How to fire up your sales team this Black Friday and Cyber Monday

We caught up with Frank Creighton at leading staff incentives experts Appreciate, home of Love2shop for their tips for the discounting period!

Celebrate the team heroes 

Long-term incentive schemes can end up rewarding the same small group over and over. However, putting some exciting digital gift cards up for grabs on the day, when your whole team is focused on the same tasks at the same time, lets everyone into the game.

Of course, it’s best to reward people for hitting targets, but how rewards for ‘softer’ things such as Hero of the Day, Best team Player and even Gaff of the Week to really boost morale when things are extremely busy.

Reward the wins, big and small, through the day

Don’t wait until the week after to tell the story of your big Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Stay on top of your sales through the day and give your team regular updates and encouragement about their successes as they reach sales goals and targets.

A big milestone might even be worth gifting automatically with digital rewards landing immediately in their smart phone inboxes for team members nailing their goals. Having small rewards for things like the Lunchtime Legend and Afternoon Achiever gives people a little moment to look forward to.

Feed them

Literally! Some Uber Eats or Just Eat e-gift cards could make all the difference to their mindset on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, even when your staff are working from home. At the very least it’s one less thing to worry about. Or, if you prefer to keep rewards in reserve, they’d make a great prize for a team passing an important sales milestone on the day, and it enables them to get together over Zoom (other platforms are available!) and celebrate their achievements together.

Recognise more than revenue

No matter how good your team is, there’s always an element of luck to inbound sales. One teammate picks up the phone to a £200 order, another picks up the phone to £2,000. Rewarding and recognising what your staff can’t control doesn’t motivate them.

In fact, things that look unfair, or just feel unfair, are demotivating. Celebrate your staff for what they can control – their application and effort to their tasks.

Make their efforts part of a bigger picture

Working without a bigger picture isn’t particularly satisfying. People feel much more empowered if they know ‘why’ they are working so hard. Knowing how their work affects other teams, and your company as a whole, motivates staff to excel.

Be sure to outline how a successful Black Friday would make a huge positive impact on not just your department, but the whole organisation.

Relax your procedures

If it’s at all possible, relax your rules and procedures for the day. Black Friday/Cyber Monday aren’t normal days, after all. If you’re looking for high-volume over a short time, you don’t want staff getting demoralised while caught in a queue to approve a quote or sale with the boss.

Trust and autonomy can motivate just as well as rewards in the circumstances (especially if those sales affect their commission).

Celebrate team milestones not just individuals

Focus on the whole team, not just individual performances. Some of your staff will always perform better than others. Sometimes that’s luck and sometimes that’s skill, but your department succeeds as a team regardless. Keeping a whole team motivated means recognising their achievements as a unit.

Reward the moment, but plan for the future

Remember, these aren’t long-term strategies. These tips are “sugar-rush” incentives to boost moral at one of the busiest sales times of the year. They are no replacement for well-organised, long-term incentive programmes, a great company culture and investing in the development of your staff.

Find out more about rewarding staff digitally here: https://www.appreciate.co.uk/rewards/