Most salespeople I meet hate their jobs. They don't hate selling, and they don't hate the earning potential of being a salesperson, they simply hate the sales process. They hate the cold calling, the data entry, the impossible quotas. These are incredibly bright, hyper-competitive people who feel restricted by the endless corporate processes required of their everyday jobs.
They want incentives beyond money. They want a challenge and they want the challenge to be fun.
Sales contests are a decent way to get salespeople motivated. They provide attainable goals, they inspire competition, and someone gets to walk away feeling like a winner. However, typical sales competitions aren't enough to light a fire under the best and the brightest day in and day out.
A great idea
Adam Hollander, CEO and founder of FantasySalesTeam, wanted to find a way to keep salespeople motivated without using the same tired tactics.
"Like most sales managers, I would consistently run sales contests in an attempt to drive increased activity and results," Hollander says. "Over time, I came to the realization that I wasn't getting much of an ROI. The same top performing reps would win every time, frustrating the rest of my team. As reps fell behind, they would lose interest and engagement."
Hollander decided he would incorporate the excitement and enthusiasm his sales reps had playing fantasy football into future sales competitions. He created a new form of sales contest that allows reps to group up into teams, and then earn points for every task that they accomplish.
A new selling environment
He says the competitions created an environment where everyone began paying attention to each other's performance. Reps would encourage each other because they began relying on each other more than they ever had as individual sellers.
"Reps like being part of a culture where they are part of a team and it creates peer pressure and encouragement, [which drives] overall performance," Hollander says.
Because of the success he witnessed using the fantasy model as a manager, Hollander decided to launch FantasySalesTeam, a software platform that offers flexible and customizable sales contests and metrics trackers. Think Yahoo and ESPN fantasy sports, but for sales metrics, such as closes, new leads, revenue, etc.
The platform also allows for "smack talk boards, trophies, badges, profiles, online leaderboards, graphical stats charts and more," Hollander says. "Our games are far more engaging than the traditional sales contest."
One year in
Sales organizations have taken notice. Since FantasySalesTeam launched last year, the company has signed more than 75 customers, including GoDaddy and HP.
Not only does the system make selling more enjoyable, but it can be used to improve business goals. For example: FantasySalesTeam connects directly to any CRM through out-of-the-box apps or by using APIs and connecting to its web service.
This means that previously unmotivated sales reps who once sat at their desks twiddling their thumbs are now part of a team, they're motivated, and they're contributing valuable lead and prospect data into the company's database.
Sounds like a win for everyone involved.
