Sales management and technical sales jobs are challenging to fill, despite a high lifetime value. The reason? Although more research is needed on this topic, it looks as though many young people are deterred by the amount of risk and competition in sales, so they are choosing other fields.
In the past, competitive contests were the go-to tactic for sales managers attempting to increase performance and motivation in the workplace. Many competitions were even framed as games to spur employee's "natural" competitive instincts. However, only 25% of individuals working in sales want to work in a competitive environment, and the cutthroat competition in most positions is turning them away.
So, how do we motivate the next generations to perform well at their jobs? How do we retain existing employees in sales management positions? Getting rid of sales contests altogether may not be the way to go. Instead, changing the nature of these contests — and skewing them more towards team-building, engagement, and collaboration — may inspire more sales reps to enter the field. For those already in the field, constructive sales contest ideas may just improve performance and satisfaction in the workplace.
Increase Sales Performance With Contest Ideas for a Sales Competition
Collaborative sales contest ideas that focus on engagement are an excellent way to motivate the whole team — and not just high performers. Read on to discover sales contest ideas that boost individual performance and increase team morale:
- Raffle: To motivate your sales team, offer a raffle ticket each time they hit a performance threshold or reach a specific goal throughout the month. Then, at the end of the month or quarter, have your drawing.
- Salesperson of the Month: Although it's a common sales contest, you can make this competition your own with a little bit of creativity. Reward an employee for being the most helpful in coaching other reps, obtaining the most individual sales or even receiving the most reviews.
- Manager vs. Team: Pick a day — morning or afternoon — where your manager can jump in the shoes of a sales rep for a little healthy competition. Choose a metric to compete on, such as talk time or calls made and set the stakes ahead of time. Provide a manager incentive if the manager wins and a team incentive if a rep wins.
- I OWE U! (from the boss): It's best to set a goal and timeline well in advance for this hilarious sales contest. Have your sales reps submit their prize requests ahead of time so you can get an idea of what they're looking for. Common prizes for this sales competition may include free car washes, professional coaching sessions or even performing karaoke to a sales rep's favorite song in front of the entire sales team.
- Service Award: For a specific period, track individual metrics from customer feedback surveys. Use best personal review, percentage of positive reviews or best review improvement as metrics and have the sales rep with the best ratings win.
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