17 Creative Sales Incentives Ideas (Other than Money) to Motivate Your Salespeople

Sales professionals are on the move. Fresh off a pandemic which served to isolate and demotivate many, your sales professionals are now feeling unleashed — eager to stretch their sales legs and to reap the rewards of a rebounding economy.

As a record number of people consider a change of employment, it isn’t just pay raises and promotions they’re searching for. A recent survey found that 80 percent of the soon-to-be job hunters expressed direct concern about opportunities for development and company culture in their current role as motivating factors in their decision to search for new opportunities.

If it isn’t about just money or titles, how can you keep your top-performing sales professionals motivated and employed at your company? It likely will take creativity, flexibility and a sense of what makes your sales team tick.

What Exactly Is a Sales Incentive? 

A sales incentive is money or some other type of reward offered to salespeople for selling a particular amount of goods or services. 

Cash incentives should remain a part of the equation. However, as people begin to ask themselves if their current employer is where they really belong, the powerful impact of non-monetary rewards for your team cannot be understated. Not only can these incentives lead to lower turn-over, but they can also contribute to overall increases in productivity.

Whether your team is in a slump and needs extra motivation, or you have an aggressive goal that needs to be hit, thinking outside the box with your sales incentives is a great way to boost motivation and performance.

The First Step: Get to Know Your Sales Team

Before you can effectively motivate your team to perform, you as their sales leader should have a deep understanding of “what makes them tick.” Do your salespeople get fired up by competition? Are they motivated by giving back to the community? Is it recognition that really drives them to perform?

Every member of your sales team will be slightly different in their motivators, and knowing what appeals to them will help you individualize your sales incentives to some degree. It’s a great idea to offer options when you’re running a sales incentive program. That way, you can be sure that each sales employee is equally motivated.

Here are some creative sales incentives other than money to get you started.

Outing/Adventure Incentives

This type of incentive can be really powerful because it comes with a prize and the memory that’s attached. Unlike cash or a gift card that is spent and forgotten, the experience will have more of a lasting effect on your reps. The key here is offering several options to your team so you can accommodate everyone’s tastes and preferences.

Examples:

  • Tickets to a local sporting event
  • Tickets to the movies
  • Tickets to an upcoming concert
  • The chance to donate half of a workday to the local charity of their choice
  • ½ day off to spend at a museum or art exhibit

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Physical Prize Incentives

The key to offering a really effective tangible reward is understanding what will incentivize each individual salesperson. Think about the hobbies and pastimes of your team, and choose prizes that they might be coveting, but wouldn’t necessarily justify buying for themselves.

Remember to keep your offerings fresh; the same prizes (such as technology prizes) may start to lose appeal if they’re overused.

Bonus tip: having a reward that the winner will use in the office is a great way to motive the rest of your team even after the contest is over.

Examples:

  • The ever-popular technology prizes (iPads, smartwatches, wireless speakers, etc)
  • High-end coffee maker
  • Noise-canceling headphones
  • Standing desk
  • Mini fridge
  • Fitbit

Personal/Professional Development Incentives

These types of long-term incentives are a great way to motivate those on your team who are driven to acquire knowledge and advance their careers. The obvious plus-side of providing professional development rewards is that they can improve the performance and output capacity of your team members in the long run.

Examples:

  • Language learning courses
  • Advanced selling techniques seminars
  • Tickets to Dreamforce
  • Public speaking seminar
  • Cooking classes
  • One month of Crossfit or yoga studio membership

Conclusion

When it comes to motivating your sales team, money isn’t everything. Get creative with your sales incentives and the prizes will be more meaningful and engaging.

Creating sales incentive ideas for your salespeople is the best way to understand what motivates your team to perform is by getting to know them on a personal level. That includes their passions and interests, but also how they’re “wired” as a person.

Brooks Talent Index® assessments allow you to see “what’s under the hood” of the people on your team, and those you’re looking to hire—to be sure they’re motivated by what the job rewards. By combining three assessments into one system, the results give you a clear picture of a person’s behavior style, communication preferences, and innate motivators.

With this information at hand, you’ll be able to match an individual to the right job role, coach them to perform to their fullest potential, and motivate them to succeed in the long-term with your organization.

Have a question? Submit it to The Brooks Group Help Desk and an expert will get back to you within 24 hours. [email protected]

 

Soft Skills Behavioral Interview Questions

Having an idea of the soft skills a specific position requires will help you determine whether a candidate is a good fit or not. Download our list of suggested behavioral interview questions related to specific soft skills such as:

  • Self Management
  • Planning and Organizing
  • Conceptual Thinking
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Written By

Michelle Richardson

Michelle Richardson is the Vice President of Sales Performance Research. In her role, she is responsible for spearheading industry research initiatives, overseeing consulting and diagnostic services, and facilitating ROI measurement processes with partnering organizations. Michelle brings over 25 years of experience in sales and sales effectiveness functions through previously held roles in curriculum design, training implementation, and product development to the Sales Performance Research Center.
Michelle Richardson is the Vice President of Sales Performance Research. In her role, she is responsible for spearheading industry research initiatives, overseeing consulting and diagnostic services, and facilitating ROI measurement processes with partnering organizations. Michelle brings over 25 years of experience in sales and sales effectiveness functions through previously held roles in curriculum design, training implementation, and product development to the Sales Performance Research Center.

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