As the winter holidays rapidly approach for businesses, the heat is on for retailers to push sales and capitalize on new, unique ways to attract customers.
Employers in the industry know the holiday season is the ideal time to sponsor a sales competition, which can be tracked through incentive compensation software.
Sales as motivator
Companies utilizing incentive compensation programs have the perfect platform to spur employees to motivation with the hopes of achieving bonuses, miscellaneous perks and of course, bragging rights – especially when dealing with competitions.
One way to maximize on employee sales monitoring software is through devising a plan that specifies the scope of the competition in detail. Through incentive compensation software, employees are able to use a “What if?” calculator to plug in numbers and are transported into a hypothetical portal that allows them to determine what numbers they need to hit in order to snag the title of top salesperson. Knowing where they stand compared to others and what they need to do to surpass colleagues is crucial to creating an enjoyable, and productive, sales competition.
Maximize holiday shopping
The infamous day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday is now being accompanied by Cyber Monday, the first Monday following the Thanksgiving weekend, as the top sales days of the year. Oftentimes consumers are willing to go to extreme lengths such as sleeping in parking lot tents, taking time off from work and and staying awake for days to score deals.
With the kick-off to the holiday shopping season being book ended by the two retail extravaganza dates, it’s worth it address that in designing sales competitions. This can be evidenced by incentivizing sales reps to reach the greatest volume of sales on Black Friday to take advantage of the sheer consumer base, while pushing new online-exclusive products on Cyber Monday is a similarly productive strategy.
Multi-tiered sales opportunities
With the economy providing less than ideal financial conditions for some, this holiday shopping season is expected to unfold unlike any other, predicts Forbes. As people find themselves shopping less for themselves and more for deals too good to pass up, consumers desire a more comprehensive and streamlined experience. The goal for retailers is to provide services where goods can be purchased at the whim of a click or can coordinate mobile and online shopping experiences into one easy platform.
The onset of a multitiered sales approaches through wireless applications, in store promotions and online deals serves as a breeding ground for competition among retailers and salespeople alike. Employers should invest time into developing creative strategies that encourage its sales force to orchestrate and execute sales through using the multifaceted channels provided such as social media, large-scale marketing and sales pitches that appeal to recent economic struggles.
Businesses see the majority of sales, roughly 44 percent, are performed during the winter holiday months, a staggering discrepancy between the summer’s 5 percent and even the coveted back-to-school sales, also at 5 percent, according to Entrepreneur.
One strategy Forbes predicts will help business secure sales online is through social media and search engine optimization keywords that draw in customers looking for specific products. Consumers who search for deals on products through massive online search engines will see results for businesses who utilize the SEO practice at the top of the list, providing a lucrative stream of traffic through the respective website.
This provides the opportune environment for sales people to push all available sales avenues during the consistently growing holiday revenue stream. By partnering with their employers incentive compensation software, employees can track and plan their sales so they too can bring home something special this holiday season.
