Motivation and Improving Workplace Performance. Part 1

 

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What is Motivation?

Motivation represents the driving factor behind every worker, leader and executive. It is what links personal performance with organisational aims. Therefore it is paramount to create an environment which promotes and sustains a motivated workforce. 

The alignment of aims, purpose and values between staff, teams and organization is motivation's most fundamental aspect. The better the alignment and personal association with organizational aims, the better the platform for motivation. Where people find it difficult to align and associate with the organizational aims, then most motivational ideas and activities will have a reduced level of success.

Motivation is a complex area. It's different for each person. Nudge Theory is an example of a powerful change-management concept that emerged in the early 2000s. It is helpful in understanding, teaching, and, to a degree, managing the ways people's thinking and decisions are influenced by indirect factors, rather than by direct pressure.

Motivational receptiveness and potential in everyone changes from day to day, from situation to situation. Get the alignment and values right, and motivational methods work better. Motivational methods will not work if people and organisations are not aligned. People are motivated towards something they can relate to and believe in. Times have changed and people want more. You should view the following motivational methods and ideas as structures, and activities as building blocks, to be used when you have a solid foundation in place. The foundation is a cohesive alignment of people's needs and values with the aims and purpose of the organisation.

This set of articles will educate leaders on motivational theory, and how to engage their workforce to gain the maximum possible benefits and productivity from the team. Discussed will be motivational theories described by some of the most renowned thinkers in the fields of leadership and business, such as McGregor, Handy, McClelland, Herzberg, Adams and Humphreys, and many more. Transactional approaches, such as using bonuses, are discussed, as are more transformational methods and inclusive employee engagement.

The Puzzle of Motivation: Dan Pink

Author, presenter and career analyst Dan Pink examines the unusual puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers do not: traditional rewards are not as effective as most people think. He instead presents alternative solutions to motivate and improve performance.

Core Motivational Theories

McClelland's Achievement-Based Motivational Theory and Models

McClelland's Achievement-Based Motivational Theory and Models

David McClelland pioneered workplace motivational thinking, developing achievement-based motivational theory and models, and promoted improvements in employee assessment methods, advocating competency-based assessments and tests, arguing them to be better than traditional IQ and personality-based tests. 

His ideas have since been widely adopted in many organisations, and relate closely to the theory of Frederick Herzberg.

Three Types of Motivation

David McClelland is most noted for describing three types of motivational need, which he identified in his 1961 book, The Achieving Society:

1. Achievement motivation (n-ach)
2. Authority/power motivation (n-pow)
3. Affiliation motivation (n-affil)

These needs are found to varying degrees in all workers and managers, and this mix of motivational needs characterises a person's or manager's style and behaviour, both in terms of being motivated and in the management and motivation of others.

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1. The Need for Achievement (n-ach)

• The n-ach person is 'achievement motivated' and therefore seeks achievement, attainment of realistic but challenging goals, and advancement in the job. 
• There is a strong need for feedback as to achievement and progress and a need for a sense of accomplishment.

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2. The Need for Authority and Power (n-pow)

• The n-pow person is 'authority motivated'. This driver produces a need to be influential, effective and to make an impact. 
• There is a strong need to lead and for their ideas to prevail. 
• There is also motivation and a need towards increasing personal status and prestige.

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3. The Need for Affiliation (n-affil)

• The n-affil person is 'affiliation motivated', has a need for friendly relationships and is motivated towards interaction with other people. 
• The affiliation driver produces motivation and needs to be liked and held in popular regard. 
• These people are team players.

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McClelland's Three Types of Motivation Practical Application

McClelland said that most people possess and exhibit a combination of these characteristics. Some people exhibit a strong bias to a particular motivational need, and this motivational or needs 'mix' consequently affects their behaviour and working/managing style. 

1. Mcclelland suggested that a strong n-affil 'affiliation-motivation' undermines a manager's objectivity, because of their need to be liked, and that this affects a manager's decision-making capability. 
2. A strong n-pow 'authority-motivation' will produce a determined work ethic and commitment to the organisation, and while n-pow people are attracted to the leadership role, they may not possess the required flexibility and people-centred skills. 
3. McClelland argues that n-ach people with strong 'achievement motivation' make the best leaders, although there can be a tendency to demand too much of their staff in the belief that they are all similarly and highly focused and results-driven, which of course most people are not.

