Get to Know ME with Staci Wand
This month’s Get to Know ME features Staci Wand, a longtime member of our travel department. Read below about her drive to meet challenges and her awesome sense of humor! Thanks, Staci for letting us get to know you a bit better.
What’s your title and how long have you been at Motivation Excellence?
My journey began 21 years ago as a Program Coordinator in the travel department. After many years in that position, I was promoted to the Program Manager position. As the needs of the company have shifted, I am once again assisting in Program Coordination.
What does your job entail?
Managing the participant database and registration process for incentive travel programs for 50 – 1400 people. I handle many logistical components such as hotel accommodations, ground transportation and activity confirmations, as well as the preparation of on-site supplies.
What’s something special about working at Motivation Excellence that you’d like to share?
Motivation Excellence offers a flexible work environment. The company recognizes us as individuals, which allows employees to balance personal commitments, while still maintaining a high level of work.
What’s an unknown or odd talent you have?
I can do a comedic impression of Shakira…for close friends and family only. ☺
What motivates you to accomplish things in your life (work or personal)?
When I’m presented with a challenge that is identified as nearly impossible, that motivates me to figure out a way to make it happen. I’m also motivated by chocolate.
What do you enjoy doing outside work?
Playing chauffeur for my children and going for walks.
One thing that always makes you laugh is?
The movie Jumanji (the new version).
What have you done that helped you get through the pandemic?
Our family had a lot of game nights and movie nights. We also tie dyed a lot!
What is the most unusual job you’ve ever had?
I worked in a coatroom for many years if that qualifies as unusual.
This month, our theme for social media is “Devil’s in the Details.” What does attention to detail mean to you?
My current position requires a keen eye for detail, which I personally thrive on. Attention to detail requires you to not only dissect and analyze what’s in front of you, but also to be proactive and consider different outcomes based on all possible avenues of action.
On the Road with Motivation Excellence: September 2021
Things are changing quickly when it comes to travel. At Motivation Excellence, our goal is to keep our followers and clients informed on the latest protocols, trends and tips. In our On the Road series, we’ll highlight our own travels for leisure and business, as well as report on current client trends in the incentive industry. Look for the latest On the Road post at the end of each month. If you ever have travel questions during this uncertain time please reach out to us at ME@MotivationExcellence.com. We’re happy to be your virtual shotgun or plus one!
September was a busy month – read below for a coast-to-coast recap of our travels and key takeaways.
San Diego in September – Always Amazing
Traveler: David Jobes, President/CEO
Destination: Hotel del Coronado for SITE Classic Meeting
I had the pleasure of attending SITE Classic at the beautiful Hotel del Coronado. With more than $400 million in renovation and expansion, the hotel remains absolutely stunning, especially the original woodwork throughout the main venue space. They have a great selection of restaurants on property with great food and great service to create a level of excellence we expect from this iconic hotel.
Of course, the weather in San Diego was perfect, no surprise there! The SITE team did a great job with this event! There were interesting breakout sessions, speakers and fun activities that truly took advantage of this spectacular resort and city. SITE suppliers donated wonderful travel packages to help raise money for the association.
Key Takeaways:
- San Diego airport is easy to navigate and I had no delays with the TSA check-in process.
- Rideshare service was good – usually less than a 5-minute wait. Masking for unvaccinated people was in play and looked to be widely followed.
Back at it in Las Vegas with Howie, Lionel and Motivation Excellence
Traveler: Brad Hecht, VP Travel
Destination: Las Vegas (Wynn) for Client Program
Excited to be back out with our customers at a major event this month for a group of 250 people! The airports flying from RSW to LAS via DFW were all packed on a Sunday afternoon and evening of travel. Of course, when I stepped off the plane it was again like old times again and the LV Strip was bursting with energy, people and lots and lots of craziness.
Basically, it’s busy everywhere in Vegas. Taxi lines, bars, restaurants, and especially the casinos are experiencing high traffic, not to mention sold out hotels. The only slow place was breakfast at 7am!
Howie Mandel commented how this was his first time in nearly two years performing live. Believe me, we were all excited to be back in a live atmosphere again and Howie and Lionel Richie were amazing at our client event!
Key Takeaways:
- Our client’s customers were excited to be back at a live event!
