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Many sales teams struggle with achieving the monotonous sales quota. Not only can this monotony lead to decreased motivation and engagement but it impacts the sales win rates. However, a strategic approach to gamification can address this challenge. Using sales contest games in a sales environment offers a dynamic solution.
Consider the case of Navo Orbico [1], a subsidiary of the Orbico Group. The Orbico Group has a presence in twenty countries and maintains a strategic alliance with P&G. However, Navo Orbico has been grappling with several challenges including stagnant sales figures, and an alarmingly high rate of turnover among sales representatives, which can disrupt operations and decrease productivity.
Along with those, they noticed ineffective internal training programs and a noticeable decline in the sales reps' morale and engagement. So, as a solution, Navo Orbico implemented gamification into their sales procedure. They added an 18th-century trading city theme-inspired game and integrated Google Maps with real-time interactions and alerts.
A leveling system allowed sales reps to earn points and win tangible rewards. This effectively turned tedious administrative work into an engaging activity. As a result, sales grew by an impressive 28.6%, and training and sales KPI increased significantly by 60%. Moreover, they noticed a voluntary enrollment rate of 99.5% in the first year.
This underscores the importance of sales gamification. In fact, an HBR study [2] found that implementing gamification solutions in the workplace can lead to a significant increase in employee engagement. This blog will outline a full guide on sales contest games.
What are sales contest games?
Sales contest games are interactive competitions designed to motivate salespeople to achieve specific goals. These games incorporate fun elements into the traditional sales contest format, fostering a more engaging and competitive atmosphere. If done well, the sales gamification can:
- Boost employee morale,
- Drive sales performance,
- Create a culture of healthy competition,
- Improve sales performance metrics,
- Hone their communication techniques,
- Refine their product knowledge,
- Prioritize effective prospecting strategies.
Let's delve deeper into the psychological aspects of incorporating gaming elements and understand how exactly these elements influence sales force performance.
The psychological aspect behind why sales contest games work:
The psychological aspect behind why sales contest games work is based on the principle of operant conditioning. This model by B.F. Skinner, states that the consequences of a behavior determine the likelihood of it being repeated. Behaviors that receive positive reinforcement, such as rewards or praise, are more likely to be repeated.
The same logic applies to sales gamification. When sales representatives are rewarded for behaviors contributing to sales success, they are motivated to repeat them. Over time, the behaviors that receive positive reinforcement become natural, and the need for a reward diminishes.
1. In a study by the Wall Street Journal, Liveops, a reputed cloud call center company from Arizona, US reduced their call time by 15% and increased sales by 8% after introducing a more gamified approach to the sales team.
2. Even, Kenco, a U.S.-based CPG company with gross revenue of $1.284 billion, integrated the Rocky II training montage games and recorded a 45% increase in bottom-line sales margin.
3. A German luxury auto brand improves its top-line sales and notices an 11% increase in unit sales in less than 90 days with the help of Compass's game templates. Compass helped the luxury auto-brand company improve sales team engagement and noticed a 92% adoption rate due to its robustness.
Compass delivered the Autobrand company a multifaceted system that offered a centralized platform for clear communication regarding compensation programs. To further engage employees, the company launches interactive programs like trivia and quizzes through group platforms.
When implemented correctly, sales gamification can have significant benefits. Let us quantify the power of games in the sales field.
- An Atlassian study shared that 89% of surveyed employees reported increased productivity, and 88% felt happier due to gamification. |
- The same study revealed that 71% believe it leads to increased energy levels.
How do sales contest games help in sales performance?
Sales contest games can be a powerful tool for motivating sales teams and driving performance. Here's how they contribute to increased sales:
- Enhanced engagement and competition: Games tap into our natural competitive spirit, making the sales process more engaging. Gamified sales contests with leaderboards can significantly motivate salespeople, leading to a 3.5x performance increase.
- Focused goal achievement: Well-designed sales contests with clear objectives channel efforts towards specific sales goals. A Gamification Global Report 2023 study found that businesses using gamification in sales saw a 25.3% jump in conversion rates.
- Improved skills and knowledge: Games that incorporate challenges or require specific sales techniques can lead to increased skill development.
- Teamwork and collaboration: Contests can foster a sense of camaraderie and teamwork, with reps collaborating to achieve shared goals. According to a study, being a sales manager is one of the most stressful jobs. So, a little sales contest will not only promote a sense of connectedness but also flourish collaboration.
- Positive reinforcement and recognition: Games often offer immediate rewards and recognition for achievements, which can be highly motivating for salespeople. CSO Insights revealed that 50% of sales organizations utilize sales contests as a motivational tool on multiple occasions throughout a single year.
By incorporating these elements, sales contest games can create a dynamic and results-oriented environment, ultimately driving sales performance. Take this insurance company for example.
An insurance company offering life, health, and general insurance products faced challenges with its sales process due to lack of engagement, limited data usage, and uninformed lead assignment. The organization noticed that leads were assigned to salespeople at random, without considering any customer details or preferences.
