Christmas is a wonderful time of year, however, for businesses it can be rather slow. Some leads are thinking more about the end of the year than they are of the next year. This can be a hard time for sales teams as they struggle to find leads willing to be closed. Which inevitably leads to a slump in sales, that can prevent you and your teams reaching business goals.

That is unless you find other ways to motivate your team. And with a Christmas theme, you can do just that.

Having a few festive fun ideas in your commission structure is a great way to keep things fresh in the office. It can act as an additional motivator, talking point and builds team cohesion. So, here are a few festive commission ideas that you can use to motivate your team.

Secret Santa commissions

Set specific sales performance goals that reward team members with a special Secret Santa commission. This is an envelope that contains a secret bonus that is unknown until the winning team member opens it. The surprise could be anything from a £10 shopping voucher to a two-hour Christmas shopping lunchtime session.

If you can make them fun, then you are more likely to get buy-in from the team and possibly even a few laughs.

The Christmas jingle

Festive commissions don’t have to only be financially motivated. Instead, you could offer team members the choice of the next few songs to be played in the office when they meet set sales goals. Music can be a great motivator and many Christmas tunes are jolly and have an uplifting presence about them.

Visualise the month’s sales performance management

Sometimes people need visual cues to get them motivated during the winter months.

You can do this through some very simple drawings. Have a line that represents a journey on a wall, at one end put Santa’s grotto and at the other put a house. Everyone has a picture of Santa that can be moved across the wall.

Now you can either move the Santa as the days progress and add presents into their sleigh drawing to represent the sales. Either way is good to represent a story of their sales, and add a little festive fun at the same time.

Imagination is your only barrier

Christmas is a great time to add a little festivity into your commissions. By adding bonuses to the financial ones you already offer, you can motivate your team and add a little joy into the office.

What is also good, is that the options above can be customised to fit any holiday time. Santa across the wall could become a plane going on holiday!

The sales commission dashboard is fast becoming the most popular way to track and analyse sales. The benefits this little tool can bring to your business far outweigh the time it takes to implement. More importantly, when using a sales dashboard, teams report better workflow and a more knowledgeable approach to sales.

Will it work for you? The following are the most impactful benefits that come with using a sales commission dashboard.

On the spot analysis

Analysis is a great way to move your sales strategy forward. It is essential to a good business plan. Whether you are a team leader or a CEO, you will come to rely on it when decision-making. But analysis usually takes time, creating a gap in the flow between the data and your company’s reaction. This gap costs you profit: sales dip and your commission staff drag their feet. A sales commission dashboard solves this problem. Because it offers real-time analysis of commission, sales and staff performance, your company’s reaction to changing sales will be lightning-fast and the best it’s ever been.

Comprehensive management

Performance management is key to a sales company running on commission. Sales data can vary wildly between staff, with down-turns quickly snowballing. Therefore, it is key that you keep tabs on how your sales team is performing. The sales commission dashboard is an excellent way to compare the sales contributions of individual staff. It allows you to react quickly to a dip in sales performance and buoys up your sales data. More than this, it allows you to respond to high sales performances quickly, which is encouraging for sales teams. This results in a virtuous circle of positive competition, and better sales.

Optimising your forecasting data

Forecasting is ever-present in every sales meeting. The sales commission dashboard is an easy way to sift data, move analysis forward, and present a persuasive set of forecasts to the team. It is necessary in providing an easy guide to future sales techniques, and in setting meaningful goals for your team.

Every sales team has the same general goal – sell more.

Consistent monitoring of sales performance is the simplest way of checking that you’re on track to achieving constant positive performance. But it is important to note that setting the right goals will empower your team, keep the budget on track, and grow your profits. While setting the wrong goals can quickly derail necessary progress.

So how can you set sales goals the right way? What kind of benefits can you expect? Let’s take a look at how to set goals that will truly grow your business.

Break down your sales goals

Bigger goals can always be broken down into smaller tasks. This makes it easier to stay on target. First, calculate your annual or monthly sales goal. Use this amount to work backwards, to create smaller targets for each week. Seasonal differences and other predictable fluctuations should be taken into account. This includes the time it takes to train a new employee, or a reasonable amount of time to “ramp up” to new targets to maintain productivity and motivation.

