Vendors and Distributors are always on the hunt for the best way to incentivise their business partners to increase their sales and profits. There are many incentive programs out there that most of you would have either participated in or executed against at some point during your career, if not on an ongoing basis. The question is however, what provides for the best incentive? Vendors spend a large amount of money on incentive based programs and as such, need them to be as effective as possible.
The key in selecting the best way to incentivise your partner or partner base is to know them well. If you know your partners well and even go to the point of asking them what they would want in an incentive program, you will in turn get the most ‘bang for your buck’. This point is illustrated perfectly in the clip below from the iconic series from the 90’s, Seinfeld. Click on the link below to see how Elaine feels about a cash versus non cash incentive:
Seinfeld Cash Vs Non Cash Incentives