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McClelland's Theory Experimental Evidence

McClelland's particular fascination was with achievement motivation, and this laboratory experiment illustrates one aspect of his theory about the effect of achievement on people's motivation.

McClelland asserted via this experiment that while most people do not possess strong achievement-based motivation, those who do, display a consistent behaviour in setting goals:

• Volunteers were asked to throw rings over pegs rather like the fairground game; no distance was stipulated, and most people seemed to throw from arbitrary, random distances, sometimes close, sometimes farther away. 
• However, a small group of volunteers, whom McClelland suggested were strongly achievement-motivated, took some care to measure and test distances to produce an ideal challenge - not too easy, and not impossible. 
• Interestingly a parallel exists in biology, known as the 'overload principle', which is commonly applied to fitness and exercising, ie., in order to develop fitness and/or strength the exercise must be sufficiently demanding to increase existing levels, but not so demanding as to cause damage or strain. McClelland identified the same need for a 'balanced challenge' in the approach of achievement-motivated people.

McClelland contrasted achievement-motivated people with gamblers and dispelled a common pre-conception that n-ach 'achievement-motivated' people are big risk-takers. On the contrary, typically, these individuals set goals which they can influence with their effort and ability, and as such, the goal is considered to be achievable. 

This determined results-driven approach is almost invariably present in the character make-up of all successful business people and entrepreneurs.

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Characteristics and Attitudes of Achievement-Motivated People

McClelland suggested other characteristics and attitudes of achievement-motivated people:

1. Achievement is more important than material or financial reward.
2. Achieving the aim or task gives greater personal satisfaction than receiving praise or recognition.
3. Financial reward is regarded as a measurement of success, not an end in itself.
4. Security is not a prime motivator, nor is status.
5. Feedback is essential, because it enables measurement of success, not for reasons of praise or recognition (the implication here is that feedback must be reliable, quantifiable and factual).
6. They constantly seek improvements and ways of doing things better.
7. They will logically favour jobs and responsibilities that naturally satisfy their needs, i.e. offer flexibility and opportunity to set and achieve goals, e.g., sales and business management, and entrepreneurial roles.

McClelland firmly believed that achievement-motivated people are generally the ones who make things happen and get results and that this extends to getting results through the organisation of other people and resources, although as stated earlier, they often demand too much of their staff because they prioritise achieving the goal above the many varied interests and needs of people.

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Herzberg's Motivation Theory

https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/herzbergs-two-factor-theory-of-motivation

Frederick Herzberg Background Information

Life

Frederick Herzberg (1923-2000), a clinical psychologist and pioneer of 'job enrichment', is regarded as one of the great original thinkers in management and motivational theory. Frederick Herzberg was born in Massachusetts on April 18, 1923. His undergraduate work was at the City College of New York, followed by graduate degrees at the University of Pittsburgh. Herzberg was later a Professor of Management at Case Western Reserve University, where he established the Department of Industrial Mental Health. He moved to the University of Utah's College of Business in 1972, where he was also a Professor of Management. He died in Salt Lake City, on January 18, 2000.

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Work and Research

Frederick Herzberg's book ' The Motivation to Work ', written with research colleagues Bernard Mausner and Barbara Bloch Snyderman in 1959, first established his theories about motivation in the workplace. Herzberg's survey work, originally on 200 Pittsburgh engineers and accountants remains a fundamentally important reference in the field of studying Motivation. While the study involved only 200 people, Herzberg's considerable preparatory investigations, and the design of the research itself, enabled Herzberg and his colleagues to gather and analyse an extremely sophisticated level of data.

Survey and Interviewing Methods

Herzberg's research used a pioneering approach, based on open questioning and very few assumptions, to gather and analyse details of 'critical incidents' as recalled by the survey respondents. He first used this methodology during his doctoral studies at the University of Pittsburgh with John Flanagan (later Director at the American Institute for Research), who developed the Critical Incident method in the selection of Army Air Corps personnel during the Second World War. 

