Author: Sky Capriolo

Performance Management & Tracking Yield Key Business Intelligence for B2B Loyalty and Sales Incentive Programs

Loyalty and incentive programs can be truly transformational. When designed and executed well, they provide great ROI for your company and stronger relationships with the people who mean the most to the success of your business. In addition, our clients gain valuable business intelligence through our performance management and tracking offerings. Sometimes, we provide information they didn’t even know they were missing!

Sales Incentives Motivate Performance Improvement and Retain Talent for Long-term Gains

Blog Summary:

·  Sales incentives drive measurable performance improvements by motivating your sales team at all levels—especially the middle 60%, which can yield significant revenue increases with even small gains.

·  Flexible and well-designed incentive programs align with business goals—everything ranging from short-term boosts to long-term engagement can inspire both individual and team achievements.

·  Incentives support sales team member retention and loyalty by adding value to compensation packages, enhancing employee recognition, and fostering a culture of appreciation and motivation.

·  When structured correctly, incentives can pay for themselves through incremental revenue gains, compliance, and best practice adoption, especially when rewards are meaningful and tailored to the sales team’s preferences.

Sales Incentives Offer Many Benefits

Getting incentives for outperforming your peers is instilled in us at an early age. Whether it was selling the most Girl Scout cookies for your troop or the most wrapping paper at your elementary school, taking a run at being the top contender definitely could have predestined you to a life in sales as an adult. But, if the reward for being the best wasn’t very good, the motivation to get to the top fell flat too, right?

Running well-designed sales incentive programs at your company can bring in a variety of benefits for both your business and your sales team. You can plan short-term and long-term programs. You can target segments of your sales team to motivate unique behavior changes at different levels.

Rewards for achieving goals can range from exclusive group travel experiences to points that can be redeemed online for almost anything, including individual travel, lifestyle upgrades, trending merchandise, and special event tickets. You can also reward in tiers, so those who bring in more business get rewarded at a level equal to their effort.

Our experts at Motivation Excellence know how to create sales incentive programs that Inspire Extraordinary Performance and can pay for themselves, plus deliver great long-term gains.

Improve Performance

Improving performance is the number one reason our clients run sales incentive programs. Sales incentives have a proven record of boosting performance and can be effectively used to motivate your entire sales force. The Incentive Research Foundation shows how even a small gain from the middle 60% of your team can yield significantly more revenue than the same shift in your top-performing group.

That’s why employing a targeted incentive plan can be a lucrative deal for everyone involved. Your best performers can vie for the top reward, but anyone making improvements gets something. This can encourage healthy competition within your sales team while also motivating achievements on a personal level. When performance gets better, so do the reward opportunities!

Incentives can be very flexible. You can run year-over-year incentives, or schedule them for shorter time periods if it makes sense for your sales cycle. Encouraging sales of a specific item, either because it’s brand new or yields a better margin, can lead to quick gains. The built-in excitement over a limited-time incentive helps drive momentum. Engaging in longer term sales incentives allows team members to plan ahead and perhaps drive in bigger gains. They’re also a great opportunity to track valuable metrics that can be useful for end-of-year review periods.

Whether they’re short- or long-term, sales incentives can keep your team engaged and motivated to perform at a higher level than they did in the period prior.

Retain Talent

There are quite a few things that add to the desirability of working somewhere. Obviously base salary, vacation time, and health insurance are at the top of the list for many! Offering additional benefits like a flexible work environment and education reimbursement can be very appealing as well. Recognizing milestones and special achievements, along with offering incentives for your sales team, helps build a culture where people can see themselves thriving for years.

We advise our clients that retaining top talent, and thus, increasing profits over the long haul, takes three distinct compensation elements: salary, recognition and incentives. They each have a role to play. Combined, they offer stability, acknowledgment, and engagement.

For the recognition and incentive elements, the rewards are key to making these worth the extra effort. They need to have value to your salesperson. If they don’t, they won’t offer anything to an overall benefits package. If they do, you’ve created additional ways to make your team feel valued.

