Get to Know ME with Kathy Krawczyk
We’d like you to meet our Get to Know ME subject this month: Kathy Krawczyk! Kathy is one of those people you meet and instantly become friends with. She’s curious, talkative and ready to connect on a personal level. She sat down for a recorded interview and provided answers to questions below. Take a few minutes to get to know our recently hired Travel Sourcing and Planning Manager. Thanks Kathy!
What’s your current title and how long have you been in the incentive industry?
I am a Travel Sourcing and Planning Manager; I have been in the meeting/incentive industry for over 25 years.
What do you like about your job?
I like that I’m still learning after all these years. It keeps every day interesting, sometimes challenging, but everyone should have a challenge here and there.
What’s something special about how you grew up?
I’m an only child and because of this, I have eight friends that have been there for me since grammar school. I have two friends in particular who I met when I was five and they are truly my adopted family (along with their 6 brothers).
What’s a specific moment in your history that always stands out as a defining event, and why?
On a personal level it was marrying Al after knowing him for 15 years. We dated when we were very young, separated and then got back together. Two other events that I’ll always recall as defining: New Year’s Eve 1999 hoping New Year’s Day 2000 was going to be normal as usual after all the hype. And 9-11, who could not have been affected by that.
What’s an unknown or odd talent you have?
I used to sing in a guitar group back in the day and love to dance (my friends call me the “Dancing Queen”).
What motivates you to accomplish things in your life (work or personal)?
I love seeing the outcome. With any event, whether personal or at work, you plan and plan and then when it all comes together, I just sit back and take it all in. Sometimes it can bring on a little depression for a day or two knowing it’s over but then onto the next one (especially after my two daughters’ weddings).
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
Spending time with my family and friends, traveling, making my mom’s old recipes, shopping (what woman doesn’t like this), and just hanging with my husband Al.
One thing that always makes you laugh is?
Hard to say, I love to laugh. Some old memories make me laugh every time I retell them. My friends say I have a contagious laugh.
What’s a bucket list item you can’t wait to cross off?
Traveling to Germany and Prague, and eventually retirement!
This month, our theme for social media is “How to be Influential.” Do you have influence with people in your life (family, friends, colleagues), and how do you best protect it?
I think when your family calls you when they need advice or have questions, especially your children, it means you have influenced them by teaching them over the years and they feel very comfortable still asking for advice. I feel the same with friends. I protect this by keeping trust between all of us, telling it is like it is.
Channel Partner Incentives and Personal Motivation – The Hidden Link
At Motivation Excellence, we specialize in creating innovative channel partner incentive programs that motivate distributors, dealers, and other partners to excel. We understand the intrinsic link between channel partner incentives and personal motivation. This post delves into this connection, exploring how channel partner incentives can drive motivation using real-world case studies as examples.
Personal Motivation in Channel Partners
Personal motivation is crucial in the context of any incentive. It’s a special case with channel partners, who are external to your company, often owning businesses that sell your products, and perhaps your competitors’ products too. Understanding what drives them—whether it’s a sense of achievement, recognition, or personal/professional growth—is vital. Channel partner incentives are not just about bonuses or perks for past actions; they are about creating opportunities for partners to achieve and exceed shared goals now and into the future. These particular incentives are about loyalty and keeping your brand top of mind in their business.
Case Study: Success in the Fencing Industry
To illustrate the effectiveness of a well-designed channel incentive program, consider our case study in the fencing industry.
Business Issue
Our client needed to restructure and unify their approach to build stronger relationships with contractors, increase market share, and boost customer loyalty. They also aimed to provide educational resources, networking opportunities, and better access to company leadership.
Our Solution
We developed an interactive Buying Show weekend that combined a fun destination with top vendor partners, exclusive deals, and financing specials. The event featured learning and networking sessions and world-class entertainment. Funding came from qualifying contractors’ incremental sales and supplier contributions, and we supported the program with a performance tracking website, an engagement campaign, and best practices webinars led by company leadership.
Results
- Attendee Growth: The number of attendees grew by 226% over 12 years, with attendees comprising over 71% of the customer base.
- Sales Growth: Median sales growth reached 214%, the average growth was 230%, and the top 25% achieved a 263% average growth.
The Buying Show became a must-attend event, significantly enhancing business relationships and revenue, with the program continuing successfully since its inception in 2012. The personal motivation for these channel partners has become to always qualify for the next event, and for some, to move up the ranks within the attendee audience to capture top-performance awards.
