5 steps to organizing a successful sales contest
A checklist before you start your campaign.
Organizing in-store sales contests can be a very effective way to increase sales. You appeal to salespeople’s winner’s instincts at the same time as you create team spirits. The contestants compete against each other, and stores compete against “arch rivals” in other departments.
Get a free demo of how a sales contest could work for your brand!
Both glory and great prizes are incentives that can really get sellers to step up their game.
For a sales contest to work smoothly, it needs to be fun and engaging. And well organized.
We strongly believe that knowledge of products and brands drive sales. That’s why we organize sales contests that not only focus on the number of products the participants sell, but also how well they know the products.
That’s our winning combo, and the idea that kickstarted our business in the first place. Read the whole story here.
Store staff who like your brand and are familiar with the products are more likely to showcase your models when they meet a customer in search of a new winter jacket or a washing machine.
Use your time wisely. Often you are limited to a campaign period of 2–4 weeks. Preparation is everything.
Here are our top 5 tips for organizing a successful sales contest:
1. Make sure everyone gets the right information at the right time.
Information and well executed pdf files will often move through several stages before they reach the people who work in the stores. If it doesn’t slip through the cracks somewhere along the way. You want your participants to be well informed about what’s going to happen, so find out how you can make sure that the information reaches them efficiently.
SMS, email, Facebook groups or other internal channels are good alternatives. Once you’ve found the appropriate channel — use it! Promote your campaign. Create a buzz and inspire the team. If you get the opportunity to organize a kick off shortly before it starts, great!
Knocking on doors and a few extra phone calls in the final hours before the start can also be a good idea. Then you can easily get an indication of whether “everyone” is well informed and, not least, motivated.
2. Engage a wide range of salespeople
It’s all about getting as many people to participate as possible. If only a few feel they have a real opportunity to win prizes, you will probably find that there won’t be many who are particularly engaged in your contest. But remember that it’s important to always keep your top sellers motivated as well.
If you use a variety of prize levels and combinations, you can involve a wider range of people.
Here are some prize options to consider. A combination of a few of these is always a good idea:
- Top 3: Awesome prizes for the best sellers.
- Best store participants: Win as a team and everyone must contribute.
- Best district: Give department heads an extra reason to promote your competition.
- 10 sales = a prize: Set a goal and give prizes to everyone who achieves it.
- Best manager: Have your own sellers compete against each other.
- Trivia Prizes for completed product quizzes.
- 24 h challenges: A challenge within the challenge gives extra boost.
Another point to consider, is whether you should distinguish between large and small stores. Is it fair that the small compete on the same terms as the large? Is it necessary to weigh by size, or to measure the average per employee? These are questions to ask yourself before you set the prizes.
3. Make yourself memorable
Don’t hold back on the good stories. Make your brand stand out as something extraordinary. This is not marketing in the classical sense, you are talking to your own crew. Treat them (almost) like family, get personal and let them get a peek behind the scenes.
If you have a particularly funny story, make sure it’s heard. The quirkier, the better. Fun facts, bloopers and fails make your brand more human — and memorable.
Once you’ve determined what you want to convey, you must figure out how to get it out there.
Engaging content is the key to keeping people interested. Use light and positive tone of voice and sprinkle your content with illustrations, videos and eye-catching design.
4. Follow-up closely during the contest period
Follow-up is key. Measure activity and sales as frequently as possible, and find out who will be involved in the follow-up.
When you have an overview, you can customize attention and make adjustments along the way. The information you get from organizing a sales contest gives you unique, very valuable insight to how the sales force works in different stores.
Prepare yourself to stay close and personal, and block out some time in your calendar to check in every day. It doesn’t have to be many minutes but stay in touch.
The job starts weeks before the actual campaign kicks off, and doesn’t end until every piece of praise and prizes are handed out.
The most common mistake is to let go too soon. Don’t let that happen to you.
5. Praise, clap and cheer
Those who deserve it must be highlighted and celebrated. Use the channels you have, and make sure that everybody has received the information. In many cases the fame and glory of a victory is just as important as the prize itself.
Give a pat on the back to those who deserve it, both during the competition and after the final results are in. Make sure everyone is rewarded and praised before the end.
And that’s it, more or less.
These steps may seem quite obvious and easy to some. And they are, when you have the right tools to complete them. Our experience shows that getting these 5 points right makes all the difference between success and failure.
These points are very easy to follow when you organize a sales contest through Mevo. Our app is the tool you need to
- reach the right people at the right time
- make sure they are ready for kick off
- cheer and praise along the way
- motivate with real time ranking and information about prizes
- educate through entertaining quizzes
GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR CONTEST!
