Society in general admires the sales results and not necessarily “what it takes to get there.” Many sales compensation folks frown at the idea of sales incentives rewarding on sales behavior vs. the result. It is proven that targeting the sales process behaviors can produce higher margins and shorten your sales cycle. Your compensation team might be singing a new tune!
No matter what your company is trying to sell, a pair of jeans or the core technology for nuclear technology, the sales process does not vary – targeting, planning, messaging, collaborating, and negotiating. The length and depth of each step may vary by industry, but the sales cycle steps do not. To make a sale, a sales force is “highly encouraged” by management to complete each step, but are they doing each step “right”?
To create a sales incentive program focused on behaviors, it is important to identify types of behavior that are measurable and ultimately lead to sales success. Possible measurable behaviors are:
- Complete a specified number of account plans
- Create a list of companies you would like to target
- Identify the economic buyer / influencer within target account
- Complete a certain number of sales calls
- Attend customer feedback meetings
In 2010, less than half of all salespeople hit or exceeded their sales quotas. You might find this data alarming! Implementing a behavior-based sales incentive and recognition program can increase this percentage and lead to greater closing rates and higher margins.
For example, a large telecommunications organization was suffering from a deficient sales funnel. The objective of the program was to increase the accounts in the sales funnel and ultimately increase sales. Each participant was rewarded for targeting ten accounts with a mix of products/solutions and closing sales to those targeted accounts. The program resulted in a 500% ROI!
Sales incentive programs almost always are viewed as having worked well if they create impressive and permanent improvement in sales volume that endures well after the programs have ended. Rewarding your sales staff on sales behaviors will produce those lasting effects! Is your organization including behavior-based sales incentives in their total rewards package?
Posted by Recognize Right 