Incentives Can Pay for Themselves

The right rule structure is imperative from the start of any incentive. When we know our clients’ goals, target audience, and some simple sales data, we can build an incentive that pays for itself – and then some – just with incremental gains.

Determining the desired rewards and their cost allows us to back into the performance expectations required to earn them. Selecting motivating rewards, like a group travel experience with company executives to Thailand… or the ability to earn once-in-a-lifetime tickets to a big sporting event… or the option to rent a vacation home for the family, is the lynchpin for the incentive to be successful.

Sales incentives can certainly be a fun, creative, and flexible way to motivate improved performance. This blog focuses on internal sales teams, but everything we’ve written is true for channel partner incentives, too. If you’re interested in reading more about the benefits of channel partner incentives, please check out these recent blogs:

How Incentivizing Channel Partners Helps Your Business Thrive
Channel Partner Engagement: Common Challenges and Overcoming Them
The 4-Step Process for Measuring Channel Incentive ROI

Explore our website and reach out to us if you’d like to consult about how best to run a successful incentive for your company!

Cooking Up the Best Rule Structure for Successful B2B Incentive and Loyalty Programs

The ingredients matter, but so does the way they’re mixed together.

Perhaps the most critical component of building a successful incentive or loyalty program is the rule structure. This happens to be one of our specialties. While each client and program are unique, there are several preferred ingredients when it comes to crafting the best recipe for minimum risk and maximum results.

• Company goals
• Target audience
• Past performance data
• Market growth potential
• Measurable actions
• Rewards that matter

With the proper rule structure in place our clients enjoy more than a scent of good things cooking… they get a solid taste of a winning strategy. Let’s take a look at the benefits of a good B2B incentive or loyalty program.

Control Your Budget

No one wants to be surprised by a budget running out of control. With a good rule structure, our clients have security with their numbers. There won’t be shocking overages because we tie the desired behavior with a reward value that doesn’t exceed expected individual gross profit contributions. Many of our rule structures actually plan for a program to be paid for entirely through incremental gains. This is true for reward points or travel programs.

Reduce Your Risk

With Motivation Excellence as your expert partner, we can anticipate common pitfalls, advise alternative ways to meet your goals, and use our experience to recommend the best reward structure for your program. When it comes to a points program, that means suggesting point values, award options and earning periods. For incentive group travel programs, it means selecting the right destination at the right time of year, negotiating advantageous contracts and advising on number of winners, among many other things.

Adjust as Needed

A good rule structure builds in metrics that can be evaluated throughout the program, not just at the end. Doing this allows our clients the ability to adapt to mitigate any potential underperformance, while maximizing likely wins. For a points program, that could include offering bonus points for certain underperforming categories. For a travel program, it could mean adding extra spots on the travel experience based on  how well participants are performing.

Segment Goals & Rewards

Sometimes, especially in B2B loyalty programs, having tiers makes sense. Different groups of customers have different purchasing histories and potential, which our clients can nurture or expand on. A top performer award, like a travel experience, can be paired with a points program so all participants who achieve their goals are rewarded at a level in line with their performance. For a points program, offering a wide variety of redemption options allows everyone to find their own motivation to succeed. Some may want to work toward a travel package for their family, while others might want to spend their points on home improvement projects.

There are so many ways our team can work with our clients to truly customize incentive and loyalty programs. It all starts with creating the rule structure that benefits the client and motivates their participants, so everyone walks away with a desire to continue growing a strong relationship.

We’d love to meet with your company to talk about the best rule structure for your particular set of ingredients. Together we can bake the perfect program, layered with elements custom to your needs.

We DRIVE the Results Our Clients Want

A lot goes into a successful B2B incentive or loyalty program. There are many moving pieces to planning and executing an engaging company meeting or event. When the aforementioned go well, it’s not by accident.

