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FEATURESTORY
Conferencing
Equipment Manufacturer Makes Noise With Non-Cash Incentives
Pepper Fernandez is quick to tout the benefits of using non-cash incentives to drive performance, and equally quick to credit a longtime business partner for its significant role in putting their incentive program in place.
Polycom Inc., a leading manufacturer of audio and video conferencing systems, enlisted Solutionz Conferencing as an authorized reseller 2 1/2 years ago. Polycom, which sells its equipment mostly through resellers and channel partners like Solutionz, has been a longtime user of non-cash incentives as a means to get these business partners to push Polycom products over competitive brands.
More than 1,000 salespeople currently participate in the Polycom Awards Your Success (PAYS) program, according to Victor Goodrum, Senior Channel Programs Manager for Polycom. Reps earn points based on the amount of Polycom products they sell. They redeem the points for merchandise that is showcased online. The PAYS program is administered by BI, a performance improvement consultant based in Minneapolis.
While many sales managers continue to adhere to a “show them the money” approach to driving performance, Goodrum says non-cash incentives have built-in
advantages that have served him well for more than a decade.
“We get more mindshare when we use non-cash rewards. One of the goals that we want is to not only affect the sales rep, but to affect that rep's family,” he admits. “We want everybody in the house pushing that sales rep to go out and sell Polycom so they can use those points for things that they may not normally buy for themselves.”
The results, he says, are nothing short of phenomenal. “We've got sales reps earning golf clubs, 50-inch flat-panel screens and motorcycles – and they love it! They absolutely love it!”
In 2005, Polycom stirred up excitement in its fourth quarter by adding a contest to go to the Super Bowl. Last year, a similar program was held for top reps to earn a trip to this spring's Indianapolis 500. The PAYS program overall, and these fourth-quarter specials specifically, produce “huge blips.” Goodrum says the PAYS program also helps the company recruit new resellers.
“The program has a significant ROI for us,” he says. “We've consistently seen an increase in reward claims, as well as an increase of 10 to 30 new participants each month. The revenue to Polycom that we can directly attribute to this program is huge.”
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See also in the article: The Accelerator
Supporting Those Who Support Sales
Conferencing Equipment Manufacturer Makes Noise With Non-Cash Incentives
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