Herzberg's clever open interviewing method gleaned far more meaningful results than the conventional practice of asking closed (basically yes/no) or multiple-choice or extent-based questions, which assume or prompt a particular type of response, and which incidentally remain the most popular and convenient style of surveying even today - especially among those having a particular agenda or publicity aim.

Herzberg also prepared intensively prior to his 1959 study - not least by scrutinising and comparing the results and methodologies of all 155 previous research studies into job attitudes carried out between 1920 and 1954.

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The Development of Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene Theory

The level of preparation, plus the 'critical incident' aspect and the depth of care and analysis during the 1959 project, helped make Herzberg's study such a powerful and sophisticated piece of work. Herzberg expanded his motivation-hygiene theory in his subsequent books: Work and the Nature of Man (1966); The Managerial Choice (1982); and Herzberg on Motivation (1983).

Significantly, Herzberg commented in 1984, twenty-five years after his theory was first published:

"The original study has produced more replications than any other research in the history of industrial and organizational psychology." (source: Institute for Scientific Information)

The absence of any serious challenge to Herzberg's theory continues effectively to validate it.

• Herzberg's central theory is very relevant to the modern understanding of employer/employee relationships, mutual understanding and alignment within the Psychological Contract.
• It also provided some foundations and basic principles of Nudge theory - a powerful change-management and motivational concept which emerged in the 2000s.

Herzberg's Motivation Theory

Frederick Herzberg (1923-2000), a clinical psychologist and pioneer of 'job enrichment', is regarded as one of the great original thinkers in management and motivational theory. 

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Two Factor Theory and Significance

Herzberg was the first to show that satisfaction and dissatisfaction at work nearly always arose from different factors, and were not simply opposing reactions to the same factors, as had always previously been believed.

In 1959 Herzberg wrote the following useful phrase, which helps explain this fundamental part of his theory:

"We can expand ... by stating that the job satisfiers deal with the factors involved in doing the job, whereas the job dissatisfiers deal with the factors which define the job context. "

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Graphs of Herzberg's Theory and Findings

For a graphical presentation of this principle, see:

Herzberg hygiene factors and motivators graph diagram 

Herzberg diagram rocket and launch pad analogy diagram

The 2008 diagram is based on the total percentages of 'First-Level' factors arising in Herzberg's 1959 research of high and low attitude events among 200 engineers and accountants, encompassing short and long-duration feelings. 

While Herzberg's overall conclusions were clear and consistent, the statistics from Herzberg's study can be interpreted in many different ways in their finer details, because of the depth and layering of Herzberg's survey methodology and analysis. 

• For full details of the Herzberg study figures, and to fully appreciate the complexity and subtlety of his findings, see Herzberg's book The Motivation to Work. 

Herzberg considered the following perspectives to be important:

1. High and low attitude (basically satisfaction and dissatisfaction, also defined as motivators and hygienes or hygiene factors)
2. Short and long-term duration of feelings (of high/low attitude effect)
3. First and second-level factors (i.e., main causal factors, and secondary factors deriving from the main stimulus, identified by further probing during interviews)
4. The interrelationship of factors

These different perspectives obviously provided (and still provide) endless ways to analyse and present the results, although as stated already the main conclusions remain consistent.

The purpose of the diagram (either version) is to illustrate how Herzberg's research showed that certain factors truly motivate ('motivators'), whereas others tended to lead to dissatisfaction ('hygiene factors'). According to Herzberg, people have two sets of needs; one as an animal to avoid pain, and two as a human beings to grow psychologically.

• He illustrated this also through Biblical example: Adam after his expulsion from Eden having the need for food, warmth, shelter, safety, etc., - the 'hygiene' needs; and Abraham, capable and achieving great things through self-development - the 'motivational' needs. 
• Certain parallels can clearly be seen with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

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Implications of Herzberg's Research

Herzberg's research proved that people will strive to achieve 'hygiene' needs because they are unhappy without them, but once satisfied the effect soon wears off - satisfaction is temporary. 