At Motivation Excellence, we know the elements that make up the best incentives, travel programs and events and we’ve giving them a name: DRIVE. Each letter stands for something critical to the overall success.

“We’ve been providing these elements to our clients for a long time. We see what works and use that knowledge to guide them to the best possible path to success. Not everyone uses every component, but the more they can incorporate, the better the results,” says Bob Graham, President & CEO of Motivation Excellence.

D is for Data

Industry trends, sales numbers, company history and forecasts all play into program design. The more data our clients have to share, the better we can mitigate risk while developing a performance-based rule structure that brings successful, measurable results.

For participants, being able to easily see where they’re tracking toward goal is the primary objective of our custom performance websites. Creative activity tracking gauges animate in real time, while in-depth dashboards drill down to a variety of levels for managers overseeing a program.

Using data before, during and after a program creates a robust narrative our clients can use for future success.

R is for Rewards

If the reward isn’t motivational for participants, an incentive or loyalty program fails before it launches. And what’s worth working toward for one person, may not be the same for someone else. That’s why we offer a wide variety of reward options from group travel to lifestyle upgrade packages to special event tickets.

We work with our clients’ participants to make sure they’re being rewarded in the best way possible. That could mean new solar panels on a house, paying tuition fees or securing a vacation home for a family getaway!

I is for Intelligence

Data-driven analytics creates better understanding of business potential. We use defined metrics to track, measure and adjust elements in an incentive or loyalty program in real time. Gathering specific information prior, during and after a meeting or event allows us to guide content and plan for specific calls to action.

We often hear from our clients that we provide business insights they truly didn’t know they were missing.

V is for Value

A well-designed incentive program can pay for itself with incremental sales. An aspirational group travel experience can be planned within a set budget. Our team at Motivation Excellence is filled with experts who have intimate knowledge of this industry and the best ways to mitigate risk, while providing exceptional elements.

When you work with us, you become part of our inner circle and we look out for your best interests. Your partners at Motivation Excellence stay with you from day one to build a relationship of trust and mutual respect.

“It’s much more than a transaction when we work with clients. We become part of their team and they rely on us to interpret their data, interact with their participants and make insightful suggestions to move their programs or events forward,” states Graham. “We offer a full compliment of services that goes beyond what’s expected which adds to the value of working with us.”

E is for Engagement

Building excitement, maintaining the flow of information and providing white-glove service for participants is all part of keeping them engaged. From building custom performance tracking websites to being an extension of our clients’ marketing team, we offer a variety of ways to keep initiatives top of mind and dynamic.

“One of the hiccups we see hinder success, is a lack of steady communication. Often, our clients’ marketing teams have their plates full with the day to day operations, so the campaign gets forgotten or underused,” says Graham.

“Our team is a dedicated resource making sure touchpoints go out. We also track engagement rates so we know the best times and ways to communicate to each person,” he adds.

We are flexible too, so we can take the steering wheel on any or all of the DRIVE components. Our mission is to match our clients’ needs with the best resources for maximum success, with minimal risk. Are you ready to hop in and go for a ride?

Get to ME with Candy McCray

We love to highlight a different employee each month as part of our Get to Know ME series. This month, it’s Candy McCray, our Creative Program Manager for clients using performance tracking and marketing enhancements as part of their incentive program. Read on to learn more about what makes her laugh and how she tackles short and long-term goals. Thanks Candy, for participating in this month’s Get to Know ME!

What’s your current title and how long have you been in the incentive industry?

My current title is Creative Program Manager, and I’ve been in the industry for 27 years as of 2025.

What do you like about your job?

This is my second stint with Motivation Excellence, so I really enjoy working with old friends again. In addition, I like to be able to share my knowledge/experience with my colleagues who are newer to the industry or Motivation Excellence.

What’s something you want to share about the people you work with at Motivation Excellence?

Our team is filled with highly skilled people who are passionate about doing a great job and being collaborative in nature. We have a lot of fun together.