This led to wasted effort and disengagement among the sales force. Previously the company acquired leads through various channels including financial advisors, physical branches, and call centers. However, what it needed was a way to silo the data using a centralized system and a way to keep the sales reps engaged.
So, to successfully improve its sales conversion rate, this insurance company optimized the lead allocation more thoughtfully. By utilizing alternative data sources, they gained a deeper understanding of their target audience.
Moreover, they integrated the existing KPIs with gamification. This approach incorporated fun game elements with customizable mechanics. This enhanced the engagement of the sales force and improved the satisfaction part.
As a result, the insurance organization noticed:
- Their sales figures tripled compared to the initial benchmark.
- The system recorded a 30% increase in appointment scheduling rates.
Now that we have understood the significance of sales contest games, let us go through some gamified elements you can include in your sales process.
5 sales contest games to crush the daily quota:
It is well-documented that stress is associated with sales roles. So, incorporating sales contest games directly into the CRM system can be a valuable tool. These games can serve a dual purpose: to reduce stress and boost employee engagement.
When you offer a fun and interactive way to track progress and celebrate achievements, sales representatives can stay motivated and avoid burnout. This will ultimately lead to increased productivity and a higher chance of reaching targets. So, the following are the five create sales contest games.
1. Sales leaderboard challenge: Create a real-time leaderboard that tracks each salesperson's progress toward their daily quota. Offer prizes for the top performers each day to drive friendly competition.
2. Spin the wheel incentive: Set up a prize wheel that salespeople can spin when they close a deal. Offer a variety of rewards like gift cards, extra PTO, or even a grand prize drawing.
3. Sales trivia showdown: Host a daily sales trivia contest covering product knowledge, industry trends, and sales techniques. Give winners points towards a larger prize.
4. Prospecting sprint: Challenge the team to see who can book the most qualified meetings in a set period, like 1 hour. Reward the top prospectors.
5. Referral raffle: Offer entries into a raffle for every qualified referral a salesperson brings in. The more referrals, the better their chances of winning.
Let’s find out how HP integrated gamification in sales that set the Fortune 100 organization up for success, and learn from them.
HP Inc. is an American multinational information technology with a total revenue of $54 billion. It is a part of the Fortune 100. HP's sales representatives rarely utilized the company's training materials or participated in its collaborative online platforms.
This resulted in HP's products not being at the forefront of the partners' minds, leading to missed sales opportunities. However, HP was able to incentivize its partners to engage with online learning more frequently. This increased agility and ultimately improved the partners' ability to sell HP products more effectively.
The brand's challenge was to ensure these channel partners prioritized its products by staying informed about their features and benefits. To achieve increased sales, it was critical to motivate channel partners to utilize training materials and sales tools, share successful strategies, and actively participate in the brand's social hub.
What solution did HP seek?
HP implemented a solution that provided exceptional adaptability. The solution had a customizable nature, it allowed for the integration of various data sources. This, in turn, enabled the triggering of relevant learning and motivational tools at precisely the right moment.
As a result, this approach ensured the highest levels of engagement and proficiency for each channel sales employee. A narrative element was incorporated into the game's design to encourage specific behaviors and interactions from the sellers.
Each activity within the game allows sellers to accumulate points. These points can then be redeemed for HP merchandise on a virtual store hosted by Centrical, with the store branding customized for HP.
The game missions are strategically linked to training courses deemed essential for sellers' success. This linkage provides users with additional opportunities to earn rewards while also ensuring they engage with important educational content.
Results:
After three months of using the sales gamification platform, HP noticed:
- 31% of users were actively engaging with learning materials at least once a week.
- Completion rates for company-offered training activities increased by more than 50 times.
- Sales reps completed learning modules on average 20 times more often.
These positive outcomes have resulted in increased revenue for HP's product lines.
Conclusion
Games introduce an element of friendly competition, which can stimulate salespeople to put forth extra effort and achieve higher sales results. Integrate sales contest games to make the sales process more engaging and help salespeople stay focused on achieving specific goals during the contest period. We suggest Compass. Compass can transform its standard sales processes into engaging, game-like experiences for the sales team. Compass can:
- Display real-time performance data and rankings to foster a competitive, performance-centric environment among sales reps.
- Provide non-monetary rewards like badges, certificates, and branded currencies to recognize and motivate sales achievements.
- Enable sales reps to access the gamified platform and track their progress on the go through mobile apps.
- Allow sales teams to collaborate, compete, and celebrate successes together through the platform.
Schedule a call with our experts to learn how our product can help in a strategic way to enhance the effectiveness of your sales force and achieve your business objectives.
Citations
1. Beerda, J. (2023, October 11). Procter & GAMBLE - The Octalysis Group. The Octalysis Group. https://octalysisgroup.com/procter-gamble/
2. Camilleri, A. R. (2024, March 28). How gamification can boost employee engagement. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2024/03/how-gamification-can-boost-employee-engagement
