At some point in time, nearly every business will go through a slump and sales will fall. One of the best ways to increase sales and your bottom line is by creating a sales contest. Before you begin waving around prizes and incentives, you need to know the best way to keep your sales contest fair and fun for everyone. The best contests will motivate your top sellers and create competition among employees. Not only will a contest encourage employees to succeed, it will foster healthy relationships within the workplace.
Step 1
Make the sales goals obtainable. If you set goals too high, employees will feel like they can’t reach them and won’t even try. Sales contests should motivate employees, not frustrate them.
Step 2
Reward all top sellers. Award prizes for everyone who obtains sales that are above average. Tell employees whoever sells above a certain amount will win an award or gift. It’s important to recognize a job well done so employees will be inclined to participate in the next contest.
Step 3
Keep contests at a minimum, or use them to introduce something special. If you constantly run contests, employees may start to ignore them.
Step 4
Encourage participation from all members of your sales staff. Friendly competition is a good way to keep everyone working together towards common goals.
Step 5
Offer prizes that will appeal to everyone. Rather than give cash, offer gift cards, movie tickets, or time off with pay.
Step 6
Ask for feedback from your sales staff. When the contest is over, ask your employees what they liked best and what they liked least about the contest. In order to make the next contest better, make changes where needed. Asking for input also makes employees feel they are part of a team, which can eventually result in lower turnover and a happier sales staff.