- This is the just the beginning of great things to come for our industry.
Happy to Help a Client in the Happiest Place on Earth
Traveler: Sky Capriolo, Strategic Marketing Manager
Destination: Orlando
I had the pleasure to attend a client event to help with in-person registration of their channel partners and sales reps for their new incentive program! The venue (Gaylord Palms) and our client did a great job with safety protocols throughout the long weekend including adding spacing between chairs at meetings, bringing in air purifiers, masking as needed and staff serving food at buffets.
Frankly, flying into Florida, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but was happy to see all service industry people (hotel staff and off-site restaurant staff) wearing masks, as well as a good portion of visitors to the hotel and Disney Springs.
Key Takeaways:
- Always assume you’ll be placed next to a whining, kicking toddler on your flight to Orlando.
- The flight back from Orlando is a lot like the flight back home from Vegas…people are exhausted!
A Site Visit for an Upcoming Client Program
Traveler: Rhonda Brewer, VP Sales
Destination: New York City
We had a quick turnaround opportunity to help a client host a meeting/event in New York City in October. I was excited to attend the site survey in September and was pleased with the results!
New York City requires proof of vaccination to attend inside events at hotels and restaurants. Our client’s group will not all be vaccinated, so we found outdoor meeting and eating spaces in Manhattan to accommodate everyone attending. The pictures above are of a space at the Central Park Zoo we’ll be utilizing.
New York City is thriving and beautiful in the fall. We really liked the new terminal at LaGuardia Airport! It’s so bright and inviting, despite the continued construction.
Key Takeaways:
- NYC is still a great place for incentive travel and meetings!
- While tricky, accommodating all attendees is doable and appreciated by clients.
Getting in the Swing for Charity
Traveler: Rebecca Steiner, Business Development Director
Destination: Boston-area
Rhonda Brewer and I were thrilled to take part in a charity golf event hosted by one of our clients at the historic Woodland Golf Course in Newton, Massachusetts. Motivation Excellence was one of 60 sponsors to support this 32-year tradition. Nine non-profit groups (mostly in healthcare, addiction, special needs education and children’s needs) benefited from nearly $150,000 raised!
Rhonda and I did not win any golf awards, but we had a great time in our foursome and celebrated every great shot on our team (see pic)!
Motivation Excellence donated a travel package that included an $800 American Airlines voucher and a 3-night stay at the Eden Roc in Miami. We’re grateful to our partners at Eden Roc for helping support our client’s charity!
Key Takeaways:
- If you’ve never tried the “Martini Tees”…get yourself some before your next trek to the course!
- A golf event is a perfect way to get a good size group of people together safely to have some fun and enjoy camaraderie.
Client Trends
Our team is very busy with proposals for incentive programs scheduled to start in December 2021 or January 2022. This is the time when budgets for the next calendar year are put in place, so it’s the perfect time to look at how you’re planning to reward and recognize the people who make a difference for your company.
Group incentive travel, lifestyle upgrade rewards, employee reward and recognition programs and individual travel packages are all ways we’re working with current and new clients to motivate and recognize their employees and channel partners.
Coming Up Ahead
- Paris with SITE (Society for Incentive Travel Excellence)
- A Danube River Cruise
- Client program in New York City in October
Buckle up and enjoy the ride with Motivation Excellence as your guide!
On the Road with Motivation Excellence: August 2021
Things are changing quickly when it comes to travel. At Motivation Excellence, our goal is to keep our followers and clients informed on the latest protocols, trends and tips. In our On the Road series, we’ll highlight our own travels for leisure and business, as well as report on current client trends in the incentive industry. Look for the latest On the Road post at the end of each month. If you ever have travel questions during this uncertain time please reach out to us at ME@MotivationExcellence.com. We’re happy to be your virtual shotgun or plus one!
Taking it Easy in Aruba
Traveler: Brad Hecht, VP Travel
Destination: Aruba for Leisure
This was my first trip back to Aruba in more than 25 years, and I was pleasantly surprised! It wasn’t as windy as I remembered it and the area has grown nicely with great options for activities and dining. Service was great, every meal was excellent and the sun and sea were brilliant!