Case Study: HVAC and Plumbing Distributor
Another example of success with a channel partner incentive program involves a nationally ranked and independently owned HVAC and plumbing distributor seeking to drive incremental sales and gain market share with a self-funded travel incentive for their loyal customers and preferred prospects.
Business Atmosphere
Following the slow recovery from a major economic downturn, our client aimed to energize their market presence. They sought an engaging and self-funded travel incentive to reward their loyal customers and attract preferred prospects.
Creating a Solution
Collaborating with our client’s financial and marketing teams, we analyzed historic sales data, gross profit, and growth potential to develop a meticulous goal-setting structure and tracking system. Participants earned credit for meeting personalized goals and additional credit for surpassing them.
Self-Funded Travel Reward
We designed a travel incentive program where customers and their sales representatives and managers within our client’s company could earn a travel award by achieving predetermined incremental sales growth. This approach ensured the program was self-funded. Including our own company representatives in the travel experience significantly strengthened business relationships.
Support for Success
We partnered with our client’s sales reps and managers to create compelling presentations for their customers and prospects. An online performance tracking platform enabled company reps and customers to monitor daily progress toward goals. Monthly electronic reports and updates fostered ongoing engagement between customers and the sales team.
Rewarding Results
The revenue and profit growth for enrolled participants consistently outperformed non-enrolled participants. Over five years, the number of travel award winners increased from 75 couples to 250 couples. This ongoing self-funded travel incentive program led to real growth, increased market share, enhanced customer loyalty, and stronger relationships between customers and the sales team. The personal motivation became the enduring emotional connections with our client’s people combined with the value of their products. The extra motivation came from aspirational travel destinations.
Self-Sustaining Motivation
Channel partner incentives can create self-sustaining motivation by helping partners realize their potential and rewarding them for incremental growth with aspirational and educational group events. This continuous cycle of achievement and motivation leads to long-term productivity and loyalty to your company.
By designing incentive programs that address personal motivators, companies can drive their channel partners to achieve remarkable results. A holistic approach ensures that partners feel valued and recognized, encouraging them to strive for excellence consistently. Your business grows along with theirs, for the win-win scenario.
Contact us today to design and implement your channel incentive program or other incentive and rewards programs.
Here at Motivation Excellence, we are all about innovative channel partner incentive programs designed to motivate distributors, resellers, and other partners to excel in their roles. Of course, there are other organizations that do the same things we do. We all have one thing in common: we understand the intrinsic link between channel partner incentives and personal motivation.
The link is a hidden one in the sense that many people do not know it exists. It is one thing to know that channel partner incentives can be motivational. It’s another thing to know why. That’s what we want to discuss in this post. It is all tied to something known as the Herzberg theory.
Understanding What Motivates Partners
Frederick Herzberg was a well-known psychologist who made his mark as one of the most influential people in the business management world. In the 1950s, he began looking into what motivated people in the workplace. His research eventually led to the development of a theory which was formally named the Motivator-Hygiene theory. We just call it the Herzberg theory for short.
In a nutshell, his theory suggests that people are motivated by different things that can be divided into two categories. The Motivator category involves internal things like satisfaction, recognition, and the sense of achievement. The Hygiene category involves external things like salary, bonus pay, company policies, and supervision.
Herzberg theorized that the short-term gains realized through external motivators were lost once those motivators were taken away. Likewise, supporting internal motivators with external counterparts enhances productivity. Therein lies the link.
The two types of motivators feed off one another. Promoting one while ignoring the other does not achieve the best possible results. So when it comes to creating truly successful channel partner incentive programs, the key is to find the right balance between them.
The Idea of Personal Motivation
Going beyond the Herzberg theory leads us to the idea of personal motivation. What motivates an individual to be the best they can be? Is it a sense of achievement? Is it merely an intrinsic desire to always be the best? The actual trigger for any one person is less important than actually coming up with the channel partner incentives most likely to trigger partners to take action.
Channel partner incentive programs give partners a reason to explore their own personal motivations. But it needs to be understood that a bonus or perk is not the same thing as a channel partner incentive. Bonuses and perks are one-time motivators offered in response to past actions. Channel partner incentives are an invitation to do better both now and in the future.
Channel partner incentive programs place a reward in front, where partners can clearly see it. As partners work to receive that reward, they come to realize just what they are capable of. They take a sense of pride and satisfaction in their own accomplishments even as they seek to win the proverbial prize.
