When we design an incentive program, your goals become the heart of the rule structure. Motivation Excellence programs focus on attainable goals for your participants that move the needle for you too. Whether you’re putting together a sales incentive program for your internal team or looking to reward your channel partners, having clear goals and motivational rewards are the pillars to success.
Start With the SMART Concept
A good place to begin when establishing goals is the SMART concept. SMART is an acronym encapsulating the following five components:
- Specific – Specifically define what you want to accomplish and why.
- Measurable – Your chosen goals should be both measurable and trackable.
- Achievable – Set goals that are challenging yet reasonably achieved.
- Results-Driven – Goals should be driven by a desire to produce results.
- Timely – Establishing time sensitive goals creates a sense of urgency.
The SMART concept works extremely well for ensuring goals are intentional rather than random. Intentional goals lay the groundwork for successful incentive programs. If you’re looking for more tips on setting and achieving goals, check out our blog on the topic here. For specifics on how we design successful rule structures visit our website and explore our tab on Performance Management & Tracking.
Consider Existing Business Objectives
Every business entity has a core set of objectives. Well-designed incentive programs look at which objectives, or goals, will make the most difference to your bottom line. Pairing the appropriate goals to the most relevant participant audience is key to building your next incentive program. For instance, if you’re launching a new product in Q2, your incentive program audience might be your internal sales team, with the goal that each team member secures five new locations to distribute your new product. If five new locations is a stretch, but doable with extra effort AND it will create positive ROI for you, then it’s a worthwhile goal to use as the basis of your incentive program.
If something is unattainable for your participants, it kills the incentive process before it gets started. Also, if you’ve selected a goal that doesn’t help your overall business objectives, no one walks away feeling motivated or rewarded in the end, which can lead to poor excitement levels leading into your next incentive scenario.
Get Management Buy-In
In our experience, incentive programs that don’t involve the management team, tend to fizzle rather quickly. If team leaders are fully involved and excited, the enthusiasm spreads to participants. This is the case whether you’re planning an internal incentive or one that involves channel partners. Management needs to believe in the goals and rewards, and even have the ability to earn something if their team succeeds. Incentives that have individual and team goals can really amp up participation. And often, team leaders are the ones who know what the best goals are for their team, as well as the best motivators. Don’t leave them out of the mix!
On the flip side, if management isn’t involved or interested, we see inconsistent success rates. Incentive program motivation definitely comes from reasonable goals paired with aspirational rewards, but without consistent encouragement, individuals can find themselves deflating after the first bump in the road.
Personalize the Reward Experience
As a final springboard to preparing the best incentive outcome for your selected goals, consider making the reward for success something personalized to the receiver. Individual travel options, lifestyle upgrade packages, or reward points that can be used for nearly anything are all staples of our personalized reward choices. When someone is working for an experience or reward that means something extra special for them, the intrinsic motivation value can skyrocket!
Remember, incentive programs are most successful when they are established on clear and attainable goals, paired with aspirational rewards and buoyed by consistent encouragement. Before you launch your next program, consult with us on how best to establish goals and rewards that will help move your business forward in both the long- and short terms. We’re experts in creating winning rule structures that motivate your participants and reward your bottom line.
