Being a salesperson is no easy feat. Rejection is an everyday reality, and the pressure to meet sales targets is looming over like a threatening beast. On top of that, marketing Wisdom states that as many as 92% of salespeople quit trying after facing four rejections.
It’s no wonder that staying motivated can be a daunting task for even the most resilient representatives. At the same time, a motivated sales team is a crucial ingredient for any successful business. Motivated sales executives enjoy their work, and perform better, resulting in an improved bottom line.
According to research, sales teams that maintain a positive attitude and motivation are 21% more profitable and 17% more productive. Similarly, salespeople who are highly committed and involved in their work can increase sales by 20%, that simply means better revenue from more engaged team member.
However, attaining this objective is not a simple task. Thus, here are some of the best sales contest ideas you can implement in your office to motivate your sales team.
That’s where sales team engagement and sales motivation come in to keep the sales team on track. One of the primary responsibilities of a sales manager is to ensure that the team stays motivated despite the ever-changing responsibilities and diverse personalities within the group.
But again, keeping the sales team engaged and happy requires more than just telling them a few jokes or offering a few days off.
If you’re finding it difficult to motivate your sales team, nothing to worry about. In this post, we are providing some interesting, engaging, and fun contest ideas to cultivate a work environment that keeps your team inspired and motivated to reach their sales goals.
So, are you ready to unlock your sales team’s full potential and watch your business thrive? Start implementing these ideas today.
There are ample contest ideas to revitalize your sales team's performance. You can customize your choice based on team size, goals, timeline, and budget. Let’s discover 10 highly effective, engaging, and fun contests that inspire sales success.
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Daily Prize
At first glance, holding a daily contest may seem insignificant as the prizes are often small and of little value. However, the true strength of this strategy lies in its ability to keep sales reps consistently engaged.
By providing daily rewards, the lead or sales tracker is reset each day, broadening the possibility of winners and adding to the excitement of the competition. As a result, this idea ensures that reps remain highly motivated, committed, and focused on achieving their goals.
Raffle
Incentivizing short-term goals with a chance to win a grand and enticing prize, a raffle is an excellent sales team engagement strategy to motivate representatives.
To participate, reps are awarded raffle tickets on meeting predetermined sales targets, and the prize draw typically occurs after a prolonged sales period. The key to a successful raffle is to ensure that every participant has a feasible and quantifiable goal, allowing them a fair opportunity to earn a raffle ticket and secure a chance at the grand reward.
Top Salesperson Award
One of the popular contests to motivate the sales team is the standard “Top Salesperson” award. It should be given to the rep who generates the most revenue in sales. However, the measurement doesn’t have to be limited to traditional methods.
Be creative and identify unique achievements, such as the most individual sales, the most “rejections” received, the most customer reviews (good or bad), or the most helpful in training other reps.
Whatever the criteria, the winning sales rep will enjoy having their name and image displayed on the office wall for a whole month, boosting morale and motivation.
Sales Poker
Imagine this- a sales contest that feels like a game! Isn’t it interesting? What do you say?
Each sales rep gets to draw five cards from a deck of 52, but the catch is they have to hit predetermined sales goals to earn each card.
The sales rep with the best poker hand at the end of the contest wins an exciting prize! The best part is that this amazing game of luck levels the playing field, giving every participant a fair chance for winning, regardless of their sales performance.
With this contest, your sales team will be fired up and motivated to achieve their targets and have a chance to win!
Be a Boss For the Day
A popular prize for various contests is the opportunity to become the boss for a day. The winner of such a prize could be given a variety of opportunities, such as taking over the boss’s position for the day, sitting at their desk, leading a meeting and even selecting the location for the next company lunch.
Imagine the joy the winner would feel all day long when they hear their colleagues address them as “Boss.” It would be a unique and exciting experience for them to take charge and make decisions that will impact the workplace.
They could bring new ideas to the table, and motivate their co-workers. This sales engagement strategy is a way to show appreciation for hard work and inspire others to take ownership of their roles in the company.
Scavenger Hunt
A scavenger hunt is an excellent way to reignite your team’s passion for sales and encourage them to strive for success. If you are looking for a fun and engaging way to break up the monotony of everyday work and recognize your sales team’s achievements, go for this sales contest idea.
Compile a list of various targets to challenge your reps to complete their scavenger hunt. The list can include goals such as breaking into a new sales territory, achieving a particular number of upsells or closing a deal of a specific size.
The first salesperson to complete all the objectives on the list will be declared the winner, but it’s important to recognize and acknowledge the efforts of everyone along the way.
Lead generation sales contest
This competition is an effective way to motivate the sales team to push their limits and compete to achieve the highest number of successful conversions.
In this game, every sales representative will get an equal number of leads randomly. The goal is to convert as many leads as possible into sales within a specified timeframe. At the end of the competition, the salesperson or team with the highest number of successful conversions wins the prize. It encourages healthy competition among team members and helps to foster a results-oriented culture that drives sales growth for the company.
Bingo
Get ready to play Bingo with a twist, because, in this game, each square on your card is not just a random number, but a unique sales goal that will challenge you to push your limits and achieve success.
I know this traditional game surely brings a sense of excitement and fun. In the sales context, the game combines both skill and luck, as sales reps need to have the skills to meet the sales targets on each square, but also require luck to get them in the right sequence.
As sales reps achieve each of the sales goals, they can mark off the corresponding square on their bingo card. The first person to complete a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line on their card wins the game.
Time Reward
Want to spice up your sales contests with a highly motivating and enjoyable incentive?
Consider offering the reward of time off, which can really boost your sales reps’ competitiveness. This type of reward is effective especially near the end of a sales cycle, as it encourages sales reps to close deals they may have been holding onto for the next period.
You could offer enticing rewards like leaving early on a Friday, arriving late on a slow day, or even a paid day off as the grand prize.
Rejection to Win
Do your sales reps feel discouraged after hearing too many “No’s”? Don’t worry! Make it motivating for them with this interesting, fun sales contest idea.
Try turning rejection into a win by injecting some fun and positivity into your team’s sales efforts using this creative game!
The objective is to measure the number of rejections each rep receives over a set period of time, whether it’s a day, a week, or even a month. At the end of the contest, reward the rep who accumulated the highest number of “no’s”.
This competition provides a refreshing perspective in a profession where rejection is often viewed as a failure. Recognizing reps’ efforts rather than outcomes can motivate sellers to persevere and follow up with potential customers.
Motivating your sales team with engaging contests is a great way to boost their performance. To further enhance their productivity, you can also leverage sales engagement platform such as SendBuzz. These tools can empower your team to conduct outreach and follow-up efforts more efficiently and effectively, resulting in increased revenue and business growth.
Final Thoughts
Sales contest ideas can be a great way to motivate your sales team and encourage healthy competition. This will positively effect your sales report. By incorporating creative and engaging game ideas, you can inspire your sales reps to work harder and achieve better results. Healthy competition in the team and office will help the organization in the long run.
However, it's important to also provide your team with the necessary resources and tools to support their efforts. By combining the power of gamification with the right tools, you can create a winning strategy that drives revenue growth and success for your business.