The Motivation Conversation

Sales Motivation- Pulling the Correct Strings

Thinking of ways to increase corporate productivity and performance in today's economic climate we put together an animation on sales motivation and how to pull the correct strings:

Anatomy of a Successful Incentive Travel Program

Groucho Marx once said "Talk, talk, talk.....when do we eat? Finally, there is an independent study that proves the efficacy of incentives that you can sink your teeth into.  The Incentive Research Foundation's "Anatomy of a Successful Travel Program" demonstrates the end-to-end financial, employee retention and economy boosting benefits of a well conceived incentive program.  It's a tasty treat in a world of sour skeptics.

Employers Can You Hear Me?

Communication begins with active listening.  When employees feel heard, it increases their stake in your business and enhances their core values about why they are working there. The translation is they are happier and better performing employees.

Most employees do not respond well to just a one-sided stream of information raining down from above.  Giving them a forum for feedback creates an atmosphere that encourages an entrepreneurial and empowering spirit. You might be thinking that in this current business /economic climate you don’t have the time for listening or else you think that all you’ll hear would be complaints.

Try looking at it this way,  if you put a kettle on the stove and stand there the water will heat up to the perfect temperature you’d like for a cup of tea however, if you walk out of the kitchen and leave the kettle on its own the water temperature becomes scalding and boils over.  Complaints boil over from lack of attention.

Another important way to recognize your employees is with rewards for performance.  By listening to them you’ll learn about their focus and interests thereby, tailoring the right rewards program that will engage, motivate, and retain them.

Remember too that your employees are on the front line of your operations and their feedback and experience is very useful for learning about your customers and targeting your business to them. Your employees are your in-house market research department.  Utilize their intelligence, skills, and experience to encourage new ideas and solutions, because ultimately for business success and satisfaction, it should be everybody’s business!

The Faith of Brand

We all want to feel like we belong to give us grounding in this intensely moving world. According the latest neuromarketing research outlined in Martin Lindstrom’s book, “Buy-ology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy”, the same regions of our brains light up when strong feelings about religious faith are reinforced as when we are confronted with familiar strong brands.

He is not suggesting that making your brand buy of Coke or Hefty Bags is the equivalent of a religious experience however, he notes that when we sense that there are too many options and lack of control, we retreat to comfort of something we know and can count on. The rituals of religious practice provide this as does a known brand. Both cut down the cultural clutter to something manageable and can be counted on.

Those of us who work in the motivation, engagement and incentive industries know that a key to success is a well perceived brand as that is what keeps our audience engaged and successful. Through the power of brand comes the desire of recognition within it and it is from this place that rewards should be focused. Recent research by the Incentive Research Foundation, Human Capital Institute and Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement is capturing metrics that demonstrate the power of a culture of recognition.

When a culture of recognition becomes the brand, we allow our audience to feel in control and reinforce the comfort of belonging.

Does Size Matter in Your Reward Programs?

Can the element of surprise motivate individuals more than the size of the reward?  We recently came across this article in Fortune Magazine that suggests that the surprise element can act as a type of dopamine that is activated by unexpected positive results.

For employee recognition programs even top performers who are used to high-end rewards can appreciate a small one if it is unexpected.  The frequency with which you reward is also important to consistently reinforce behavior and increase employee engagement.

So for managers thinking of what is the best way to reward their employees it is not the size of the reward that matters it is the frequency and element of surprise that triggers those motivational juices.

Who Said Engagement is Only About Diamond Rings?

The best way to have a long term marriage between your business and your customer is to never move beyond the engagement period. Keeping your customers engaged in your product and services is the most important thing you can do to keep them coming back again and again.

Customer engagement comes in many forms.  First is just the simple act of listening to your customers. From listening you’ll learn what works and what doesn’t so you can create a better customer experience. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter become a way to maintain an engaged customer relationship.  These venues get up-to-the minute information out there to them about your business and also create a forum for your customers to get the word out about you.

Also, never underestimate the power of rewarding your customers for staying engaged with you. The great cosmetic entrepreneur Estee Lauder came up with what is now the ubiquitous “gift with purchase.” She created this because she realized that offering an incentive to purchase motivates people purchase. When you create incentives for your customers that reward them for their loyalty they remain customers for life.

Customer engagement isn’t about getting down on one knee or opening a box with ring bling, but it is about celebrating the most crucial relationship to your business and that is the one between you and our customer. So let’s raise our glasses and toast to your long engagement.

Is Satisfaction a Control Issue?