Working backwards from your target also helps you look at what activities are involved to reach your goals. For example, if on average you need to speak to 10 leads for each sale, that determines both a skill benchmark (converting 1 out of 10 calls) and a booking benchmark (at least 10 a day to make 1 sale).

Set sales goals the SMART way

You’ve probably heard of SMART goals, but are you implementing them? This popular acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. When you’re determining how to set sales goals, SMART is an essential strategy to implement. SMART goals, especially when staff are able to see how they tie directly into their commission, make a team easier to manage.

You should be cognizant of common mistakes when setting sales goals too. Being clear on the targets and tasks required will set your sales team and business, up for success.

To help you reach your goals, Commissionly’s straightforward solution to commissions makes it easy to manage and motivate your sales force. Learn more about how you could use Commissionly to reduce the time spent managing your team, increase productivity, and spot key insights to strategically plan for your future.

It happens to everyone at some point, no matter how you create sales goals, there is a period when sales performance drops. When this happens, there can be a loss of morale, which can further hamper efforts to recover performance and return to winning ways. In the long term, this can seriously affect the business’ profitability.

So, how can you help a team (member) recover from a sales performance slump? Here are some solutions.

1. Understand why the sales performance slump happened

The first thing that you need to do is understand why there has been a sales performance drop. It could be due to frequent illnesses recently or taking a holiday, or something that is related to industry performance. Sales commission software should be able to identify trends and/or changes in sales performance.

Other factors may be the addition of a new sales process and staff have struggled to close prospective clients. This is often the case when new processes are implemented, as staff take time to align their work behaviour to the new processes.

2. Resolve issues

Once you’ve found the reasons for the sales slump you can take action to resolve the issue. If, for instance, you’ve noticed that a staff member has taken a lot of time off because of illness, then you can look for ways to assist them in getting them back to work.

Or, if there is a problem with a new sales process that is hindering the close of sales, you can look at ways to improve said sales process.

3. Create sales goals to inspire people to improve

The next step is to inspire your staff when you create sales goals for the next sales period. You should always create sales goals that slightly increase the performance from the bad sales period. For instance, if they sold only once in that period, then increase it to two in the next period.

It is important that you don’t increase your expectations too much. This can be a stressor for staff and could continue the trend of poor results. Instead, smaller, sustainable (but higher) sales goal can result in happier staff who will perform better.

So when a team, or just one person, suffers from a sales performance drop, you need to act to ensure that they recover. This is done through careful management, analysis and taking time to create sales goals that will help teams grow in confidence to recover.

Commissionly is a leading sales commission software service that can assist you. If you want to find out more information about how we can help you to reward your staff, contact us now.

When you sit down to develop your staff bonus structures, you often think about how you can create sales goals. However, it isn’t just sales commission that is important for the performance of your staff. There are other bonuses that you can give to help motivate and grow your business.

Offering rewards for responsibilities, other than sales, makes team members think more about their work. They will endeavour to improve their behaviour and perform at a higher standard.

Your compensation software can reward bonuses in the following areas.

Training bonus

Knowledge is power and you can easily add in a training bonus to your compensation software. Staff enjoy the process of learning new skills and research has found that by offering educational opportunities to your staff, you can improve loyalty to your organisation.

Rewards can be given for successfully completing courses as well as an additional bonus for getting a high score in the course. The bonus can be manually added to their monthly pay by a manager.

Customer service award

Attracting a customer and making a sale is one thing, but the next step is to make sure that their expectations are exceeded. Customers who are happy will remain loyal to your business and buy from you time and time again. This makes them a more valuable customer.

If your customers rate your services highly, then your sales team have obviously set the expectations at the right level and should be rewarded. This can be done on a recurring commission basis, or it could be done via a special one-off payment.

Time served bonus

Too many employees are leaving organisations after short periods of employment, sometimes within a year. There’s a high cost to bringing in new employees and could also impact your organisation’s potential sales.

One way to encourage staff to remain with your company is to offer a bonus for time served in your organisation. Good milestones to consider rewarding include one year, two years, three years, five years or even ten years.

Keep in mind that bonuses don’t have to be kept for commissions only. Rewarding staff for a variety of responsibilities can improve morale throughout the organisation and lead to better performance when it comes to sales. Other bonuses can also help increase employee retention which will lower staffing costs and likely increase profits.

