Sales incentives
Sales incentive trips that move the numbers
The trip is the easy part. Getting the qualification right — what people have to do, how many can win, and how loudly it is said — is what decides whether it changes anything.
What is a sales incentive trip, and how is it structured?
A sales incentive trip is a reward trip earned by hitting a defined target over a qualifying period, usually six to twelve months. It works when the measure is simple, the threshold is reachable for a good performer, the destination is announced up front, and standings stay visible throughout.
The mechanics
Five decisions that decide whether it works
We have watched incentive programmes succeed and fail for long enough to know the failure is almost never the destination. It is nearly always one of these five.
- 01
Set the measure
One primary measure people can recite from memory. If the qualification rules need a spreadsheet to explain, the incentive is already failing.
- 02
Set the threshold
High enough to mean something, low enough that a good performer can see a path to it in month two. Model it against last year before you commit.
- 03
Launch it properly
A real announcement with the destination revealed. A trip nobody can picture will not change what anyone does on a Tuesday afternoon.
- 04
Keep it visible
Monthly standings and a reminder of what is at stake. This is the part most companies skip, and it is the part that does the work.
- 05
Reward it publicly
Photographs, an internal write-up, qualifiers talking about it. That is what makes next year’s programme sell itself.
A word of caution
An incentive changes behaviour — including behaviour you did not intend
Set the measure on revenue and you will get discounting. Set it on new logos and you may find existing accounts quietly neglected for eight months. Set the threshold too high and the people you most wanted to motivate will disengage in week three, having decided it is not for them.
None of this is a reason not to run one. It is a reason to model the rules against last year's numbers before you announce anything — which is a conversation we are happy to have before you have committed a penny.
Questions
The things people ask
What proportion of the sales team should qualify?
Should the target be revenue or margin?
How long should the qualifying period run?
Can partners come?
What about the tax position?
What if someone qualifies and then leaves?
Enquire
What are you trying to shift?
A rough idea is enough — how many people, roughly when, and what it needs to achieve. We reply to every enquiry, usually within one working day.