Incentives Can Be Self-Sustaining
Channel partner incentives can be self-sustaining in the sense that they train partners in the fundamental truth that they can be better at what they do. As partners accomplish goals and understand their own capabilities, they personally motivate themselves to stretch further. The more they accomplish, the more they want to accomplish in the future.
Leveraging Channel Incentives to Increase Market Share
Here at Motivation Excellence, employee incentive and rewards programs are a big part of what we do. But they are not all we do. We engage with organizations to create a variety of incentive programs, including sales incentive programs and channel incentives.
We help organizations leverage channel incentives to increase market share. Incentive programs are a terrific way to motivate channel partners. Incentives can run the gamut from travel experiences to merchandise rebates and certain types of non-cash rewards. The key is to figure out what makes channel partners tick so that you can create an incentive program uniquely tailored to each one.
Channel Incentive Basics
The foundation of this entire discussion is an organization’s channel partners. Channel partners are distributors, retailers, resellers, etc. Virtually every entity involved in the sales chain is considered a channel partner. Some industries have longer chains than others. Nevertheless, unless an organization is selling directly to end customers with no operators in between, there are channel partners involved.
Increasing market share from a channel partner perspective is all about encouraging those partners to prioritize your organization’s products or services. You want your organization to be given priority over the competition. But channel partners need a reason to do so. That is where channel incentives come in.
A channel incentive provides the reason for selling a bit harder. The right incentive can encourage partners to increase their focus and efforts on what your company offers. It can motivate them to work on market penetration to establish residual sales.
Expanding to New Markets
Market penetration is a big issue among organizations looking to increase their share. Greater penetration leads to new markets, and new markets boost both share and revenues. How do channel incentives play into such market expansion?
Imagine using a channel incentive program to encourage partners to go after previously untapped markets. They only receive the benefit if they manage to penetrate those markets. An incentive gives them the reason to put in the time and effort.
There is an added bonus in this regard: expanding into previously untapped markets requires that channel partners have an appropriate level of expertise about your products and services. If partners want the incentive badly enough, they will make the effort to learn everything they can about your organization.
Ultimately, you should be left with channel partners that know your products and services inside and out. They can represent your organization as they work to expand your reach. Everybody wins as a result: your organization, your partners, and end customers.
Fostering Loyalty and Commitment
There is a downside to leveraging channel incentives as a way of increasing market share: potentially crafting a program that emphasizes numbers more than anything else. When the only goal of increased market share is a higher number, whether it is sales volume or total revenues, it doesn’t take long for the luster to wear off. Numbers are just that. They are numbers that channel partners can grow used to and ultimately ignore.
An ideal channel incentive goes beyond mere numbers to foster loyalty and commitment. A good program engages with partners as much as customers. It encourages partners to take an active interest in promoting your organization’s growth and prosperity. When your organization grows and prospers, so do your channel partners. You want them to own that.
Channel incentive programs can be powerful tools for increasing market share. If you would like to know more about how Motivation Excellence can be involved in designing and implementing incentives for your channel partners, reach out at your earliest convenience. Let us create an incentive program like no other.
4 Not-So-Obvious Benefits of Non-Cash Incentive Programs
Organizations are used to offering cash incentives as a way to motivate employees and contractors. Motivating the sales team with cash bonuses is a classic example. We take a different approach at Motivation Excellence. We prefer non-cash incentive programs such as personalized rewards for employees or travel incentives. We believe they can ultimately accomplish more than their cash alternatives.
The sky is truly the limit when it comes to coming up with non-cash incentives. We are big fans of travel experiences. But non-cash incentive programs can also reward employees and contractors with event tickets, merchandise, and points that can be redeemed for a variety of experiences.
Does your organization offer any non-cash incentive programs? If not, we encourage you to take a second look at how you incentivize your team. Below are four not-so-obvious benefits of going the non-cash route.
1. Adding Value to the Incentive
We prefer non-cash incentives because we believe they boost loyalty and increase the emotional connection between team members and employers. We see this happening in multiple ways, beginning with the concept of adding value to an incentive program.
Cash is valuable to employees. That much is true. But employees do not tend to think of the value of cash from the employer’s perspective. Cash compensation is just expected. Therefore, it can be easily taken for granted.
Non-cash incentives are different. Employees tend to attach more value to them. For example, offer your team 4–5-star travel experiences and they will associate those experiences with a higher value – even if they actually cost less than offering team members cash bonuses. It is the highly personal nature of travel that leads to the higher perception of value.
