The IRF Quarterly Academic Review Examines Incentives and Rewards for Salespeople

Saturday, 07.09.2019

The Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) is pleased to release the Summer 2019 issue ofThe IRF Quarterly Academic Review. The Summer issue focuses on the effectiveness of sales incentives in motivating better sales performance and aligning the goals of the salesperson with those of the employer.

Screenshot: http://theirf.org/

“Salespeople in general appear more comfortable with risk than the average employee. They are more competitive, and perhaps, more motivated by external factors and rewards,” commented Allan Schweyer, Chief Academic Advisor, IRF. “That said, I believe after reading this issue you will agree that modern-day salespeople in many industries are becoming more like employees in a growing number of occupations and industries – increasingly intrinsically-motivated and collaborative.”

Ready-to-apply take-aways from the Summer issue of The IRF Quarterly Academic Review include:

Due to their competitive nature, salespeople crave verbal recognition, feedback, and appreciation, especially concerning their achievements versus peers.

Incentive travel is a powerful motivator for salespeople, channel sales teams, and other employees. It generates the types of feelings, emotions, and memories that build bonds and drive better performance.

Non-cash rewards and recognition programs can be more effective than cash incentive programs – three times more effective according to some estimates.

Moderate stress helps motivate salespeople, and high-stress levels demotivate, so set performance goals accordingly.

Optimal training for training-driven salespeople was 29 hours per year – 70% higher than for incentive-driven salespeople.

Avoid repeating the same performance-contingent rewards over continuous sales periods, the positive effect wears off and can even reduce a salesperson’s natural drive to work hard toward their goals.

Restricting the number of people who will earn the reward makes the reward more valuable and enticing.

Non-cash tangible rewards are perceived as more valuable than their cash equivalent and are used (or consumed) in ways that are more memorable than cash.

To view or download a copy of The IRF Quarterly Academic Review, please visit: http://theirf.org/education/the-irf-quarterly-academic-review/.

CIM editorial team, ks