Pricing and Costs of Sales Incentives

Find sales incentives that are both fun and affordable

Though a secondary benefit of employee incentive programs and customer incentive programs can be to increase morale or get shoppers talking, the most important goal should be to make money for your business.

This means that you should consider pricing and costs of sales incentives before you put them into practice. This should be an important part of your yearly promotional budget. Here are some things to think about:

1. Sales incentive programs don't have to be expensive to be effective.

2. The important thing is to have good return on your investment.

3. Consider several incentive plans before deciding on one.

 

Prepare a sales incentive plan budget

When you're preparing your annual budget, make sure to put reward incentive programs into the mix. Whether you have five dollars or five thousand dollars to spend, it's best to know that number up front.
Try: Do some research to see what kind of plans you can incorporate for the dollars you have. Although the goal is to make money on this project, you may not want to risk putting the company into debt. The Incentive Marketing Association has a member list that you can use to contact companies and ask for pricing estimates. Incentives Marketplace offers fixed-budget programs, which can give you a good idea of what you can get for your price range. Their costs range from under $100 to over $2,000.

Hire a marketing consultant to run your customer incentive program

If you're not comfortable conducting your incentive plan by yourself, it's perfectly reasonable to get a consultant to help you. Consultants will be able to advise you on strategy and help you calculate your return on investment.
Try: Do some research before you hire a your consultant so you will know what is considered a reasonable rate. Consultants charge anywhere from $50 an hour to $200 or more. Strategic Insight, based in Phoenix, offers a three-month subscription to remote consultation services for $99 per month. This gives you six total hours of talk time. Also, if you hire a freelance consultant instead of a company, the rate may be less expensive. Try posting the job on a site like Freelance Work Exchange or Odesk. Contractors will send you bids for the work.

Consider sales incentive solutions that are free or almost free

If your budget is very low for whatever reason, you can forgo the marketing consultant and go with an inexpensive plan you develop on your own. Sometimes this strategy works surprisingly well.
Try: Use resources you already have to reward employees, such as holding a potluck lunch at the end of every month you meet your sales goals or scheduling a Recess at Work Day devoted to fun and team building. Give customers purchase incentives by holding a Customer Appreciation party with food and music to bring them into your office and hopefully buy something while they're there. Sunrise Marketing sells custom advertising postcards for as little as 11 cents each, making it an inexpensive way to get them in the door.

 

• You can use incentives more than once if they prove effective. This can save you money and time.

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