It’s tempting to push your sales team to the limit, with attractive commission structures. If your employees are money-driven, they will undoubtedly work relentlessly towards the target. Yet you must be careful of burnout.

Nobody can give 120% 24/7. If they do they will likely achieve some impressive results at the start but before long, they will burn out and may even need time off.

So how can you set goals which challenge your sales team without over-working them?

Form practical plans

If you’re wondering how to set sales goals, the first step is checking that targets are realistically achievable during working hours. By signing off on sales goals that you know require more time than the employee has in a day, means you’re agreeing to let them work overtime and potentially run into trouble later.

Encourage time out

If a manager encourages their team to take time out, they will feel it’s ok to have other commitments in life. If an employee always sees a manager working late, they will believe that’s what’s expected of them too.

If you see someone in the office or online after working hours, make sure they know that they should leave work to office hours unless it’s a rare, once-off.

Reward your team

This also shows your sales team that working life isn’t all about sales targets and working all day, every hour under the sun.

Organising regular activities or nights out shows your team you recognise their hard work and it’s time to let loose and do something different.

Make use of your sales commission software

With easy-to-use, well-priced sales commission software, you can monitor targets constantly with individual employees. Ask their opinion on how they feel the month is going. If they are worried about their sales targets then work out a plan together to tackle this.

To find out more about how sales commission software can benefit your sales team, get in touch with Commissionly.

Some businesses don’t offer their employees individual sales-based targets. Instead, they create sales goals based on a team’s performance. When the team reaches the goal, they all get rewarded. But if the team fails, no-one gets any compensation.

There are some advantages and disadvantages to this strategy. What are these and can you benefit from that strategy? Or should you stick to creating sales goals based on the individual’s performance?

Teams can work better together

When you set team goals, you are building a working culture which is more integrated. This allows your team to work off each other’s strengths and weaknesses more naturally. It also improves your team’s level of engagement and general morale. Businesses that employ this strategy notice that it can improve productivity.

Team goals also allow for larger rewards that salespeople can work towards. This can result in a bigger sense of accomplishment when goals have been achieved. Plus, team members will find that achieving those goals means more to them.

Added to this, goals for a team creates more flexibility as there are more paths to success. Staff aren’t micromanaged and so can choose who completes what parts of the sales process, based on their expertise, strengths and other aspects. The more paths there are to succeed, the higher the chance the team will do well, which gives an overall morale boost.

Team goals have the potential to reduce sales success

There are some aspects of a team-based sales goal that aren’t positive.

There is the possibility that at times some team members may not pull their weight and others could feel that their hard work is benefiting those who are less conscientious. This can cause friction within the team and conflict might arise. And if one person isn’t contributing to the team, it poses the possibility of reduced success.

Compensation management can be a challenge, especially when you have new members of staff starting, or staff leaving the organisation. Or, you could have issues if a team member has been ill or on holiday during the target period. If they contributed to just part of the month do they get the full reward or part of the reward? It can be hard to know how much of their participation has contributed to the success of the team. After all, not all contributions are accurate.

Also, setting individual goals, rather than team goals, gives the team members no excuses and greater accountability for their own performance. Due to the fact that it creates a competitive environment that can push staff productivity which can reach higher sales goals.

So while some businesses create sales goals based on team performance, it is not a strategy that ensures success for all businesses. In fact, most businesses will probably find that individually set sales goals would be better, with some form of additional minor team goals.

How effective are you when it comes to sales performance management? To be an effective sales manager, you need to do more than just monitor your team’s performance. You need to inspire them to go the extra mile and close deals daily. Here are 7 habits of effective sales managers:

1. They lead by example

How do you contribute to the success of your team? If you want to take your team’s performance up a level, you need to be part of the action. Effective sales managers don’t give orders from behind a desk — they show their team how it’s done.

2. They know how to calculate sales targets

How realistic are your sales targets? Are they achievable? Are they ambitious? Your sales targets need to push your team, but they also need to be within reach. This is a delicate balance and should be the driving force behind your sales performance management.

3. They’re smart about sales performance management

Sales performance management isn’t a box-ticking exercise. When it’s done right, it provides a framework to motivate each member of your team to success. Effective sales managers know this, and dedicate time to getting it right.

