Gamification in sales:

How to increase team engagement and boost productivity

Productivity and team engagement are the cornerstones of any successful sales unit, but not all teams are consistently productive, and not all team members are consistently engaged. If you want your sales team to be the best that it can possibly be, then you need your team members to be firing on all cylinders, and the best way to inspire them to do this is by rewarding them for their success and productivity.

Sales gamification is a method used to recognize and reward high-performing team members for their contributions while at the same time inspiring other team members to work harder and strive to achieve more for themselves and the team.

In this article, we will go over how gamification is used in sales, how to setup a gamification program for your sales team, the easiest way to track your team’s performance, and some of the best sales incentives that have been proven to increase team engagement and boost productivity.

What is gamification in sales?

The term gamification means to turn something into a game, so in the context of sales, it means to offer a prize or reward to those team members who achieve a specific target or otherwise perform well. by offering incentives, your team members will be inspired to work their hardest and will strive to do their best work so that they can win cash, prizes, recognition, and bragging rights.

Sales gamification increases productivity

Gamification is a vital mechanism used to increase productivity; this is true in many different industries, but it’s most true in sales. The best sales teams have been using sales gamification strategies because they are known to be effective at increasing team engagement which is pivotal to success in any sales department. If team members know that whoever does the best today will be going home with an awesome prize, then most, if not all of your team members, will try harder; it’s just human nature to want to win.

How to set up a sales gamification program

Setting up a sales gamification program doesn’t need to be particularly complicated. The first step is to determine your company’s budget. Once you know how much you can afford to spend on rewards and incentives, you can go ahead and pick out some prizes that fit within that budget. The next step is to establish how those prizes can be won.

Team members might be able to win a prize if they achieve a certain number of sales that day or week or month etc., or it could be that they earn prizes randomly when they make sales, it might also be the case that team members can win rewards by selling certain items or high-priority packages; it all depends on your goals. Finally, you just need to establish a timeline and let your team know what’s up for grabs.

Keeping track of your team’s performance

Keeping a leaderboard is the best way to keep track of your team’s progression towards winning the sales incentives. Leaderboards not only allow you to quickly see who’s performing well and who needs improvement, but they also let your team members know the same, which may inspire those who are lagging behind to work harder and be more engaged. In addition to sales, you might also want to track key performance indicators or other individual performance-based metrics.

The best sales incentives

There are a number of sales incentives that have been proven to be effective when it comes to bolstering team engagement and fostering productivity. Let’s take a look at some of the best sales incentives that you can offer your team if you want to get the best results.

1. Money

Money is one of the best, if not the very best, motivators in life. Whether it’s a one-time cash bonus, an increased hourly base rate for a certain amount of time, a permanent pay increase, or other monetary considerations, such as stock options, for example, you can bet your bottom dollar that your team will perform better if there’s extra money available to be won.

2. Prizes

Having a chance to win awesome prizes can be almost as effective as monetary incentives, especially if the prizes are actually good. Far too many sales teams have failed to successfully implement a sales gamification strategy because the prizes they offer are simply not seen as valuable by the team members.

In order for your team members to compete for the prize, it needs to be something that they value; water bottles, pens, mousepads, or things with the company logo are all terrible prizes that won’t inspire anyone to try harder and will only make you look as though you don’t value their contribution.

Now, a gift card for Amazon, Walmart, or another retailer is a step in the right direction. A new tablet, tv, or smartphone is even more so and will ensure that everyone on the team perks up, engages, and strives to produce their best effort in order to win something they actually want.

3. Experiences

An Alternative to cash or prizes, experiences can be a great motivator and are one of the best incentives that you can offer your sales team through your sales gamification initiative. Experiences is a broad-ranging term; we could be talking about dinner for two at a local restaurant or tickets to a concert or sporting event. The value of the experience should be in line with the value of the objective required to win that reward.

4. Vacation time

Another fantastic sales incentive is extra vacation time; this could be a day off with pay, maybe an extra sick day, maybe a team member could win the ability to go home early one day of their choosing; but you’ll get the best results by offering real paid vacation time, such as an extra week off with pay, or an extra day off on all of the long weekends throughout the year, again it comes down to your budget but the better the incentive, the more engaged and productive your team members will be.

5. Advancement

last but not least, personal development and career advancement have been proven to be fantastic motivators, particularly in sales environments. It could be that you will cover the cost of tuition for a certain training program that will help the team member progress in their career; or it could be a direct promotion, in either case by offering people an opportunity to better themselves and their lives, they will work harder, be more productive, and be much more engaged resulting in increased revenue for you and your company.

Summary

Rewarding people for their contributions is essential if you want them to remain engaged and productive. The best sales teams around know that sales gamification is one of the best ways to keep team members engaged and trying their best every day. by turning your sales strategy into a game where real-world prizes are available to be one, you will be able to motivate your team to perform at a high level, while ensuring that they feel valued when they do a great job and earn your company a good amount of profit.