Sales & Marketing Management - January/February 2008 - (Page 35)

TECHNOLOGY TRAINING INCENTIVES TRAVEL/MEETINGS Q&A the gift card that keeps giving Motivate your team without decimating your bottom line By Mike McCue ometimes, there’s just nothing like good ol’ instant gratification. In many ways, it’s the easiest and best way to positively reinforce the behaviors you want your sales team to perform, making gift cards a key tool in any sales manager’s motivation and incentives arsenal. But used properly, gift cards can play a role in longer-term incentive plans as well, not to mention delivering a personal touch that goes a long way with many employees. Manish Shrivastava, president of Home Depot Incentives, a subsidiary of Home Depot, recently spent some time with Sales & Marketing Management to discuss successful strategies and the latest developments in the gift card segment. “Sales managers are very busy because they’re usually working on the front lines, so easy solutions that provide fast results are especially useful to them,” Shrivastava says. “When you can reward someone with a gift card right there during the sales meeting, the whole team claps and cheers … It’s an exciting experience that people remember long after the meeting is over.” S&MM: What are the most significant developments S MS: The first advantage is the personal touch it allows affecting the gift card incentive industry today? MS: Well, we’re going through a rough patch right now as far as the nation’s economy goes, so sales managers are looking for ways to incentivize and motivate their teams in ways that don’t necessarily break the bank. Gift cards are an especially effective motivational tool in this environment because they come in all denominations, don’t take much time to procure and, unlike longer-term programs, they provide an instant return on the investment. S&MM: What are some of the greatest advantages to using gift cards in an incentives plan? www.salesandmarketingmanagement.com a sales manager to demonstrate. The number of companies that offer gift cards grows every day, providing them with an almost endless pool of products and services to choose from. If you know that one of your team members is an avid golfer or has a sweet tooth, rewarding that person with a gift card to a pro shop or gourmet food company shows that you listen and are interested in them as individuals, not just revenueproducing workers. Flexibility is another of the gift card’s biggest advantages, of course. They don’t necessarily require a lot of planning and are available in just about any amount you might want. But they can be highly effective in longer-term plans as well, especially as part of a portfolio offering, in which the team members can choose their reward from a number of different companies. For example, many people have a strong emotional attachment to their homes, so helping them improve the place they live can be a powerful incentive. Remodeling a kitchen or building a deck isn’t something you do overnight, so people are already committed to achieving those goals over the long term. In addition, home improvement offers the dual advanJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008 SALES &MARKETING MANAGEMENT 35 http://www.salesandmarketingmanagement.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sales & Marketing Management - January/February 2008

Sales & Marketing Management - January/February 2008
Contents
Editor's Letter
Brian Tracy University
Sales
Marketing
Management
Cover Story: Everything Happens in Vegas
Boosting Your Brain
Loyalty Goes Global
Swell Your Sales
Training
Technology
Incentives/Motivation
Travel/Meetings
Excerpt
The Way I See It

Sales & Marketing Management - January/February 2008

https://www.nxtbookmedia.com