2. Creating an Emotional Bond
Non-cash rewards, like personalized gifts and tickets to popular events, are considered more thoughtful. It takes a lot more thought and effort to procure event tickets than it does to throw a few hundred dollars into a team member’s paycheck. That extra time and effort tells employees that they matter.
When employees feel valued, they are more likely to develop a positive emotional bond with their employers. The more personal an incentive program feels, the more successful it will be in its ability to incentivize. But more importantly, it will foster a stronger emotional bond.
3. Creating Camaraderie Rather Than Competition
With all our experience in non-cash incentive programs, we have discovered something curious: non-cash incentives are more likely to inspire camaraderie among team members. Take travel experiences once again. An entire team sharing similar travel experiences – even if they do not travel at the same time – have something in common. They bond over the shared experience.
On the other hand, cash incentives tend to foster competition. This is not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself. But sometimes, you want camaraderie rather than competition. Sometimes it is better for team members to want everyone to benefit from an incentive program rather than individuals competing for a single prize.
4. Better Alignment With Company Culture
Last but not least, non-cash incentive programs can be tailored to align with company culture. But that’s not all. Organizations can utilize non-cash benefits to change or enhance the company culture. This makes them a great tool for creating the kind of environment and culture an organization strives for.
Cash benefits do have a place at the table. But more often than not, non-cash incentive programs are where it’s at. They not only incentivize and inspire, but they also help increase loyalty and foster an emotional connection between team member and company. Non-cash incentive programs are definitely worth a solid look if your organization doesn’t currently use them. Contact us today to design your incentive and rewards program with us.
Get to Know ME with Lindsey Jarson
Meet Lindsey Jarson, our Get to Know ME spotlight this month! Lindsey joined us in 2023. She’s holding down the accounting fort at our Traverse City location, but her role extends to any supplier that needs to be paid. She’s camera-shy, so no video with her, but you can quickly read below about what brings her joy and satisfaction. Thanks, Lindsey, for sharing with us!
What’s your current title and how long have you been in the incentive industry?
I am an Accounts Payable Associate. It’s been a little under a year since I joined the industry.
What do you like about your job?
I love the fast-paced nature of the work we do at Motivation Excellence. It’s rewarding to ensure accurate financial data and make sure our vendors get paid on time!
What’s something you want to share about the people you work with at Motivation Excellence?
Everyone here is extremely hard-working and always willing to lend a hand. It’s a great atmosphere.
What motivates you to accomplish things in your life (work or personal)?
The sense of accomplishment in meeting deadlines and hitting my goals and the opportunity to contribute positively to the world keep me inspired and focused.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I enjoy reading thrillers, hiking with my pup, and traveling!
What’s a bucket list item you can’t wait to cross off?
I’d love to go to Europe (someday)!
Why Incentives Show Your People They Matter
Motivation Excellence, a channel incentives and sales incentives company, discusses why incentives show your employees that they matter.
Launch Your Next Sales Drive With an Incentive Group Travel Experience
Motivation Excellence, an incentive and rewards company, discusses how to power your next sales drive with incentive group travel experience.
Get to Know ME with Claire Urness
Meet Claire Urness, from our Performance Management team! She hasn’t been with us a year quite yet, but she’s already found she feels right at home in our Schaumburg headquarters. A self-described “shy person,” we appreciate her willingness to sit down with us for this month’s Get to Know ME edition. Read on and watch our short video to learn more about Claire!
What’s your current title and how long have you been in the incentive industry?
My current title is Program Manager, and I’ve been involved in the incentive industry for a few years now.
What do you like about your job?
I enjoy the fast-paced environment of my role as a Program Manager and the constant growth it brings.
What’s something you want to share about the people you work with at Motivation Excellence?
I would emphasize the genuine sense of value and appreciation I feel working with everyone at Motivation Excellence. Everyone is so willing to share knowledge and help in any way they can, so it is hard to not feel like you are a part of a team here.
What’s a specific moment in your history that always stands out as a defining moment, and why?
A pivotal moment in my life was when I moved to Tennessee a few years after college. At this point, my (now) husband and I were long-distance for two years while he finished graduate school, so taking the leap to move to a new state to close that distance was a very big step in our lives.
What motivates you to accomplish things in your life (work or personal)?
I am always working on becoming a better version of myself both personally and professionally.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I love spending time with my family and friends, as well as anything that gets me outdoors.
One thing that always makes you laugh is?
My dog never fails to make me laugh with her goofy personality and constant need for attention.
What’s a bucket list item you can’t wait to cross off?
A bucket list item I’m eagerly anticipating crossing off is taking a cruise to Alaska to witness all the wildlife.