Traveling to Aruba with the current safety protocols was straightforward and reasonable. U.S. travelers need proof of a negative COVID PCR test within 72 hours to board the plane. Once on the island we needed to show proof of our negative test a few more times and proof that we purchased the mandatory Aruba supplementary health insurance. Airport personnel also needed to give us “clear to check-in” cards for our hotel stay.
Once we jumped through all the COVID protocols, our time on Aruba was unencumbered by the pandemic.
Coming back to the U.S. was a little more involved (read painful). An antigen or PCR test was required before checking in for our flight. These are often offered right at the resort. With all the extra stops and checks at the Aruba airport, it’s suggested you get there four hours pre-flight, which makes for a somewhat wasted travel day.
Key takeaways:
- The stay was worth the extra travel precautions
- The stray cats were not concerned about COVID at all
Experiencing American History & Sights
Traveler: Rhonda Brewer, VP Sales
Destination: Multiple states on the East Coast for leisure
Taking a trip to the Northeast in August could not have been more perfect; History, a beautiful coastline and scenic mountains, all in one trip! Add in being with great friends and working toward completing my goal to visit all 50 states, it was a bucket list moment for me.
Places we visited include:
- Boston, Cape Cod and Newburyport, Massachusetts
- Newport and Jamestown, Rhode Island
- Cape Neddick and Ogunquit, Maine
- Portsmouth, New Hampshire
- Mt. Ascutney area, Vermont
We hiked, biked and ate our way through this amazingly beautiful part of the United States. A couple noteworthy highlights include eating at a “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” restaurant called Red Arrow Diner (fabulous breakfast!) and seeing Zac Brown at a sold-out concert at Fenway Park (we’ve all missed live music!). Toasting to friends at the Cheers bar was a treat too!
Key takeaways:
- Tourists were out in full force enjoying great sights right here in the USA
- Self-guided tours are pretty easy in this area
- I’d highly recommend this area for business groups or leisure travel – lots of education, activities and venues
- Check masking and vaccination requirements for the states and counties you plan to visit ahead of time – where we visited, we had no issues, but we all know how quickly things can pivot.
Client Trends
Currently, we have multiple clients running end of the year incentive programs to capture Q4 growth potential in markets like veterinary and dental. Some are using lifestyle upgrade packages from our MaxRewardsYourWay offering, while others are rewarding increased sales with bonus award points to use in our online award options. Reach out to us at ME@MotivationExcellence.com if you have needs for a Q4 reward solution.
Coming Up Ahead
- We have a client taking 250 top customers to Wynn in Las Vegas for an incentive/appreciation event in September. Check back for our next On the Road blog to get an update on how it went!
- We’re also looking forward to industry events in San Diego and Paris this fall with SITE (Society for Incentive Travel Excellence). We’ll give you the recaps in future On the Road posts.
Buckle up and enjoy the ride with Motivation Excellence as your guide!
Get to Know ME with Rhonda Brewer
It’s time to Get to Know Rhonda Brewer, our VP of Sales at Motivation Excellence! She’s one of the new kids on the block with our company, but has been in this industry for a long time. Read, and watch the 3-minute video, to learn more about Rhonda and her verve for life and travel!
What’s your title and how long have you been at Motivation Excellence?
Vice President, Sales and I have been with MEI for almost a year and a half.
What does your job entail?
I get to lead a team that is responsible for business development with our customers and prospects to help them engage further with their channel partners, customers and employees through incentives, loyalty and employee engagement programs. We also help them identify the right rewards for each program whether that be points, merchandise or incentive travel. We also help our clients with all aspects of meetings and events.
What’s something special about working at Motivation Excellence that you’d like to share.
What makes MEI special is the “we are all in this together approach” and truly everyone pitches in where needed to do what is best for our clients. We make decisions quickly and everyone’s voice is heard to be able to make a decision.
What’s an unknown or odd talent you have?
I am pretty much an open book so not sure if there is an unknown talent but according to my husband I can roll my tongue and he can’t! 😃 Also, I am hoping to finish all 50 states by the end of this year. I’ve made it to 45 and will have 48 by the first part of August.
What motivates you to accomplish things in your life (work or personal)?