• Then as now, poorly managed organisations fail to understand that people are not 'motivated' by addressing 'hygiene' needs. 
• People are only truly motivated by enabling them to reach for and satisfy the factors that Herzberg identified as real motivators, such as achievement, advancement, development, etc., which represent a far deeper level of meaning and fulfilment.

Examples of Herzberg's 'hygiene' needs (or maintenance factors) in the workplace are:

• Policy
• Relationship with supervisor
• Work conditions
• Salary
• Company car
• Status
• Security
• Relationship with subordinates
• Personal life

Herzberg's research identified that true motivators were other completely different factors, notably:

• Achievement
• Recognition
• Work itself
• Responsibility
• Advancement

Note. Herzberg identified a specific category within the study responses which he called 'possibility of growth'. This arose in relatively few cases within the study and was not considered a major factor by Herzberg. When referring to 'growth' or 'personal growth in terms of Herzberg's primary motivators, 'growth' should be seen as an aspect of advancement, and not confused with the different matter of 'possibility of growth'.

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15 Inexpensive but Effective Ways to Motivate Salespeople

 

Aja Frost

From SPIFFs and President’s Club to new tech gear and all-expenses-paid vacations, sales leaders have many options for motivating their teams. But most of these options are fairly pricey.

Individual reps are also often motivated by different things -- maybe half your sales team would be excited to win a new tablet, while the other half would rather score a coveted parking spot near your office’s entrance.

The answer: Introduce some creative, low-cost rewards into your incentive strategy. For example, you could hand-deliver breakfast to the contest winner every morning for a week. Another prize might be a coupon for a 30-minute nap in the conference room.

Your reps will love the novelty of these awards -- and you won’t have to break the bank. For 13 more ideas, check out this infographic from LevelEleven.

https://blog.hubspot.com/

How leaders can motivate their teams

 

Your people may have all the expertise in the world but, if they're not motivated, it's unlikely that they'll achieve their true potential.

Motivated people have a positive outlook, they're excited about what they're doing and they know that they're investing their time in something that's truly worthwhile. In short, motivated people enjoy their jobs and perform well.

It is, therefore, no surprise that there are countless blogs, articles, scientific papers and podcasts that all attempt to address this topic with much, but varied, success.

Everything from “setting small, easily-measurable goals” to “having fun” and “staying fuelled” are suggested as worthy advances in improving individuals’ motivation. These may well bring success on an individual level, but it is important to note that a critical element of motivation and performance centres around the team itself.

As was proposed by psychologist Albert Bandura in his later papers on social cognitive theory and found and replicated in many academic studies since, group confidence (or group potency) is considered to be one of the key components of team motivation. This in turn improves team effort and is a major predictor of team performance.

So, if we improve the group’s confidence in themselves, then we can improve the overall motivation and performance of the team.

Brilliant, it makes perfect sense, but how can we easily do that?

Well, an interesting recent study by Canadian psychologists Caroline Aubé, Vincent Rousseau and Sébastien Tremblay, looking into teams and motivation may have provided a clue.

They collected data from 101 teams in a Canadian public safety organisation and sought to analyse the effect on individuals and teams of knowing that fellow employees share an understanding of the work that needs to be accomplished.

Put plainly, they looked to find out if you knowing that everyone is on the ‘same page’ makes a difference to your work motivation and performance.

Perhaps not suprisingly, what they found is that a team is more effective when employees have a shared and agreed understanding of the work that needs to be accomplished.

Being aware that they share the same vision for the work that needs doing appears to have a motivating and stimulating effect on team members. They are then more likely to believe in the potential of their team and exert more effort in achieving the team goals. This gives them the confidence needed to succeed and encourages them to provide the necessary effort.

In contrast, lacking a perception of a shared awareness of group goals and techniques can be frustrating, demobilising and inefficient. Leading to team members to doubt their ability to align their efforts and to achieve success.

With that being said, it is not purely about the amount of effort put in by the team. The research suggests there are other factors to consider. The study suggests that a willingness to help others and engage in extra-role behaviours also play a key role in instigating positive work mentality and behaviours.

Importantly, the study suggests that overall team effort is more important for tasks where the goals and the activities being completed are more routine. For less routine tasks, other factors such as flexibility and creativity are better indicators for success.

