Offering product awards to employees or clients who bring in new business can be an effective way of boosting sales. In order to be successful, make sure your product awards program is structured with your company goals in mind. Here are a few tips for setting up a product awards program that works:
- Consider your goal: Is it to do business with as many clients as possible or does it make more sense for your business to seek customers with long-term partnership potential? If it’s the latter, look into adjusting your program to offer product awards once your relationship with the client reaches a specific milestone.
- Determine other characteristics: Do you want clients that pay invoices promptly? Fit into your ideal customer profile? Whatever you choose as important characteristics, build those elements into the product awards program.
- Train staff members: Make sure employees know how to properly identify prospects, approach them, and introduce them to your sales team. You may also want to make marketing materials available to everyone.
- Celebrate referrals: When referrals do come in, celebrate them. This encourages others and reminds everyone that the program exists.
- Examine how product awards are given: For example, some companies base product award values on the size of the new contract and pay upon receipt, not billing. Others choose to offer rewards at a set value, such as $50 for a qualifying prospect and $500 for a signed contract. Some companies overlap their referral programs and employee retention programs by establishing point programs, hoping employees will stick around for the big prize.
- Extending your referral program to subcontractors? Look at how much work they do with you and adjust their fees accordingly. In some cases, subcontractors who could have kept work to themselves passed it on to you deserve more valued product rewards.
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