I am a very self-motivated person by nature. In my work life I love collaboration, I love watching a program from start to finish and seeing the successes, I love winning new clients so they can experience all we have to offer and that keeps me motivated. Personally, I think you have to take care of yourself first in order to be able to accomplish all you want and take care of others. Then, setting goals and achieving them is very satisfying.
What do you enjoy doing outside work?
I enjoy spending time with family and friends at home, at the lake or traveling, as well as running and working out.
One thing that always makes you laugh is?
My sweet dog Cocoa.
What have you done that helped you get through the pandemic?
A new job here that I started 3 weeks prior to the lock down, stayed consistent with working out and had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with family.
What is the most unusual job you’ve ever had?
I don’t think I had any unusual jobs. I was a life guard at a campground for 6 years and started when I was 14. On my breaks I worked the concession stand or cleaned bathrooms. I also had my own business for a few summers in college teaching swimming in the summer in our backyard.
This month, our theme for social media is respect. How do you incorporate respect into your personal and working life? What’s the number one sign of respect to you?
The number one sign of respect for me, as well as how I try to incorporate it into my life, is living by the golden rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Get to Know ME with Brad Hecht
It’s time to get to know our Vice President, Travel, Brad Hecht, a little bit better! He’s a long-timer with Motivation Excellence. He’s got a lot of frequent flyer miles and he shares his destination picks in the linked video. Take a few minutes and watch that and read his answers to our questions below. Thanks Brad for sharing!
What’s your title and how long have you been at Motivation Excellence?
Vice President, Travel – 22 years.
What does your job entail?
Responsibility for all facets of our travel business including travel presentations, purchasing, contracting, sourcing, Program Management and Coordination, client facing travel technology, and onsite operations.
What’s something special about working at Motivation Excellence that you’d like to share?
Our employees are amazing!
What’s an unknown or odd talent you have?
I can hold a handstand in a pool in perfect form for a long period of time. Wow, that’s really odd, isn’t it (maybe random)?
What motivates you to accomplish things in your life (work or personal)?
To be a positive person for myself and everyone around me. That energizes me.
What do you enjoy doing outside work?
Golf, pickleball, hiking, biking, attempting to be a wine snob.
One thing that always makes you laugh is?
The TV show “Two and a Half Men.”
What have you done that helped you get through the pandemic?
Getting outside every day to free my mind, exercise or hike to do a refresh.
What is the most unusual job you’ve ever had?
As a high schooler, I was a lifeguard at a Holiday Inn near Six Flags over Mid-America. They didn’t have room service but the celebrities coming in to perform all wanted it, so I was the person to handle all room service when celebrities came to stay. Boy, do I have some interesting stories!
This month, our theme for social media, metrics for measurement. How do you measure success (could be on the job or personally)?
Exceeding the expectations of everyone around me as often as I can, including family, friends and clients.
Get to Know ME with Susan Rizzi
We’re excited to have you Get to Know Susan Rizzi this month! She has longevity when it comes to her careers, that’s for sure! Read below to find out how she helps our participants and her family thrive. Thanks for sharing Susan!
What’s your title and how long have you been at Motivation Excellence?
Customer Service Representative; in 3 weeks it will be 20 years!
What does your job entail?
All aspects of Customer Service, such as answering phone inquiries, email inquiries and Concierge Shopper requests. I also work with suppliers to resolve issues, review invoices, and obtain merchandise quotes for concierge shopper requests.
What’s something special about working at Motivation Excellence that you’d like to share?
What makes ME special is the family atmosphere, the willingness to help each other out at any time.
What’s your favorite part of your job at Motivation Excellence?
Working in Customer Service is a very rewarding position. What I enjoy the most is working on an issue and being able to turn it around into a positive experience for the participant.
What’s an unknown or odd talent you have?
Storytelling. I can make a simple walk on the beach into an exciting adventure for my grandchildren. A hike in the woods can be more interesting with my crazy imagination. I also have a great talent for playing practical jokes on the family.
What motivates you to accomplish things in your life (work or personal)?
Work: knowing that I can make a difference in the experience our participants have when they contact ME. Personal: teaching my grandchildren that they should embrace who they are and that they can be and do anything they want to do in life! This motivates me to be a positive and supportive person in their lives.
What do you enjoy doing outside work?
