Follow These Steps for Gamification Adoption
Gamifying sales processes is a great way to motivate your sales team and increase their productivity. According to Salesforce, 90.4% of companies report that their gamification initiatives are successful. Already, most salespersons possess competitive personalities – always wanting to be top of sales in the district or close a deal over their competitor- so it only makes sense to gamify the process to tap into that innate instinct. However, not everyone is so willing to adapt to a new software or process so the trick then becomes how to get the maximum amount of the sales team thoroughly engaged with it and receive the most return from your investment. Here are some tips on how to get your sales team to adopt gamification:
1) Provide rewards worth competing for
Let’s face it, it’s nearly impossible to make a business professional try a new process –especially when they believe theirs is the best ever- without some kind of incentive to motivate them. Prizes are a great reward for those who successfully use a new gamified process and by giving the winner(s) something they normally wouldn’t have, it’s like dangling candy over a child. Supple larger rewards, like vacations, for huge accomplishments and smaller rewards, like a free lunch, for littler tasks like entering in so many new leads correctly.
2) Install leaderboards
Salespeople are constantly striving to be on top and show everyone who the best of the best is. By providing a visual reminder through a leaderboard, you increase the competition amongst the sales team while also giving recognition to high achievers. Competition in the sales department is practically synonymous with level of output and sales should skyrocket.
3) Create distinguished levels
Within the game itself, it is important to employ basic game mechanics like the use of levels. By making challengers accumulate so many points or tasks in order to reach the next level, you give them aspiration to keep achieving more levels and continue playing the game. For avid gamers, there is nothing like the feeling of working through every level and eventually, finishing the game. It provides for a sense of achievement and would allow the sales team to take pride in their work while also having fun.
4) Badge it up
As silly as it may sound, badges are actually a strong incentive for participants to continue to play. You may not envision a sales team bragging about their badges, yet something as simple as a badge to commemorate an achievement can establish pride. Make it possible for players to share their badges with other players, friends, and family, to allow your sales team to take pride in their work.
5) Create companywide competitions
I think it’s fair to say that competitions are a great way to motivate sales teams. In fact, 73% of sales companies report that they are running more sales contests than before, and 51% are running 2 or more every month. Your sales team probably even expects a competition so by using a gamified solution to implement them through you will bolster higher participation rates and more return overall from the contest.
The tips provided above are all basic game mechanics implemented in most gamification platforms and are proven to motivate salesforces. For larger organizations, consider looking into customizable solutions through gamification consultancy firms, like Dopamine, to design a game specifically around the needs of your organization. If something like that is completely out of your budget, don’t fret because there are many affordable solutions available. Wooboard offers different pricing plans based on the amount of users in order to provide scalable solutions and decrease expenses for smaller businesses. Whatever option you decide, use these tips (and these as well) during implementation and sit back and watch as your sales team flourishes.
Sources: Marsh, Bob. “Gamification and Sales: Is It Working?” Salesforce Blog. Salesforce Inc., 06 Aug. 2013. Web. 23 Aug. 2013
This article was originally posted on TechnologyAdvice.com | Cover Image by msaari
Margo is a full-time product specialist and blogger for TechnologyAdvice.com. Showcasing expertise in the areas of Gamification and Social Media, Margo’s day-to-day often includes writing topical B2B content, product research, and social media management.
