Running Contests Sales Reps Actually Care About
Opt In | Ep. 50
How to make your contests engaging, effective, and (most importantly) intentional.
Think back to the last sales contest you ran. Got it? Ok, now try to remember:
- Why you ran it. What was the purpose?
- The engagement level of your reps. Did they buy in?
- The end results. Was the contest able to spark an increase in production?
If you know why you did it, your reps bought in, and the results met (or exceeded) your expectations, you’re in the minority.
Truth is, in most cases, managers use competition as a lazy checkbox to feel like they’re doing something to promote productivity.
👆 Not our words (though we agree). Those are the words of Collin Waldrip, the latest guest in our onDemand series.
We sat down with Collin to talk about the state of sales contests. In his time as an IC and Manager, he’s seen it all – the good, the bad, and the ugly. And through it all, one theme kept popping up: Intentionality.
Instead of leaning on a contest like a crutch when numbers are low, Collin shares advice on how you can leverage contests to boost morale, production, and adoption amongst your SDRs at any time.
It’s not easy. You’ll have to really know your reps. You’ll have to sculpt competition and incentives based on individual team members. You’ll have to analyze data.
But you’ll end up creating something that doesn’t just help your team hit goal, they’ll also have fun while doing it.
Because if we’re lazy in the contest creation, how can we expect reps to not be lazy in their execution?
(again, his words, not mine)
Opt In to being more intentional about why and how you deploy sales contests.
AJ & Alex’s Take
The best way to learn about this is to watch the recording (linked above), but if you’re looking for an abbreviated learning experience we’ve got you covered:
Alex
Personalize Prizes to Individual Reps. Believe it or not, every SDR on your team isn’t motivated by the same things. Simply dangling a $150 Visa gift card in front of your reps won’t motivate them to participate in a contest you’re running.
We’ve talked about it in the past – some reps are motivated extrinsically (cash, prizes, gift cards, etc.) while some are motivated intrinsically (recognition, development opps, desire to be the best). And within those categories, there are infinite sub-categories.
Maybe your rep wants to win because winning feels good, no matter what the contest. Maybe you have a rep who eventually wants to leave sales and get into management. Maybe you have a rep who loves golf more than anything.
The prizes for each of those reps should be different. Saying you’ll book a tee time at a prestigious golf course would motivate the rep who loves golf a whole lot more than anything else – and the other reps on your team probably couldn’t care less about it.
Figure out what your reps actually care about. What do they find interesting? What motivates them? Figure it out, sculpt a contest around it, and you’ll boost engagement.
AJ
Just Care. It might seem overly simple, but in most cases, it makes a big impact.
Here’s the deal – SDRs aren’t stupid. They can sniff apathy and laziness a mile away. And if you keep running the same contest every week for a month straight, you’re not doing yourself a ton of favors.
The real kicker here is how laziness and apathy alienate your top-performers. Those are the reps you need on your side. Not just because they drive the most pipeline, but because the rest of your reps look to them for guidance. If the engagement and buy-in of your A-Players start to dwindle, you can bet that the B and C-Players will soon follow suit.
And once you slip into an apathetic mindset, you can kiss your goals goodbye.
That’s why showing your reps how much time/effort/energy you put into these contests is so crucial. It helps you break that apathetic mindset and earn buy-in from your SDRs. From picking certain metrics to catering the prizes to coming up with fun games, you can generate a ton of engagement from your reps.
Key Takeaways
Instead of leaning on a contest like a crutch when numbers are low, Collin shares advice on how you can leverage contests to boost morale, production, and adoption amongst your SDRs at any time.
It’s not easy. You’ll have to really know your reps. You’ll have to sculpt competition and incentives based on individual team members. You’ll have to analyze data.
But you’ll end up creating something that doesn’t just help your team hit goal, they’ll also have fun while doing it.
Other Episodes
Eps. 64 • 21 min
Eps. 63 • 8 min
Eps. 62 • 12 min