In the competitive world of distribution, increasing penetration rates and driving add-on sales isn’t just about having a great product—it’s about embedding that product into the sales process and staying top of mind with the people who influence the sale: distribution partners, channel sales staff, retail floor staff, store managers, and multi-store owners.
In today’s fast-paced market, finding innovative ways to drive sales is critical. Trade promotions offer the perfect solution to not only boost revenue but also motivate your sales team. Let’s explore how these five ideas can transform your sales game.
1. Channel Staff Commissions: Bonus Amounts That Motivate
What It Is:
Channel staff commissions offer a straightforward incentive model where external sales staff earn a bonus amount per sale beyond the normal business commission.
How It Drives Sales:
This simple, transparent approach aligns incentives with your business goals, ensuring that every sale directly translates into a reward. It removes ambiguity—a sale is a sale, and the reward is guaranteed, which motivates your partners to push your product consistently.
Example:
$250 Gift Card per contract sold on a specific product sent per sale.
2. SPIVs (Sales Performance Incentive Vehicles) for Distribution Partner Staff
What It Is:
SPIVs are designed to reward top-performing individuals or teams. By focusing on specific sales targets, you can encourage healthy competition and instil a performance-oriented culture.
How It Drives Sales:
By recognising and rewarding excellence, SPIVs create an environment where every team member is striving to outperform. This targeted praise fosters both loyalty and higher performance levels, making it clear that exceptional results are celebrated.
Example:
Great in retail where a $5 SPIV can be accumulated monthly & paid directly to the Salesperson as a Gift Card bonus.
3. Sprints: Monthly Goals for Quick Wins
What It Is:
Sprints are short, focused campaigns set on a monthly basis that target key performance indicators such as sign-ups or sales targets.
How It Drives Sales:
Setting clear, time-bound objectives creates a sense of urgency. When your team knows there’s a reward at the end of a sprint—whether it’s an extra bonus or instant recognition—they’re more likely to push hard to meet these targets. This fosters immediate results while keeping longer-term goals in view.
Example:
Budget $10,000 in add on product sales – Every achiever over budget is rewarded with $200 Gift Card
4. League Ladders: Gamify Long-Term Performance
What It Is:
League ladders involve maintaining an ongoing leaderboard that ranks sales teams or individuals based on their performance over an extended period.
How It Drives Sales:
By publicly showcasing the top performers, league ladders not only provide recognition but also motivate everyone to climb the ranks. Offering major prizes at the top of the leaderboard adds a competitive edge that keeps your team consistently engaged—and always aiming for that first-place spot.
Example:
Top 5 monthly leaders on sales = each receive $100 Gift Cards.
5. Weekly Prizes: Consistency That Counts
What It Is:
Weekly prizes offer incentives on a short-term basis by measuring performance each week and rewarding the top five performers.
How It Drives Referrals:
This frequent reward system ensures that your sales force remains excited and engaged. While long-term campaigns are great for sustained growth, weekly prizes maintain the momentum by providing regular, incremental rewards. This approach not only boosts morale but also creates a habit of continuous improvement.
Example:
Weekly prizes – Most referrals for the week win $75 Gift Card awarded each Friday afternoon
Conclusion
Implementing one or more of these five trade promotion ideas—fixed channel commissions, SPIVs, sprints, league ladders, and weekly prizes—can create an environment where every sale counts. By aligning incentives directly with performance, you not only motivate your sales team but also drive measurable results that enhance your overall revenue. Whether you’re looking for a straightforward commission-based system or a more dynamic, gamified approach, these proven strategies provide the versatility and motivation needed to supercharge your sales operation.
Why MicroGifts?
MicroGifts digital gift cards are instant, mobile-friendly, and accepted anywhere Mastercard is. They’re perfect for rewarding sales behaviours in real time—no paperwork, no postage, just instant gratification.
With MicroGifts using our balance builder technology each gift card adds to the previous gift card, so incentives build in value over time on a single card creating the ideal Trade Promotion tool for building loyalty and sales.