Top 5 Tips for a Successful Employee Sales Promotion
For financial services companies, branch and retail locations represent some of the best opportunities for employees to interact with customers. And these interactions provide the perfect opening for cross-selling additional products and services.
But, in order for the branch to be a successful sales channel, financial services brands must have employees who are both trained and motivated to sell. One of the best ways Media Logic has seen to drive cross-sell is the use of employee sales promotions. These programs can have a variety of different structures, from straight sales incentives (sell this, get that) to sweepstakes (sell this for a chance to win that), but they all aim to encourage employees to use customer interactions as opportunity to help increase sales.
So what makes for a successful employee promotion? Here are five tips that every financial brand should remember:
1. Keep it simple.
You want to go for the “Oh!” not the “Huh?” factor. It should be very clear to employees what product you want them to sell and what’s in it for them.
2. Offer prizes that are unique and believable.
For sweepstakes promotions, the “once-in-a-lifetime” grand prize can be a great hook for generating interest, but some employees might feel it is unattainable. Adding multiple, lower-value secondary prizes expands the number of winners and feels more attainable.
3. Communicate, communicate, communicate.
Leverage the channels that you have available and get the word out about the promotion:
- before it starts to garner interest early,
- at kick-off to create a sense of excitement and
- mid-way through to keep momentum high.
4. Don’t forget to educate.
While you have an engaged and motivated workforce, use the opportunity to train employees on the features and benefits of the product that you want them to sell. The more knowledgeable they are about the product, the easier it will be for them to talk to customers.
5. Be legally compliant.
Avoid risk and ensure your promotion is legal by working with a qualified sweepstakes administrator.
Media Logic has worked with several clients over the last 10 years to launch employee promotions and drive sales for a variety of products and services. For a few of our clients, these programs have become cornerstones of their marketing acquisition efforts. But regardless of the size and scope of the undertaking, we’ve found that these fundamental best practices have help contribute to the overall success.