Spending time with my most Awesome grandchildren, and their parents of course. Gardening, fishing, vacationing in the OBX.
One thing that always makes you laugh is?
Spending time with my family. We refuse to let little things upset us, and with so many different personalities, it becomes very amusing!
What have you done that helped you get through the pandemic?
Played board games with my family through Zoom. Worked on home projects, painted, decluttered and organized family photos…bins of family photos. Binge watched documentaries on Netflix. Hoarded toilet paper, Clorox wipes and hand sanitizer!
What is the most unusual job you’ve ever had?
It was not an unusual job, but being a Hair Stylist for 38 years definitely was the most interesting. Oh, the stories I could tell.
This month, our theme for social media is EQ, or Emotional Intelligence. How do you relate to this theme?
Emotional Intelligence is an ongoing learning experience. In my years, I have learned that it is not what is said to someone, but the way in which it is said. A voice inflection, a condescending remark, or even a physical stance can give off the wrong impression. It is an individual’s choice on how they respond. We need to keep in mind that we do not know what is going on in a person’s life or what causes them to be “on guard.” Be patient, be a good listener, sometimes all a person needs is to have someone listen to what they have to say and acknowledge that they are heard. Good thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds!
Medical Supply Distributor
GENERATING $17M FOR A MEDICAL SUPPLY DISTRIBUTOR IN A PROGRAM FUNDED BY THEIR SUPPLIERS
The Big Picture
Our Medical Supply Distribution client wanted to drive sales with a dynamic incentive for their preferred, non-competitive suppliers that would be completely funded by their sales efforts. The suppliers — 6-10 participated in various years — were initially reluctant to participate due to a lack of confidence in their return on their investment. We knew we needed to overcome their skepticism.
Research & Analysis
A thoughtful and fair ROI rule structure and tracking system was needed. In the initial analysis stage, we examined the previous two years of sales by rep, and then set individual growth goals for each of the six suppliers.
Our Solution
We created an incremental growth program for each supplier so that together, they would fund the program on our sponsoring client’s behalf.
After we created incremental goals by supplier, we set up a system to provide reporting so they could clearly see the growth being generated. This solved the funding issue that initially made the distributors reluctant to participate; They were happy to fund the program when they could easily see the growth it was fostering.
Since the client’s existing system did not communicate in silos, we sought to isolate communications specific to each supplier and connect directly with the sales reps that sell those products.
This program was points-driven. We set goals for each supplier and assigned point values to those goals. Each sales rep was able to use our online portal to view their performance and their status at any time.
Quantifiable Results
ROI
Participating suppliers increased sales by 11.75% over plan.
Volume was up more than $17M for selected suppliers.
Equity
At program end, participants were awarded their points as a one-time payout and were able to redeem for name-brand merchandise, travel options or experiences from our expansive online catalog.
Data & Analytics
Getting 6-10 different suppliers to work together in an equitable arrangement is the kind of data-driven, personalized work that sets Motivation Excellence apart.
Health Care Diagnostic
Generating $70M in new revenue for a healthcare diagnostic company with unrealized growth potential
The Big Picture
Our Healthcare Diagnostics client wanted to enhance their bottom line by identifying new locations and expansion opportunities, enhancing customer service, and expanding their product portfolio. They came to Motivation Excellence to find out how they could turbocharge these efforts.
Research & Analysis
During our analysis, we realized our client had little knowledge of their opportunity potential. We discovered that their delivery and pickup drivers were everywhere, making valuable connections with current and potential customers on a regular basis. Through these relationships, the drivers were in a position to discover expansion opportunities as well as customer service issues needing resolution. This valuable information could be transferred to their sales reps and converted to leads, but at that time, no one had conceived of the two departments working together, and the infrastructure was not in place to do so.
Our Solution
Once we uncovered this critical gap between drivers and sales reps, we designed an incentive program targeted to getting them working together address the client’s challenges. While the two groups were highly skeptical that their partnership would yield results, they soon found common ground and began to generate amazing results.
First, we developed a custom lead generation system that linked drivers to specific sales reps for lead generation and management. To foster compliance, we had to accommodate the drivers’ preference for paper and the sales reps’ preference for digital.