4. They’re flexible with their sales team

Each member of your team has something to contribute. Effective sales managers give their team some flexibility in their approach, enabling them to bring their own strengths to the table.

5. They take responsibility for both success and failure

How accountable are you? Effective sales managers know they are ultimately responsible for the results of their team. Not getting the sales you need? Start by looking at your own performance.

6. They use sales commission software

Sales performance management is a time-consuming process. Effective sales managers don’t have time to calculate commission manually each month. Instead, sales commission software is used to automate the task.

7. They create an inspirational working environment

Finally, effective sales managers work hard every day to create a working environment that inspires their team to take action. One that prioritises collaboration, communication and friendly competition.

Which of these habits can you implement today?

There are more variables at stake in sales than just your company, your products and your prices. Many of these variables are actually essential to success, but vastly unappreciated by most sales teams. Here are the five essentials that will help you close more deals than ever before.

1. Hard work

Hard work is key to success in sales. Not just showing up at work, but being willing to outwork your competition. That means working hard on really understanding the product that you are selling, and working hard at getting to know your clients. If you are prepared to give your work your full focus and attention, you will see results.

2. Study to improve

Statistics suggest that if you read even one sales book, you will have studied more about your line of work than most of your competitors. Furthermore, you can make yourself stand out as an industry expert and trusted advisor by keeping up with current information on prospective clients.

3. Be persistent

Persistence can sometimes be the key to getting your foot in the door with a prospective client. If you are disciplined, varied and sensitive about your approach, over time, a prospective client is likely to give you the opportunity to pitch to them.

4. Communicate (in the right way)

Many people believe that email alone is an effective medium of communication, which is a big mistake. Face-to-face meetings or video conferences are much more powerful mediums of communication, as the prospective client can get a better sense of whether they want to build a business relationship with you.

5. Have the right backing

If you are not in a decision-making position, make sure that you have the backing of someone who can go forward with decisions before lining up the deal with the prospective client. Nothing is more likely to derail a deal than having to stall, while you try to get hold of someone who can actually give the go ahead.

At Commissionly, we’re really proud of our cloud-based commission software, so much so that we’d love you to try before you buy! To book your free, no obligation 14 day trial, contact our friendly team today.

On the ground level, your sales teams are the ones who keep the organisation running by driving sales to generate income. While some managers may argue against sales commissions and incentives, they are actually important in motivating your team to ensure they are doing their best to earn you revenue.

An organisation that has high revenues from sales is able to meet its goals of expansion since its products achieve their intended purposes. In order to achieve high sales, your sales team have to work extra hard since competition in the current digital age is not easy to overcome.

Below are some reasons why compensating your sales team is important in driving your sales.

1. Motivation drives commitment

A sales job is no easy task. If you understand this as a manager, you will appreciate the struggle your sales team goes through to bring in customers. Sales representatives approach a lot of potential customers daily. Out of these interactions, less than half end up making a purchase. In this highly frustrating job, any kind of motivation goes a long way in boosting sales representatives’ morale.

Since different types of people have different things that motivate them, using a sales compensation software will enable you to identify the best incentives to offer your sales team to achieve the best possible results.

2. They help to identify areas with problems

When sales representatives are allocated commissions, based on their sales, they will be more motivated to do their best. When lower revenue is experienced, it becomes the responsibility of managers to look for other factors influencing the decrease, as they can be sure that their sales team have done their best. Such influencers could be due to a lack of proper training, or the need for product improvement and possibly even a need for better deals.

3. Commissions foster friendly competition

In a firm with a sales team, commissions will give the team members competitive incentives and this will foster friendly competition. The friendly competition aids in collaboration as all team members have the mutual objective of making more sales. While at the same time they will be trying to raise their personal sales goals, to lead the pack. The organisation will profit from higher sales due to collaboration and competition.

4. Incentives bear both short and long-term positive outcomes

While incentives motivate the sales team to score more sales in the short run, they also have the long-term effects of creating long-term relationships with clients, helping with contract renewals and also assisting the company to break into new markets. The sales commission software helps achieve the above outcome which helps the organisation to be more profitable in the long-run.

With the above benefits of sales team motivation through commissions, you will be able to create a more energetic team that is guaranteed to give positive results. For the best sales compensation software to assist you in giving your sales team and customer incentives, feel free to browse our website for the best deals and tips.