Christine Rodriguez, Head of Channel Incentives and SaaS propositions at Blackhawk Network Europe
When it comes to motivating external sales teams – whether it be resellers, distributors, independent retailers, dealers, or other partners – it can be challenging to create an effective strategy. There are the traditional SPIFs (sales performance incentive funds), MDFs (market development funds) or rewards (cash payments) for closing deals. But rewarding actual sales may only go so far. This is where the opportunity is opened to reward not just on sales but on behaviours and characteristics.
When external sales teams are your focus, there needs to be an understanding of the characteristics of successful sales partners. It is these traits that businesses need to reward and replicate across the broader sales universe to generate mutual success. In doing so, sales team leaders can drive and deliver long-term incremental performance.
It’s time to move beyond the traditional rewards and incentives for external sales teams and tap into what will truly grow channel sales performance. Let’s take a look at how.
Rooting rewards and incentives in behaviour
While focusing on post-sales rewards is important, in isolation they can be ineffective for two key reasons:
- The rewards are for run-rate business, instead of being focused on increments and consistency in performance.
- In many cases, these offered programmes are short-term tactical initiatives. As such, they are inefficient as they take time and money to implement but lack the desired sustained change. Quick results may be achieved, but they have a finite impact on the overall long-term performance.
Preferably, the sales incentive programme should have the flexibility to drive long-term, ongoing performance while providing abilities to adapt to business challenges as they arise. In an ideal world, such strategies would be developed so that they are simple to implement – for both team leads and participants – and flexible enough to accommodate evolving market needs and
priorities.
When involved with channel partners – be it a role in sales or marketing – it is known who is and is not successful. As part of this, there is a perception of what traits these partners have that makes them successful. For example, those that follow up on leads or obtain new clients. For more sales and results to be achieved, businesses need to look at how these qualities can be recognised and encouraged across the broader channel universe.
What behaviours to look for
To get started, it’s important to identify the key behaviours practiced by the most successful channel partners, and their employees, to help drive performance. This should include a mixture of pre-sale activities such as sales training, performing lead generation activities or participation in vendor marketing programmes, as well as post-sale behaviours such as sales of new solution types, cross sell or upsell existing clients and subscription renewals.
Then add in the key behaviours the channel partners need to achieve the go-to-market objectives, including training or improving pipeline visibility through deal registration.
It should be straight forward to track behaviours, but data may be dispersed across several systems. It’s important that each incentive behaviour is tracked so that rewards can be given effectively. Ideally, all these behaviours would be managed in a single channel platform. If not, a system that validates each claim before a reward is issued may need to be used.
How to reward behaviours
With the right behaviours defined to measure and incentivise performance, the next step is to determine how exactly the incentive and reward is offered.
People like to be in charge of their own decisions. They value choice in all aspects of their lives, and incentives and rewards should be no different. The sales teams and sales partners are crucial contributors to the business and appreciate decision-making autonomy just like everyone else. As such, it’s important to provide them with effective motivation and recognition through rewards and incentives that offer something for everyone, rather than apply a “one size fits all” mentality. Businesses need to provide recipients within the extended channel rewards that accommodate for different preferences and provide a more personalised reward experience.
For example, choice and flexibility of rewards can be offered through strategies such as online rewards portfolios with physical and digital cards as options. The recipient that’s being rewarded can be directed to an online catalogue that provides them with a significant reward selection. It should be easy for them to browse and choose the type of reward and delivery method they prefer. Offering rewards such as digital and physical prepaid cards and e-gifts from hundreds of retailers will mean there is always something for everyone. Deliver things digitally and there is a great opportunity to create a branded and completely customised reward experience, as well as speed of delivery that many will appreciate once eligible for a reward.
The simplicity in removing cash
As part of offering rewards and incentives rooted in choice and flexibility, businesses would be wise to remove cash from the equation. When rewarded with physical cash the temptation is there for recipients to put the money towards more practical expenses such as bills or grocery shopping, rather than spend the money on what it was intended for – a well-deserved treat. What’s more, eradicating cash from the reward chain also makes for a much simpler payment process for businesses – a win-win for all involved.
Good behaviours, high reward, better business
For businesses to reward and incentivise their external sales teams in a way that will truly maximise the performance of the teams, it’s time to move on from the traditional methods. SPIFs, MDFs or rewards for closing deals, while they serve a purpose also have their limitations. By rewarding teams for their behaviours, pre- and post-sale, as well as the results themselves, businesses can encourage
and promote the actions of individuals that will land the best results. But offering rewards and incentives alone isn’t enough. For these initiatives to have the highest impact, drive performance and deliver results, they need to be right for the individual’s receiving them. It’s exactly for this reason that cash-free rewards founded in flexibility and choice will be the ultimate compliment to any business’ incentive and reward schemes.
To learn more about our approach to Channel Incentives at Blackhawk Network visit
https://blackhawknetwork.com/uk-en/incentive-solutions/channel-incentives