5 lessons spm professionals can learn from the success of the ice bucket challenge

5 Lessons that SPM Professionals

can Learn from the Success of the

Ice Bucket Challenge

www.spectrumbiztech.comPhone: 408.418.4996

The objective of ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is clear and simple:

Donate online and/or

pour a bucket of ice water on yourself.

Sales Performance Management professionals can learn a few lessons about human behavior from the success of the Ice Bucket Challenge.

Our take on five of them follows

• When people are challenged (especially, if done publicly), they get motivated to succeed.

• The challenge is for the sales team to make its sales goal. Sales goals or quotas should be challenging enough to provide the right motivation levels.

• Frequent communication around your sales goals and overall sales incentive compensation is critical.

#1 – Challenge to motivate

• We procrastinate! By giving a deadline of 24 hours, the ice bucket challenge made it difficult for people to put it off and forget.

• Consider establishing shorter term goals (semi-annual or quarterly from annual) to keep the sales team always ‘sprinting’.

• Other ways to maintain urgency are contests, leader boards, and other public recognition of top sales reps throughout the year.

# 2 – Build a sense of urgency

• Human beings have an innate desire to do good things. Most of us would go an extra mile, if it helps a charitable cause.

• Attributing a tiny part of corporate’s resources to social charitable activities, would not only provide a team-building exercise, but also build personal pride for the company they work for.

# 3 – Align to good karma

• Peer pressure can get us to do things that we left on our own, would not have done. There is an element of social disgrace for those who choose not to participate.

• Set highly visible goals and challenge your sales team to accomplish them.

• Make the leaders public and let lesser performers know how they stack up against those leaders.

# 4 – Create Social visibility and peer pressure

• Hardly anyone would have poured cold water on their head, if all they were getting in return was some money. People did it for reasons other than money, and in fact, most actually did it, and also gave money. What a deal!

• Money alone may not be the only motivational tool for your sales team.

• Consider other motivational tools that can complement your cash rewards, like yearend recognition trips, merchandise, extra PTO days, and more.

# 5 – Money isn’t everything

Dan Ganse is an accomplished Professional Service and Sales Management Executive with 20+ years of experience. As a Sales Performance Management (SPM) and Incentive Compensation Management (ICM) thought leader, he has a track record of designing and implementing solutions throughout various industries such as life sciences, banking, insurance, and high technology. 

As Principal at Spectrum Technologies, Dan is responsible for the strategic and operational leadership including sales, marketing, channel, and customer account management activities.  His experience includes assisting customers in all aspects of enterprise-wide incentive management and brings a unique combination of business and software technology knowledge and expertise to address customers’ incentive management issues. 

This presentation is based on an original article by Dan Ganse. The complete article is available at http://incent360.com/5-lessons-spm-professionals-from-the-ice-bucket-challenge/

Connect with Dan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danganse

About the Author

A technology and business consulting firm offering specialized services in the area of Sales Performance Management (SPM) and Incentive Compensation Management (ICM)

Launched in 2006 by a Group of SPM Industry Veterans

Strategic Guidance ➔ Vendor Evaluation ➔ Business Process Re-engineering ➔ Implementation ➔ Support

Locations• HQ: Santa Clara, CA | ODC: Mumbai, India

About Spectrum

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mktg@spectrumbiztech.com

408408.418.49964996

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