Next, we trained both groups to generate information and act upon leads, and then to record their efforts. We thus captured metrics on the number of leads, type of lead, disposition time, and outcome.
We ultimately brought together stakeholders from both sales and delivery silos within the organization, when neither side believed at the beginning that their partnership would be fruitful.[/et_pb_text]
Design Details
This program continues to generate revenue after more than nine years in operation, fulfilling the client’s desires to expand and optimize their services while fostering a team environment in their organization
Custom Platform: An end-to-end lead generation tracking system designed to drive ROI for behavior change as well as revenue.
Marketing Campaign: Helping the executive stakeholders explain the benefits of the program and encourage participation.
Communications: To keep everyone abreast of standings, motivated and focused. Sharing partership success stories was key to fostering participation.
Points-Based System: Sales reps earned points redeemable from our online catalog of brand-name merchandise and experiences
Gift Cards: Drivers, who skewed older and were far less likely to use smartphones or engage with the online catalog, earned gift cards.
Monitoring: With a three-month lead-to-sales cycle, we tracked KPI & ROI to keep our client in the loop
Quantifiable Results
Flooring Company
Generating 627% ROI for a flooring manufacturer by expanding their reach
Our Flooring Manufacturing client wanted to motivate commercial flooring contractors and internal sales reps to higher performance with a self-funding program. But after examining their goals and program projections, we told them they simply could not reach their goals without expanding their audience significantly.
Our Solution
Using industry specific data, we built a custom solution focused on our understanding of the participants.
Step 1: We expanded the audience for this incentive to be 3½ times greater than the client originally planned for —1,200 commercial contractors and internal sales reps — to ensure the client would meet their aggressive revenue goal.
Step 2: We leveraged our communications expertise to acquire the audience and maintain their engagement throughout the program earnings period.
Step 3: We aligned the desired behaviors with meaningful rewards that both top performers and middle performers would view as attainable.
Design Details
The program was designed to be fully funded by incremental gross profits. We exceeded ROI estimates with these elements:
Consultation: We had the experience to know the client’s program was not going to work, and the expertise to know just how to fix it
Marketing Campaign: The aggressive, highly targeted audience acquisition plan included program announcement, teaser postcards, and invitations to register.
Communications: To keep everyone abreast of standings, motivated and focused. A program portal drove participant engagement throughout the program.
Points-Based System: Goals were set and points were redeemed from our online catalog for merchandise, gift cards and individual travel.
Desirable Rewards: Top performers (based on highest sales, greatest $$ increase and greatest % increase), earned a coveted travel award for two hosted by the client’s executive team.
Monitoring: We tracked KPI & ROI to keep our client in the loop.
Electrical Supply
Outperforming market trends by driving incremental sales through accelerated rewards.
The Big Picture
Coming out of a sluggish economy more than 30 years ago, a nationally ranked electrical distributor wanted significant growth and brand recognition within the industry. After analyzing their business, as well as industry benchmarks and sales data, we collaborated to develop a program structure to drive incremental sales through accelerating reward opportunities to keep customers engaged. This program started pre-internet and evolved into a digital era over a 20 year timespan.
Our Solution
Using industry specific data, we built a custom solution focused on our understanding of the participants.
We segmented their 100,000-customer audience into three groups and then assigned the top 20% individual growth goals based on their segment and past purchases. We kicked off the program with a fast start sweepstakes to engage customers quickly.
Using projected sales growth, our client secured vendor funding to help pay for the program. With the evergreen program structure, participants created a sustained growth pattern year over year.
Individual branch locations received regular program communications and activity reports. Those purchasing over goal had accelerated reward opportunities. we offered a wide variety of award redemption options to keep top performers engaged in the outcome each year. including multiple travel programs and an option to buy-in.
Design Details
Over a span of more than a decade, revenue growth for enrolled customers outperformed non-enrolled and industrytrends in up, flat and down markets. ROI was more than 200% and our client realized significant market share growth. Extraordinary vendor participation substantially paid for program costs and those vendors also increased their own customer count.
Measurable Results
By creating an evergreen program that continued year after year, we were able to establish a base line purchase level for each customer and then assign a growth goal each year afterward. This created sustained growth over the life of the program for each customer wanting to achieve the top tier travel award each time it was offered.