What’s a specific moment in your history that always stands out as a defining moment, and why?

When I started my own marketing business.  I learned so much and gained tremendous confidence in my skills and abilities.

What motivates you to accomplish things in your life (work or personal)?

My son – he’s made me a better person.  I work hard to give him the things I didn’t have growing up. As a parent, I now truly understand the value of being in a constant state of learning and growth, and I try to instill that in him as well.  Being a parent has also taught me a whole new level of communication and connection that I don’t think I understood prior.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

I like to socialize with friends, spend time with my son, and travel (we’re going to NY over spring break and planning a trip to Scotland this summer).

One thing that always makes you laugh is?

Watching AFV (America’s Funniest Videos) with my son.  We love the ridiculous things people do and always get a good laugh!

What’s a bucket-list item you can’t wait to cross off?

I have two that I’m most excited to achieve: seeing the Northern Lights (ideally in Iceland) and an African Safari.

Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Why or why not and care to share any?

No, I don’t create New Year’s Resolutions anymore.

For day-to-day goals, I use habit stacking instead.  I believe developing small habits a little at a time is more effective than setting a big goal once a year.  Plus, why wait until New Year’s to start to work toward a goal?  When you decide you want to do something differently, or achieve something new, start right away when you have the motivation!

For larger, long-term goals, I’m learning about using vision boards and manifesting techniques to help me identify and work toward those goals.

Motivation Excellence Names Solo CEO and Adds CFO Title to Management Team

As Motivation Excellence celebrates its 40^th year in the incentives and meetings industry, the company announced new roles on the management team. In 2024, after owner David Jobes passed away, the Board of Directors named Bob Graham, VP Client Solutions, and Michelle Ebner, VP Finance, as co-Presidents/CEOs.

After a successful transition period, the Board decided to name Ebner as the CFO and Graham as the sole President and CEO.

“We appreciate the collaboration Bob and Michelle demonstrated during a difficult time. They were pillars the rest of the company could count on. We’re confident their new roles will highlight their strengths and solidify the positive track Motivation Excellence is on,” said Denise Jobes, Motivation Excellence Owner and Board Member.

Both Graham and Ebner are excited about the future of Motivation Excellence and their respective roles going forward.

“It was an honor to step into the co-CEO role with Bob at the time, but focusing on the financial security and growth of the company is really where I can offer the best guidance,” said Ebner regarding her new title as CFO.

Graham has been with Motivation Excellence since 2001, and in the performance improvement industry even longer. The Board believes his particular skills with data analytics and mapping projected outcomes for clients will serve him well as the big picture driver at the company.

“I care deeply about the success of Motivation Excellence, our team and our clients. I look forward to continuing our level of service, while exploring new efficiencies and expanding our internal team in 2025,” said Graham.

The new titles were effective January 1, 2025 with employees being told at their January company-wide meeting. Other leadership team members are Brad Hecht, Sr VP Travel & Chief Travel Strategist, Kelli Robb, VP Travel Operations and Rhonda Brewer, VP Sales.

Navigating Travel Requirements for US Citizens in 2025

There will be some travel changes for Americans this year, so let’s dive into what you need to know before you head to the airport.

REAL ID in the USA

Starting May 7, 2025 you will need REAL ID-compliant identification from your state, or a valid passport to fly ANYWHERE. Yes, that means travel within the United States too. Earlier this month, the TSA published their “final rule” on the deadline and enforcement of this law that was passed back in 2005 as a result of 9/11 security flaws.

“You know if your state ID is compliant if there’s a star in the upper right corner,” says Joe Reise, Director, Travel Purchasing, Planning, and Supplier Relations at Motivation Excellence.

To find out how to get a REAL ID in your state visit usa.gov/real-id. You’ll be required to bring in certain documents to verify your social security number, identity and address.

“Homeland security has an FAQ website that provides all the information travelers need to know. The bottom line though is if you don’t have a valid REAL ID or valid passport you won’t get past security at U.S. airports as of May 7, so take action now if you plan to travel domestically this year,” warns Reise.