However, regardless of the routineness of the tasks, perceived group understanding of the work that needs doing was a strong indicator of team performance.

The EBW View

This recent research from Canada strongly indicates that when employees perceive their colleagues all to be on the ‘same page’, they then believe more fully in the capability of their team. This leads to greater effort, helpful co-worker behaviours, and, in turn, to a better team performance.

Here are 3 ways you will improve your team motivation and performance:

1. Ensure employees have an appropriate understanding of their colleagues’ roles in each task.

   As indicated by the research, understanding each other’s roles, and knowing that the team all know each other’s roles, will lead to a greater belief in the team’s capabilities. This positivity in itself will breed success.

2. Enable communication, don’t force it.

   Providing an environment where colleagues can discuss challenges freely can only help your team's sense of ‘togetherness’ and possibilities for success. So ensure some online meetings are just about catching up and getting to know what is going on. With that being said, not all employees thrive on constant interactions with others. Allowing people time to quietly ponder their work challenges without gathering to highlight every possible idea may often be a more efficient route to a solution.

3. Understand the personality of your team.

   Managing work behaviours to maximise productivity requires leadership that changes depending on the individuals in the team. Leaders who run successful teams are able to understand the individuals in the team and use that knowledge to intrinsically and extrinsically motivate individuals. Take time to understand your team and change your leadership style to suit the team not vice versa.

Aubé, C., Rousseau, V. and Tremblay, S., 2015. Perceived shared understanding in teams: The motivational effect of being ‘on the same page’. British Journal of Psychology, 106(3), pp.468-486.

https://www.ebwglobal.com/

26 Sales Contest Ideas to Motivate Your Sales Team in 2023

 

Written by: Dan Tyre

Discover the best practices and prize ideas to craft a sales contest that gets results.

With economic turbulence and drastic changes in work environments, your sales team is likely burnt out right now. A well-designed sales contest is one of the best tools in your arsenal to combat this burnout.

Keeping your team members engaged, motivated, and inspired is often far trickier than teaching them what to say on a connect call or in a prospecting email. Check out this list of sales contest ideas and execution to motivate your sales team and make selling fun again.

15 Engaging Contest Ideas

Here are 15 of our best sales contest ideas to try out in your office — whether in person or virtual. Many of these sales contests can be run simultaneously or within the same period.

Pro tip: Use several contest ideas during the year to allow salespeople with different talents to get a moment in the spotlight.

1. Daily Prizes

Run a daily sales contest and give away a daily prize. Each day could have a goal (e.g., most calls on Mondays, biggest sale on Tuesdays, etc.), or you could run the same contest daily and reward each winner with a daily prize.

Pro tip: Create an atmosphere of fun surrounding daily prizes by having a drumroll or hype song before declaring the winner.

2. Salesperson of the Month

Salesperson of the month is a common sales contest. Choose a top salesperson, either quantitatively by most sales or biggest deal or qualitatively based on the manager's choice. They would then be Salesperson of the Month and receive a recurring prize.

Pro tip: Bring up the current salesperson of the month topically in meetings (with applause) to both recognize their efforts and encourage participation.

3. Conversion Contest

Run a sales contest to reward the salesperson with the most lead-to-customer conversions. You could reward this winner daily, monthly, or quarterly.

Pro tip: Strengthen your marketing and sales alignment for this contest so your sales team can access and convert any marketing-qualified leads (MQLs).

4. Upselling or Cross-Selling Contest

This contest rewards the salesperson with the largest or most significant upsell or cross-sell. This encourages your sales team to find opportunities to make additional sales with current customers, such as additional software or a larger subscription plan.

Pro tip: Regularly discuss new techniques to upsell and cross-sell, letting your sales staff share success stories so everyone can learn.

5. Retention Contest

Similar to the previous two contests, a retention sales contest rewards the salesperson who's retained the most customers or perhaps has the longest-running customer for the month, quarter, or year. This encourages your sales team to boost your customer retention and, therefore, your ROI.

Pro tip: Check out this article on retention techniques and share it with your sales team.

6. Customer Reviews

This contest is a little different from the others on this list. A sales contest centered around customer reviews essentially rewards the salesperson with the most or most positive customer reviews.