This month, our theme for social media is Carbon Footprint Awareness. Is there anything you do to be more eco-conscious?
We have recently started composting at our home and I’m excited to turn our food scraps into nourishment for our garden this year!
Get to Know ME with Brittany Cerillos
Brittany Cerillos joined our Travel Department in the last year and made an impression instantly. She’s got a happy, can-do attitude and if you pass a bar with karaoke, you know she’s going to duck inside for a moment (or two). When you read below and watch her short video, you’ll be able to see her spark too! Thanks Brittany, for being our Get to Know ME subject this month!
What’s your current title and how long have you been in the incentive industry?
I am a Travel Program Coordinator. I have been in the Travel and Incentive industry since 2018.
What do you like about your job?
Everyday is different! I like a fast-paced environment that looks a bit different each day. I also have the opportunity to be creative in my role. I enjoy working with the attendees and making connections with our clients and supplier partners. Traveling, experiencing new cultures, and bringing once in a lifetime experience to our clients is extremely rewarding.
What’s something you want to share about the people you work with at Motivation Excellence?
I have been with Motivation Excellence for less than a year and it truly feels like a little family. Everyone is always laughing while working together and there is never a dull moment in the office. Whenever anyone is at their capacity there is always someone willing to help or lend a hand!
What’s an unknown or odd talent you have?
Amateur karaoke singer.
What motivates you to accomplish things in your life (work or personal)?
We only have one life – I want to make the best of it! Plus, I have to pay for all my travel expenses. Lol.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I love trying new restaurants, taking my dog Rio to patios in the summer / go on walks, hosting events for my friends and family, traveling and reading.
One thing that always makes you laugh is?
My Corgi Rio!
What’s a bucket-list item you can’t wait to cross off?
I am really looking forward to taking a cooking class in Italy one day when I go there.
This month, our theme for social media is Celebrating Women. Is there a female role model you had or have that made an impact on you?
My mom is definitely the most resilient person I know. She often reminds me “that’s life” and not to sweat the little stuff.
Get to Know ME with Michelle Ebner
It’s always fun to introduce a NEW member of our team with our Get to Know ME segment. Michelle Ebner joined as VP of Finance toward the end of 2023 and was promoted to Co-CEO and Co-President in the summer of 2024. Read below, and watch her short video, to learn about her first career choice and why people like to open up to her. Thanks Michelle for letting us get to know you!
What’s your current title and how long have you been in the incentive industry?
I became Co-CEO/Co-President in July of 2024. Before that I was VP of Finance, and brand new to the incentive industry when I took the job in 2023.
What do you like about your job?
I love working with numbers and putting processes and procedures in place to achieve financial success. Numbers don’t lie and as an auditor by trade, it’s my goal to make sure there is accuracy in the financial data for improved decision making.
What’s something you want to share about the people you work with at Motivation Excellence?
Everybody makes you feel so welcome as a newcomer and so far, people are very receptive to collaboration and new ideas. You can see and feel that people are genuinely happy to be here!
What’s a specific moment in your history that always stands out as a defining moment, and why?
The day I decided I would major in accounting was a pivotal moment. I was balancing a pre-med curriculum, with a business school courseload as my backup, freshman year and after almost losing my sanity, I found my passion in accounting. I ditched the science books, and the rest was history.
What’s an unknown or odd talent you have?
I struggle with originating my own artistic ideas from imagination and wouldn’t consider myself “creative,” but I am artistic if given an example or model to follow. I enjoy the challenge of doing something myself and have dabbled in elaborate cake decorating and a variety of décor and customization crafts.
What motivates you to accomplish things in your life (work or personal)?
I like to take on challenges because I see them as a puzzle with mis-matched pieces that I can mold anew, improve or fix to solve the problem at hand. I never run from a good challenge!
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I don’t have that much excess time outside of school activities and sports for my kids, but I do enjoy family time with my siblings when we can all get together. When I am not managing the household and kids, I spend my time watching the hallmark channel or various tv series on Netflix and other networks to relax.
One thing that always makes you laugh is?
Dry humor and sarcasm! My husband and kids are experts in this arena – they can really crack me up with their wit and quick comebacks.
What’s a bucket-list item you can’t wait to cross off?
I want to visit Australia and New Zealand!
This month, our theme for social media is Organization. What are your best organizational tips?
I am not an organized person by any means, in fact, I’m rather an expert at organized chaos. But, I do write notes in wire bound notebooks which also double as my doodle pad.