REAL IDs will be required to enter a military base or other secure federal facilities after May 7, as well.

ETA in the UK

United States citizens traveling to or through the UK (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) are now required to get an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) before you fly.

“The key thing with the ETA is that it applies to layovers too,” Reise says. “The application process can take up to 72 hours, so it needs to be on your to-do list the week before your planned travel if your flight is taking you into a UK airport.”

The fastest way to apply is through the UK ETA app which is available for iPhone and Android users through the App Store or Google Play Store. You’ll need your actual passport, an email address and a digital way to pay like a credit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay.

ETIAS for European Travel

We first wrote about Americans needing to add a visa-like travel document to U.S. passports for European travel more than a year ago, but the requirement deadline is still fuzzy. According to the Travel Europe website, the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) will be operational six months after the automated Exit/Entry System (EES) is up and running.

“We hear that EES and then the subsequent ETIAS travel authorization for non-EU nationals will come into play sometime in 2025, but we haven’t heard a definite date yet,” Reise states.

Reise suggests US travelers check the US Department of State for the latest information and requirements you need to know before international travel.

Motivation Excellence makes sure our clients and their participants are aware of extra hoops to jump through well in advance of our incentive group travel programs, whether domestic or international. We hope this blog will help guide you to a safer and happier travel adventure in 2025!

Performance by Design; How We Develop the Best Customized Solution for Your Business

Successful business initiatives don’t often happen by accident. Planning an impactful B2B loyalty or incentive program is a very intentional process at Motivation Excellence. For us, it all starts with a consultative approach we call Performance by Design.

“It’s really about being able to create a financially balanced and metrics-driven reward program designed specifically for a client’s data, goals and participants,” says Bob Graham, CEO & President of Motivation Excellence.

When our clients can share pertinent internal data, like sales figures, inventory, distribution models and historical trends, we can offer benefits like:

• Risk reduction
• Meaningful analytics and insights
• Financial models

“The best program results happen when we are able to take that deep dive not only into a client’s history, but also the industry and their competitors. The more a client can share, the better it is for our team to build a rule structure with ROI built in, and determine the best metrics to track toward success,” says Graham.

One of the best results we see repeatedly for clients through this approach is the ability to bring their data to life in a way they haven’t seen before.

“Sometimes, it’s because different departments warehouse their records separately. Our process pulls it all together in one big picture for greater business intelligence. It’s so rewarding to hear that we’ve done something for a client they weren’t able to do internally.”

Starting an incentive or loyalty program is a big undertaking and one that can likely feel overwhelming without an experienced partner by your side. Did you know that a well-designed program can pay for itself through the incremental performance it motivates? That’s one of the biggest benefits of working with our team. After 40 years in the industry, we know how to build programs that match your needs.

While Performance by Design is a great way to begin your partnership with us, it’s not a mandatory part of the journey. If you don’t have access to the elements needed for this type of foundational process, it’s OK. We can still apply our expertise and work with you to build a customized solution to fit your needs.

Our goal is to help our clients Inspire Extraordinary Performance with the people who mean the most to the success of their business. We do this through customized incentive and loyalty programs, global meetings & events, aspirational group travel experiences and personalized rewards. Explore all of our solutions on our website and click on Let’s Connect to get started today!

Reduce Your Stress in December (and All Year Long) 

With multiple family gatherings, pressure to find meaningful gifts, and the push to wrap up the corporate year successfully, we all have the potential to feel more stress in the last four weeks of the year than we think we can handle! Firstbeat, a Scandinavian company that focuses on heart rate variability data to improve sports performance, shows in their data that stress levels in December are higher than at any other time of the year. 

So, if we know what we’re heading into, let’s be proactive in keeping our stress levels under the boiling point by using some simple strategies. 

