Delivering 627% ROI Through a Self-Funded Incentive Program
At a Glance:
- 100% self-funded program using incremental sales
- Expanded audience and engaged 1,200 commercial contractors and sales participants
- Created valuable business intelligence for our client using their own data
Business Issue
Our flooring manufacturer client wanted to motivate commercial flooring contractors and internal sales reps to higher performance through a self-funding group travel incentive program.
However, after reviewing the client’s goals and projected participation levels, it became clear that the original program design would not generate enough incremental performance to fund itself or deliver the desired results.
Key challenges included:
- Significantly expanding their audience for program success
- Collaborating on smarter goal-setting
- Designing a performance structure that rewarded growth at every level (not just top performers)
Our Solution
Motivation Excellence conducted a four-year historical sales analysis to identify the most appropriate and effective performance strategy.
Rather than limiting rewards to a narrow group, we designed a scalable rule structure that allowed any size customer to earn meaningful rewards based on incremental sales growth.
Step 1 | Expand the audience:
We expanded the eligible audience to 3.5x the originally planned size, ultimately engaging 1,200 commercial contractors and sales participants. This broader reach was critical to ensure the client would meet their aggressive revenue goal.
Step 2 | Drive sustained engagement:
Using our communications strategy, we acquired participants’ attention early and maintained engagement throughout the earnings period.
Step 3 | Align performance with attainable rewards:
We aligned desired sales behaviors with meaningful rewards that both top performers and middle performers viewed as attainable.
The Results
The program exceeded performance expectations and delivered unmatched impact:
The client saw a 627% ROI. Program profit contributions nearly doubled the anticipated projections, and the program was completely self-funded by ROI.
Beyond the financial results, we built long-term equity with participants by pairing data-driven goal-setting, clear performance pathways, and a high-quality reward experience.
The success of this incentive program reinforced our expertise in thoughtful program design and demonstrated how the right incentive structure can turn ambitious growth goals into measurable results.