Review contests are a bit more involved, as they require your sales team to ask for customer reviews after sales calls or meetings. But this can be a good thing — it encourages your team to collect live feedback and learn more about their customers' experiences and how to improve them.

Additionally, your team can report these reviews at large sales meetings and perhaps to your broader team and organization.

Pro tip: Customer reviews are vital for local SEO, so try to get customers to review your sales team and organization online.

7. Sales Bingo

Sales bingo is a multifaceted sales contest that allows your sales team to pursue many smaller goals. Similar to normal bingo, sales bingo requires a 5 x 5 bingo chart filled with objectives such as:

• Book a meeting with a director.
• Schedule three demos.
• Make 25 calls.
• Send five LinkedIn messages.

You'd then pass out the sales bingo cards and ask your team to mark off the objectives as they complete them. (Remember the Free box in the middle!) The first person to get five in a row would then win a prize.

Pro tip: Run your sales bingo contest within a specific period (monthly or quarterly) so it doesn't go on too long.

8. Most No's

A “most no's” sales contest is another unique yet positive one. I don‘t know anyone — including salespeople — who enjoys hearing the word "No." This sales contest essentially rewards the salesperson on your team who receives the most "No’s" within a week or month (or a period of your choice).

This contest makes your team comfortable with hearing the word “No” and encourages them to make as many calls as possible, pushing past objections and refusals.

Pro tip: Getting lots of no’s can be stressful. Take the pressure off with a lighthearted discussion where sales staff can share funny “no” stories and commiserate.

9. Best Pitch

This is the only sales contest on the list that can be held either internally. A sales contest for the best pitch rewards the person on your team with the best sales pitch.

You can determine this winner in a couple of ways — either hold a meeting where everyone can present their pitch and then vote for the best (but not themselves) or have your team present to VPs and executives to receive feedback.

Pro tip: Regular role-playing sales pitches can improve closure stats, so include sales scenarios regularly in meetings.

10. Sales Bracket

The last and perhaps most involved sales contest is a sales bracket contest, similar to March Madness. In fact, I've seen it called “Sales Madness.”

To run this contest, create a bracket including your entire sales team. Set a threshold for each pairing (salesperson with the most sales, biggest sale in the month, most “Nos,” etc.) and choose a winner to move on to the next round.

Eventually, you'll end up with a “championship” round that will result in an ultimate winner. The sales bracket contest is unique as you can run a different sales contest for each round, raising the stakes as it nears the championship round.

Pro tip: Make sure your leaderboard/bracket is viewable to everyone and frequently updated.

11. Most Improved

A most improved contest gives your low-performing sales team members a chance to shine. Determine at least one KPI you want to measure, such as meetings held, phone calls, new customers, etc., and track which member of your team blows their previous records out of the water.

Pro tip: If you choose this contest, you must meet one-on-one with all sales staff to establish their past averages so they know what goal they should have in mind.

12. Raffle

A raffle with several prizes lets people bet on the items they want. Choose which KPIs to incentivize and track and give your team members tickets when they experience success.

Pro tip: Make each prize worth around the same amount, or you will have a lot of competition for the big prize and not much interest in the smaller ones.

13. Buddy Selling

Try a collaborative selling contest idea with buddy selling. Pair your team members and have them work together to see who can close the most sales. The pair that generates the most revenue or closes the most deals wins a prize.

Pro tip: Consider pairing high-performing salespeople with lower-performing ones so everyone can learn.

14. Increased Commission

This is a contest that everyone can benefit from. Choose a day when commission can be raised a couple of percentages, and let your team know. During those 24 hours, sales teams can make more commission and will be incentivized to make more sales.

Pro tip: You can hold this increased commission day during your slow season, giving you and your sales team a much-needed boost.

15. Content Contest

Did you know that content can improve conversion rates by 161% across all industries? Work with your marketing team to identify key pieces of content you want pushed, such as a guide, white paper, or webinar. The salesperson who gets the most downloads or attendees for the content wins!

Pro tip: Be sure to include an entry in your form field that lets leads put in who referred them to the content so they can get credit.