You Can Say No 

If you’re a people-pleaser, the temptation to say yes to any ask is pretty high. The problem with the end of the year is there are a lot more people asking for your time, expertise, ear… the list goes on! Saying yes to everything doesn’t make you an awesome person—it makes you a stretched-thin person, which can mean you’re not giving 100% to anyone.  

If you listen to the Julia Louis-Dreyfus podcast “Wiser Than Me,” you’ll hear a repeating sentiment: “No is a complete sentence.” Many of us feel like we need to explain why we can’t do something. Yes, it feels like the nice thing to do, but we, women especially, don’t need to voice our reasonable excuses. A simple, “No, I can’t,” is sufficient. Of course, when your boss is the one asking, perhaps a little explanation is good, so you still have a job to come back to in January!  

Limit Your Expectations 

Nothing can disappoint someone like failed expectations. The good news here is we own our expectations and can adjust them accordingly. Perhaps you think you’ve found THE BEST GIFT for so-and-so, but when they open it, their enthusiasm fails to convey that you did a great job. Maybe your thoughts of serving the perfect meal are crushed when your dinner guests arrive an hour late. A blog on Tiny Buddha sums it up well: When expectations rule our lives, we set ourselves up for disappointment, and then we judge ourselves harshly as a result.  

Adjust how you envision end-of-the-year situations. Dissect ahead of time the areas you can control, and come up with alternate plans for when the parts you can’t control go out of whack. Someone doesn’t like their gift as much as you thought they would? Be happy with yourself for the effort made. Company is late for dinner? Give yourself some leeway on timing in the kitchen, or accept that the microwave might come into play. The most important thing is spending time with people you care about. That’s where the memories are made, not what sits on your dinner plate.  

Take Time for You 

Taking time for yourself can mean exercising, enjoying a massage, solving Wordle, playing with your pet, slipping in a 30-minute catnap or relaxing in a bath. You don’t need to carve out hours of dedicated time every day, but making sure you have 5 to15 minute intervals of “me time” is important during stressful periods.  

The trick here is not to add stress to your life figuring out what your “me time” looks like. It could be a few minutes of yoga or an hour reading a book. If you’re flexible, you can grab some recharging time on the fly even if it’s just concentrating on your breathing for five minutes in your car between errands.  

Make Conscious Dietary Choices 

Oh my goodness, the end of the year parade of parties and social obligations can be daunting! Add to it the copious amounts of rich or sugary food readily available and the social norm of consuming alcohol to celebrate, and any kind of nutritious habits you dedicated yourself to earlier in the year start to buckle.  

Along with sleep and exercise, nutrition is a key indicator of good health. Heart.org lays out some useful tips to help you make healthy choices when it comes to food and beverages over the holidays.  

• Eat fruit and veggies before a party so you don’t arrive famished 

• Keep a bottle of water nearby so when you want to sip something it’s an easy choice 

• Enjoy the things you love, just in moderation 

Fueling your body with the good stuff will help your immunity, sleep and waistline! 

Prioritize 

What REALLY needs to get done? For the corporate setting, Parabol, itemized 45 questions to ask yourself that deal with risk assessment, practicality and value among other things. Outside of a work setting there are questions you can ask yourself to help decide which tasks MUST get done and which ones can wait.

1. What’s the worst-case scenario if I don’t do this task ASAP?

2. Can someone else get this done so I can take it off my plate? 

3. Does this task align with my current life goals? 

4. What will have the greater impact on my well-being, getting it done now, or letting it go for a while?

While it’s easy to mark every to-do as urgent this time of year, likely, most are not. Your house does not need to be “real estate showing” ready to host guests, and every package does not need to be wrapped in matching paper. If you can recognize some of the pressures you put on yourself, you’ll be one step closer to giving yourself a break. 

Our team at Motivation Excellence is ready to help relieve your stress when it comes to connecting with the people who mean the most to your business. Our B2B loyalty programs, group travel, incentives, and meetings & events are a great way to Inspire Extraordinary Performance any time of year. Explore all of our solutions on our website! 

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