Skip to main content

Why sales contests really work


Sales force compensation takes up the single biggest portion of marketing spend for most B2B companies, according to the HBR.

Together, US corporates spend more than $800 billion on motivating their sales teams each year – that’s three times their advertising spend. Contests buck that trend by offering tangible, meaningful rewards that may, in some cases, beat cold hard cash.

Whether it’s simply to drive revenue growth, encouraging new software adoption, or getting buy-in on changing processes, competition always breeds results. But the world of sales is changing. Now, managers need to look beyond motivating the individual, and devise contests that boost problem-solving and collaboration: the hallmarks of modern sales representatives.

Keeping sales teams inspired, not just informed


Where do you rank motivation in your list of factors that impact sales? Are raw sales skills more important?

The truth is, motivation is the driving force behind all of your team’s wider skills. Core sales techniques – whatever an individual’s processes, approaches and selling styles – remain the same. Keeping them inspired, engaged and uplifted takes far more effort than teaching them about product developments, or coaching their communications with customers. That’s what makes sales contests so powerful.

How they work


There are plenty of examples of this in action. Global consultancy PwC ran a ‘fantasy football’-style contest among their North American sales staff, dubbed the ‘Culture of Hustle’. By combining some of the traditional elements of game-playing (such as point-scoring, levels, intermediate rewards and leaderboards), they were able to incorporate wider elements, including urgency, a sense of autonomy and the element of surprise. The result: a highly psychologically and physically rewarding, engaging contest that drove sales and changed behavior.

Doing them well


A well-run, immersive contest can make all the difference.

Aimed at IT providers, sales professionals and their customers, Simulcation Datacenter provides a way to experience leading architecture, software and services in action – all in a highly engaging, competitive, fun environment. We’re also running sales contests to encourage users to start and continue their journey, through ten weeks of exciting prizes centered around a ‘mission’ – where users compete to achieve a specific goal.

We’ve been running contests as part of IBM TSS Champion education to great success with Business Partners, where they empowered collaboration and increased engagement.



Grow your sales through Simulcation Datacenter – contact us to find out more about our contests.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Simulcation Datacenter launching to selected IBM employees and Business Partners

I’m very proud to announce that Simulcation Datacenter will launch this Wednesday May 17 th at an IBM TSS education event in Radolfzell, Germany. It marks the culmination of all our efforts as a team, and I couldn’t be more excited to see the first users create their own virtual datacenters. It’s been a long road that’s brought together an incredibly diverse team, in close collaboration with our partners IBM. The first users will be a small group of IBM employees and Business Partners who will experience a sneak peek at our technology before we go on to roll it out to more Business Partners and – later this year – the general public. It’s all part of our ambition to transform professional education for datacenter managers and IT staff, allowing them to safely model their complex purchasing decisions to find the right mix of hardware, software and services, whilst also having fun. Learning doesn’t have to be laborious, and technology has advanced to the point where we’re a...
Post a Comment
Read more

For the win: Why gamification and game-based learning are the future

A quick google of the terms ‘gamification’ and ‘game-based learning’ turns up a surprising lack of clarity about what these terms mean – and, crucially, whether they work. They’re real buzzwords of the moment, and share the common ground of implementing the mechanics of ‘gaming’ to enhance learning, or encourage changes in behavior. Used in everything from marketing strategy to HR policies, various studies have shown the benefits of using ‘gamified systems’. IT staff are perhaps closer than most to the technology that’s shaping how game design and game interaction is revolutionizing professional education. So, what is it, and can these concepts help to cut through some of the current problems with learning new systems and processes for datacenter managers and CIOs? What’s the difference between gamification and game-based learning?   ‘Gamification is using game-based mechanics, aesthetics, and game-thinking to engage people, motivate action, promote learning, and so...
Post a Comment
Read more