In the past few years, manufacturing organizations have increased the use of incentive programs to try and keep audiences engaged and loyal. Rebates and cash only go so far to motivate all roles inside your indirect channel and can be increasingly difficult to manage well with inventory, supply chain and suppliers in flux.
Manufacturing incentive programs are a great place to start. Understanding what type of rewards and incentives motivate sales reps to sell a manufacturer’s product is key.
New research shows how to build effective manufacturing incentive programs
We wanted to get to the bottom of current sales rep motivations to help answer our clients’ common questions and comments like:
- “What’s going to motivate my reps to sell more?
- “How can I best reward sales reps?”
- “They only want cash.”
To better understand evolving sales incentive programs and what motivates partners, we commissioned CMB to survey distributor and manufacturer sales reps participating in at least one sales incentive program.
The results gave clear insight into what reps actually want from a sales incentive program.
Related: Want to get to the research’s key findings right away? Watch the webinar.
Responses from manufacturing sales reps reveal exactly what motivates them to participate
When asked what incentives would motivate them to increase sales frequency, manufacturer and distributor sales reps showed distinct preferences. These insights can help tailor incentive programs to maximize engagement and performance.
Manufacturer sales rep top 3- Experiential rewards
- Reloadable or one-time use cash cards
- Group incentive travel
| Distributor sales rep top 3- Rebates and discounts
- Benefit plans
- Individual travel
|
These preferences highlight the importance of segmenting incentive programs based on roles and company types. Manufacturer reps seem to value experiences and team-building opportunities, while distributor reps prioritize immediate financial benefits and individual rewards.
The transition away from cash-only incentive programs
For manufacturers thinking about shifting to a mix of monetary and nonmonetary rewards, you’ve now got evidence to move forward.
And if you weren’t considering a shift in your distributor incentive program, it might be time to re-evaluate if cash is effectively motivating your sales reps.
Either way, making a massive shift all at once can be overwhelming for the channel. That’s why we recommend a strategic transition.
Related: Discover the 7 steps to transition from cash to nonmonetary incentives.
Diverse rewards and incentives build stronger sales rep motivation
To maximize the impact of your sales incentive program, consider offering a mix of rewards and incentives, allowing sales reps to choose options that resonate most with their personal motivations and career goals.
Participants want power of choice. And understandably so. They’ve worked hard to achieve the awards, but the program falls flat if the awards don’t appeal to participants’ unique interests and needs.
You’ve got to have something for everyone. Giving program participants choices increases motivation. Plus, the program’s more likely to generate higher brand loyalty due to participants feeling like they’re working with an organization that truly understands them.
Related: Find incentive program inspiration by looking at award examples and distributor program best practices.
Our experts recommend implementing a points-based incentive program with a diverse reward catalog. This approach allows participants to earn points and redeem them for meaningful rewards, such as merchandise, branded swag, individual travel experiences or even specialized tools. We’ve seen firsthand how it gets meaningful results. One of our clients, a Fortune 500 manufacturer, changed to a points-based incentive program and it achieved a 24:1 ROI since its first year.
Next steps for improving your rewards and incentives
If you want to dig deeper into the research’s findings and our experts’ analysis, you can access the full report, “Effective incentive programs for sales reps: Research-backed insights to optimize manufacturer’s programs.” It breaks down the results into important categories like what motivates program participation, what drives engagement and what challenges get in the way of incentive program success.
But the research is only the beginning. Now it’s time to use those insights to actively build (or improve) your manufacturing incentive program. If you’re not sure how to apply the findings to your own program, talk to one of our experts for actionable next steps!