Sales Contest Prizes

1. Monetary Prizes
2. Gift Cards
3. Electronics or Equipment
4. Complimentary Meals
5. Boss for the Day
6. Free Tasks from the Boss
7. Free Vacation Day(s)
8. Free Personal Development
9. Floating Trophies
10. Promotions
11. Winner's Choice

11 Motivating Prize Ideas

Curious about what you can reward your sales team with when they win your sales contest? Here are 11 sales contest prize ideas. Note how some may be more appropriate for larger, longer sales contests, and some are a good fit for those daily and weekly contests.

Pro tip: If you're wondering what will incentivize your sales team, ask them. Run an anonymous survey for prize ideas.

1. Monetary Prizes

A monetary prize is pretty straightforward — simply reward your sales contest winner with a dollar amount provided in cash or as a bonus on a paycheck. (Don't forget to talk with your accounting team if you opt for this decision.) Larger monetary prizes are more appropriate for long-term sales contests and keep your sales team interested and engaged.

Pro tip: Include prize amounts in your quarterly sales budget so executives know about this upcoming expense.

2. Gift Cards

A gift card prize is a fun way to support a local or beloved business and can be perceived as something outside a normal compensation structure. Consider gift cards for restaurants, movie theaters, gas, or prepaid all-purpose gift cards.

Pro tip: Buy gift cards that the winner will actually use. For example, if one of your salespeople is a vegetarian, they likely won’t appreciate a gift card to a steakhouse.

3. Electronics or Equipment

Give away electronics or equipment as sales contest prizes. This could include a computer or phone, or even non-work-related “toys” like a grill, luggage, camera, or coffeemaker.

Pro tip: If you’re not planning on covering the taxes included in a prize, let your sales staff know so they can choose whether to accept the prize and pay those taxes.

4. Complimentary Meals

Reward your sales contest winner with free lunches for a week or month. Perhaps you offer to order in, cater lunch for a period of time, or have your winner expense their meal.

Pro tip: Set a spending limit so you can predict the cost.

5. Boss for the Day

Put your sales contest winner in charge for the day, literally. Let them work in your office, park in your parking spot, or even run or join a meeting they otherwise wouldn't.

Pro tip: Make this prize even more fun by giving them an outfit that mimics their boss’s daily wear. For example, if you have a mustache and wear glasses, give them these props as part of their prize.

6. Free Tasks from the Boss

This reward gives away something arguably more valuable than money — time. Reward your contest winner with a free task to be completed by you. This gives your winner a chance to give away a task or project you can take care of.

Pro tip: Let your team know they can choose a funny task outside of work, such as cleaning their house, washing a car, or cooking a meal.

7. Free Vacation Day(s)

Everyone loves a day off. Give away a free vacation or personal day as a sales contest prize. Since this one is so valuable, save it for a longer, larger sales contest that runs less frequently.

Pro tip: Consider also giving a certificate to watch a movie or a pass to an amusement park so your winner can make the most of their day off.

8. Free Personal Development

Reward your sales contest winner with a free sales training seminar, educational stipend, or book they can use for personal development. Be sure to consider the demographic and interests of your sales team, as some folks may not be interested in or have time for this prize.

Pro tip: Consider letting your winner use their personal development stipend on a non-work related prize such as a pottery or photography class.

9. Floating Trophies

A floating trophy prize is exactly how it sounds — a trophy or plaque that is rewarded to and passed between the winners of a weekly or monthly sales contest. This type of prize is typically paired with a smaller incentive like a gift card or small monetary prize, although it carries bragging rights in and of itself.

Pro Tip: If you want your winner to get attention from other departments and visitors, be sure to choose an eye-catching and unique trophy they can display on their desk.

10. Promotions

If a new position opens up, consider motivating your team with a promotion. Salespeople typically thrive off competition, especially if something as big as a promotion is available. So, let your team know that the contest winner might be the next boss.

Pro tip: Consider being transparent about salary increases and title changes before awarding the promotion so everyone can manage their expectations.

11. Winner's Choice

Provide your sales contest winner with a variety of prizes to choose from, whether listed here or not. This keeps your entire sales team interested and engaged in your contest and working toward the prize regardless of their interests.