This month as we prepared to launch a sales motivation animation on our blog, we had many discussions about why people have been so down and what could be the antidote to their dissatisfaction.

So we asked ourselves, who are the most satisfied? It turns out, according to the Pew Research Center, business owners, retired Americans, students, and the professional class of educated professionals. Surprisingly, income was not the determining factor among this middle class universe. It appears that optimism and control are the keys to personal satisfaction.

A look at the Pew Social Trends site revealed two fascinating studies about human satisfaction.

“America’s Four Middle Classes” defies most social stereotypes of the Middle Class. The Top of the Class leads in income, education and optimism. The Struggling Middle has a lower income than those in who describe themselves on the lowest part of the economic ladder where the American Dream is more dream than reality. The Satisfied Middle is disproportionately young and old, has everything but money, and has a sunny outlook. And then there’s the Anxious Middle with the same economic, social and educational benchmarks as the Top of the Class, yet their outlook is bleak as they feel a lack of control. The variable that affects these groups to feel better about themselves is the ability to have control in their lives.

Another study about the self-employed, “Take this Job and Love It”, revealed that intangible psychological benefits were greater satisfaction drivers than those employed by others. Many behaviors contribute to this psychological lift, but the over arching factor is a belief they can exercise control over their lives.

Optimism. Looking at what can be done, instead of what can’t be done. Pulling your own strings defines satisfaction, and it’s in our control. We are in the incentive industry, so we know that only when a program is achievable and desirable will the audience be satisfied.

Meetings and Incentives Essenital to Company Profits

I just came across this recent study by Oxford Economics on the ROI of Business Travel.  For the purposes of this study business travel includes sales trips, meetings, conventions, and incentive trips.

How many of you in the past year have experienced a cancelation of a key meeting or incentive trip whether it was in your own company or a client of yours?  According to the Oxford Economics study the average business would forfeit 15% of its profits in the first year of eliminating meetings and incentives and recovery from that loss would take up to three years.

That is a significant profit loss.  Is that percentage profit loss something your company or your clients can afford?  Meetings and incentives can be essential to a company's profits and also enhance morale, job performance, and customer engagement.  They recently became an easy cut in the short term to manage costs but are continually proven to be a solid long term investment.

Static Cling Pricing in Your Reward Programs?

Are your reward programs giving you a bad case of static cling when it comes to pricing?

As a consumer you can get information on the availability of desired products at the right place, the right time, and for the right price. As a business professional, why not apply this concept to your merchandise reward programs with dynamic pricing.

Why be stuck to the static cling of Print and PDF reward catalogs. You want to be  sure your programs have reward pricing flexibility and immediate availability of products. On-line reward redemption and dynamic pricing; reward prices that adjust in combination with point valuations will guarantee you fair market value for your reward offering.

Zen & The Art of Customer Engagement

Some rules on customer service…

A customer service agent in a call center has three core tasks to adhere to once they strap on their headset: answer the call, discuss the customer’s issues, and resolve them satisfactorily.  How they execute these actions is what makes the difference in their job and the customer’s take away feeling of engagement from the experience.

Below are five call center agent customer engagement rules:

1. Every person that calls is a blank canvas of impression. Their need may be specific, but how you make them feel is up to you. You’re the ambassador of your company but also of yourself, leave them with a positive experience, it will make you both feel good.
2. This person has a life outside of their call. They have jobs, kids, a refrigerator on the fritz or a hangover left from their 10^th year high school reunion the night before. So always remember that it is another human being on the other end of that phone just like you.
3. People will scream. They’re going to want to let you know in 1,000 different ways why they were wronged and yell about what you need to do to make it right. When confronted with anger, make your tone soft, calm, steady and keep repeating that you will do all you can to help them. When they see you’re not rising to their anger level, they usually calm down and you’ll have a good feeling from diffusing the situation.
4. Be yourself, but your nicest self. Paula Abdul didn’t act like a traditional judge on American Idol but she became popular and endearing by bringing her own spacey, quirky sweetness to the show. By bringing your own brand of humor and compassion to your job, you won’t feel like you left your true self at home, and this ensures that the caller and you can have an enjoyable connection while you’re taking care of them. Having daily pleasant and fun interactions is always a great incentive to show up for work the next day.
5. This work doesn’t save lives but it is a service that makes a difference. When you successfully satisfy a caller the impression is long lasting. This means it’s good for your company and good for you, both professionally and personally.

So let’s face it, these rules can also apply to all our dealings. Be nice, be human, be calm, and create satisfying connections in all that you do. Now excuse me, I have a call coming in.