I Met My Number
Use the TV show “How I Met Your Mother” as a theme to inspire your team’s activities. This contest divides your reps into teams of two and asks them to schedule face-to-face meetings.
Length: 2 weeks
Focus: Pipeline health
Points: Book a meeting — 1 point
Bonus point awarded for any meeting followed through during the contest
Prize: Winning team is treated to a happy hour
5. Be My Valentine
Reciprocated feelings are the best kind of feelings. In sales, this shows up in continued relationships with customers. More relationships are built with trust, and trust comes from proof. What better proof than with testimonials.
Length: 2 weeks
Focus: Nurture Customer Relationships, Gain Social Proof
Points: Secure customer testimonial — 1 point
Coordinate with marketing team same day — 2 points
Prize: Pass for winner and customer of choice to attend your next trade show
Tips for Successful Sales Contests
Business needs will look a little different for everyone when it comes to implementing the right kind of sales contest. But however you decide to go about it, be sure to remember that the goal is to focus on behavior-changing processes.
Short-term incentives are a great first step when it comes to creating successful work habits, but it all has to be intentional. Use your data to choose the right activities for each sales contest.
A few quick tips for implementing sales contests:
- All contests can be performed by individuals or you can split reps up into teams. When creating teams, make sure to partner up based on different strengths and weaknesses.
- Prizes don’t have to cost any money. Belts are tightening all over the world, so you don’t have to spend a lot of money — if any — to make a sales contest fun and effective.
If you need additional help getting started with implementing a sales contest, be sure to check out our various contest templates. They are all available as free downloads here.