Pro tip: Similar to a complimentary meal prize, you will want to set a limit for the cost of a winner’s choice prize.

How to Run an Effective Sales Contest

In the past three decades, I’ve learned a great deal about effective sales contests (often by making mistakes). Here are six of my biggest takeaways.

1. Keep it simple.

Your salespeople shouldn’t have any trouble understanding the rules of your contest. When it’s hard to understand how to win — or who’s currently in first place — their enthusiasm about participating takes a hit.

What does a simple contest sound like? You could reward every salesperson who meets a certain target for meetings set or give prizes to the five reps who increase their calls-to-demo rate by the highest percentage.

Aim for a contest you can explain in two sentences or less. And if you’re still unsure if it’s confusing, ask one of the senior salespeople on your team for their feedback. (As an added benefit, they might spot loopholes or problematic rules you’ve missed.)

Pro tip: Be sure to hold only one contest at a time. This guarantees you won’t distract your team from the behavior or outcome you’re trying to promote.

2. Make it fun.

Contests should have an element of fun. A little levity helps your salespeople bond and makes the competition more memorable.

To give you an idea, I used to give away my services to the winning salesperson. I’d wash the rep’s car, pick up their dry cleaning, even clean their house — whatever they wanted.

It’s always fun to see your boss doing a menial task. This type of prize also shows your team you’re devoted to their success (and have a great sense of humor!)

Pro tip: Try crafting your contests around office inside jokes as well. For example, perhaps the winner gets to take everyone to lunch at a local restaurant the entire office loves.

3. Involve your sales team in the planning process.

Alternatively, let your reps choose what they’ll win. I used to get everyone in a room and ask, “Do you need a team motivation program?”

The answer was always yes. I’d explain the contest rules, then say, “You’ve got X dollars — decide what the prize or prizes will be.”

This strategy has three effects:

• Your reps are more invested. Having direct control over a major aspect of the competition drives buy-in from the start.
• The reward isn’t what you think they want; it’s what you know they want.
• Your salespeople will feel gratified by your decision to hand over the reins.

Pro tip: Even if you don’t use an idea for a particular contest, keep a record of it in case your team wants to use it for future contests.

4. Give daily or weekly updates.

Few people stay committed to a competition if they don’t know where they stand. Strive to give daily or weekly updates, depending on how quickly each salesperson’s status changes. At HubSpot, we typically put up a live dashboard so every rep can check on their progress whenever they’d like.

Some salespeople will check it every hour — that’s how intent they are on being number one. Imagine losing this powerful motivator just because you didn’t keep your team up-to-date.

Pro tip: Have your team log sales in HubSpot’s free CRM software so everyone can be updated in real time.

5. Don’t make false promises.

It might sound obvious, but never promise a prize you can’t deliver on. In 2002, a waitress who won a sales contest for a new Toyota was understandably furious when she was presented with a toy Yoda instead.

She sued her employer — and won.

If you don’t deliver what you promised, your salespeople will lose trust in you (not to mention, all motivation to engage in future competitions). Before you announce a prize, calculate what you’ll be on the hook for if your reps do as well as possible. You might not be able to afford the reward if they really blow it out of the park. When in doubt, skew conservative.

Pro tip: Supply chain issues can make finding prizes like tech difficult. If your winner wants something you can’t find, let them know quickly so you can get them an alternative prize or offer a gift card so they can buy it when it is available.

6. Hand out prizes ASAP.

I once gave my salespeople their prize money nine months after they’d won it. Needless to say, they weren’t happy.

You’ve set a deadline for the contest — why should the deadline for the award be less important?

Distribute prizes as quickly after the contest ends as possible. It’ll be far easier to rally your team for the next contest if they’re not still waiting for their prizes from the last one.

Pro tip: Create a reminder for yourself at least a week out to purchase the prize or make plans for delivering the chosen incentive.

Sales Contests = Sales Results

Follow these sales contest ideas, prize recommendations, and guidelines, and your sales contests will noticeably impact your team's motivation, camaraderie, and, just as importantly, their results.

https://blog.hubspot.com/sales