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FEATURESTORY

Supporting Those Who Support Sales

Adding “carrots” to a solid foundation of sales management speeds up results

by Paul Nolan

In many ways, sales support is the equivalent of the offensive line in football. Other people rack up impressive numbers while they do the dirty work that makes much of it possible.

Ken Weinstein understands this and, beginning last year, insisted that sales support workers at Honeywell Security and Custom Electronics be included in the company's incentive programs. Initially, only the division's 40 or so salespeople were eligible to participate. Last year, approximately 200 non-sales employees were added to the mix.

“If everybody is working toward achieving our operating plan, then everybody should be part of [the reward program],” says Weinstein, Vice President of Program Marketing. If the division reaches its monthly sales targets, the support team is recognized along with the sales team.

“They love being involved. They are touching the customers all of the time and they don't feel left out of being able to earn an award,” Weinstein says.

Sometimes that award is points that can be saved and redeemed for merchandise, but often it's a gift card for a restaurant or specialty retailer. Gift cards ensure that the recipient won't pay bills with the reward. “I don't think cash is a good incentive. That's what they earn every day,” Weinstein says. “It doesn't have to be a huge price point. The recognition is the most important thing. When you send them to dinner, they feel good about it for a long time.”

What's more, gift cards are an ideal vehicle for spontaneous recognition — a handy “thank-you” when someone is caught in the act of going above and beyond their job responsibilities. That's something that is not done enough in today's workplace, says Adrian Gostick of recognition consultant O.C. Tanner Co.

In their book The Carrot Principle, Gostick and co-author Chester Elton report that a recent Gallup Poll found that 65 percent of Americans received no praise or recognition in the workplace in the past year. “It's an abysmal statistic, most likely brought on because so few organizations give their managers the tools and training they need to provide recognition to their people,” the authors state.

Honeywell also makes ample use of affordable branded merchandise like apparel, mugs, toys and workplace accessories to promote the incentive programs and keep employees engaged.

Pepper Fernandez, Director of Operations at Solutionz Conferencing, is another manager who has “seen the light” regarding recognizing non-sales support staff. Solutionz broadened its incentive program to include non-sales personnel last summer. “I personally believe that incentives work more with non-sales workers than with commissioned salespeople,” Fernandez says. “The first [non-sales person] who earned something from my team was so shocked it made his quarter!”

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See also in the article:  The Accelerator

Accelerate Excellence

Supporting Those Who Support Sales

Conferencing Equipment Manufacturer Makes Noise With Non-Cash Incentives

Hold On To Top Sellers

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