How to build your killer sales game?
Why do you need a sales game? Well, why do we play or watch sports? Because it is fun and because it will make you just more focused, more energetic and more determined to achieve results when there is competition involved.
You don’t want to lose from your friends, teammates, colleques, family, the guy next door, etcetera. You just don’t want to lose.
Therefore to bring that extra motivation, inspiration and determination to your company/sales team a great tool to use is a Sales Game.
Here is a short “How-to” about building your own Sales Game.
9 Steps, then you are ready to go:
- TIMEFRAME
Set up a timeframe. What will be the duration of the game? a week? a month? 3 months? Don’t make it too long. And when you go beyond one month make sure you add qualification rounds, quarter finals, semi finals etcetera.
2. DIRECTION & COMPETITION
We want some healthy competition. But we also want cooperation. So make sure your game supports the (strategic) objectives of the company? Do you want certain people to work more together? Put them in the same team. Set the goals wisely.
Think about how to get everybody “in” as long as possible. Qualification rounds, winners rounds & losers rounds for example.
The Tour de France has about 21 stage wins and 6 different classifications to win for a reason. So the ones who won’t go for the yellow jersey, still have other things to compete for.
3. A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD
Some teams are bigger or smaller. Or in a junior or more mature market. Make sure there is a level playing field, so everyone starts with the same chances of winning.
For example: Adjust revenue targets to %. So you if a bigger team has a higher target, you compare the % of achieved target between team instead of the nominal target.
4. THEME
Champions league, Olympic Games, Sales Farm, Tour de …., X- factor, A-team, Avengers, Super …. etc. It can be almost everything. World championships.
Find a theme, or a metaphor what appeals to your teams and people. And add your own name and flavour to it
5. FUN & LIVE SCOREBOARDS
No fun & live scoreboards no party. You need to make it alive, so you want fun & live scoreboards all over the place, so you can see every moment of the day if the “Sales Panda’s” are crushing the “Sales Flamingo’s” or not. ( don’t be shy on adding things to “pump up the vibe’)
6. PRICES
Winning! Besides the eternal fame and the face of your colleguaes when they see you take the victory you want to win prices.
Preferably a great (team) experience instead of money/product(s) so you also have a great story to share later.
7. SALESGAME TEAM
Make a team accountable for the proces of the salesgame. So you have people in place who will make sure the game stays alive, things get done and everybody gets energized and informed all the time.
8. RULES
You need rules at the beginning of the game, so when something happens you know exactly how it will effect the game. Write them down, be specific. You don’t want any discussions during the game.
9. KICK-OFF
Last but not least! Don’t forget to do a great launching party, kick off or Town hall meeting to start the game. Again don’t be shy! Pump up the vibe!
Good luck!
If you got any questions/need any help. Let me know! Happy to help.
Terry van den Bemt
