How A Gamification Sales Contest Done Right Can Skyrocket Your Results
Are you looking for a way to energize your sales team and drive better results? Look no further than gamified sales contests. By using the principles of game design to create a fun and competitive atmosphere, you can motivate your salespeople to achieve new heights of productivity and success.
In this article, we'll cover everything you need to know to master gamification in sales contests and create a successful competition. From setting goals to choosing rewards, we'll guide you through the process step by step.
Why Use Gamification in Sales?
Before we dive into the specifics of gamification sales contests, let's take a moment to discuss why gamification is such a powerful tool in the world of sales.
First and foremost, gamification is all about motivation. By tapping into our natural desire to compete, achieve, and win, gamification creates an environment that inspires us to do our best work. It's a way to make work fun and engaging, which is especially important in the high-stress world of sales.
Gamification also provides a clear sense of progress and achievement. By breaking down big goals into smaller, more achievable milestones, gamification helps salespeople see the progress they're making and stay motivated to keep pushing forward.
Finally, gamification is highly customizable. Whether you're looking to improve specific metrics like call volume or revenue, or you're simply trying to create a more positive and engaged sales culture, gamification can be tailored to your specific needs and goals.
Setting Goals For Your Sales Contest
The first step in creating a successful gamification sales contest is to set clear, measurable goals. Start by identifying the specific metrics you want to improve, such as sales revenue, new customer acquisition, or lead conversion rates.
Once you've identified your goals, break them down into smaller, achievable targets. For example, if your goal is to increase revenue, you might set a target of 10% growth over the next quarter. Alternatively, if you're looking to expand your customer base, you might set a target for the number of new customers acquired over a certain period of time.
Breaking down your goals into smaller, achievable targets is also key. This helps your sales team see the progress they're making and stay motivated to keep pushing forward. It's important to communicate these smaller targets to your sales team regularly, so they can track their progress and make adjustments if necessary.
Finally, consider setting stretch goals to challenge your sales team even further. These should be goals that are difficult but still achievable with extra effort and focus. By setting stretch goals, you can push your sales team to reach new levels of performance and drive even better results for your business. You can apply any of these goals to individual reps, groups, or an aggregated goal for your entire team. Usually a mix is best.
Choosing The Right Rewards
Next, you'll need to choose the right rewards to motivate your sales team. The key here is to choose rewards that are meaningful and desirable to your salespeople, while also aligning with your overall business objectives.
Common rewards for gamification sales contests include:
- Cash bonuses
- Gift cards
- Paid time off
- Special recognition or awards
- Access to exclusive events or training
However, the best rewards are ones that your salespeople truly value and that align with your overall goals for the contest. For more creative ideas, see our recent post where we outline some unexpected sales rewards including Sports Car Weekend, Butler Boss, and Celebrity Surprise.
Designing The Gamification Of Your Sales Contest
With your goals and rewards in mind, it's time to design the mechanics of your gamified sales contest. Let's start with some quick tips:
- Keep it simple: Make sure the rules and objectives of the contest are easy to understand and follow.
- Use visuals: Incorporate visuals like leaderboards, matchups, achievements, and progress bars to make the contest more engaging and rewarding.
- Focus on progress: Encourage salespeople to focus on progress and improvement, not just winning. This will keep everyone motivated throughout the contest, even if they're not in the lead.
- Use multiple levels of competition: Go beyond basic leaderboards with multiple levels of incentives and rewards. There are far more opportunities to reward performance than a winner of a weekly leaderboard.
- Make it social: Encourage friendly competition and collaboration by creating teams or pairs of salespeople to work together.
- Monitor progress: Keep track of the results and provide regular updates to the team to keep everyone engaged and motivated.
Carefully consider the game mechanics you'll use to make the contest fun and engaging. For example, you might use a points system where sales reps earn points for each sale they make or each target they hit. You could start with creating a basic leaderboard to display the top performers and encourage friendly competition among your sales team. But this will only take you so far. See our recent post on leveling up sales leaderboards to learn more.
Another important element to consider is the duration of your contest. You'll want to choose a timeframe that is long enough for your sales team to achieve meaningful results, but not so long that it becomes tedious or loses its impact. Although for a single contest a few weeks to a month is a good duration, a better approach is to implement multiple tiers of competition varying in length, from the daily challenge all the way up to the quarterly or yearly sales championship.
Finally, think about how you'll track and measure progress throughout the contest. Consider using a sales tracking system or CRM software to monitor sales activity and keep track of who's winning the contest. This not only helps you keep score, but also allows you to more easily provide feedback and support to your sales team as needed and in a way that scales.
With thoughtfully implemented game mechanics such as these that match up well with the personality of your team culture, you can join other companies who have made significant gains such as a 106% increase in sales, 50% productivity boost, 66% decrease in stress levels, and more as detailed in our recent gamification statistics article: 25+ Key Sales Gamification Statistics You Need To Know In 2023.
Conclusion
Properly gamified sales contests are a powerful tool for motivating your sales team and driving better results. By setting clear goals, choosing meaningful rewards, and designing a contest that is engaging and fun, you can create an environment that inspires your salespeople to achieve new heights of productivity and success.
Remember, the key to a successful gamification sales contest is to keep it simple, focus on progress and improvement, and choose rewards that are meaningful and align with your business objectives. With these tips in mind, you'll be well on your way to creating a fun and engaging sales environment that inspires your team to do their best work.
So what are you waiting for? Start planning your gamification sales contest today and see how it can skyrocket your sales performance!
Outfield is pioneering performance-based CRM with the industry's leading sales gamification software. Learn how our modern approach boosts output up to 3x.
SalesGamificationBusinessContests