Also in This Report:

There’s a new type of rep out there: Recognition considered equally rewarding as traditional incentives: page 22

Motivational message: a case in point: page 22

Life in the ’90s: Mariposa offers four perspectives on life in sales in this chilly decade: page 25

Everyone plays a part: Non-sales employees are part of your salesforce: page 25

High performance: Developing an effective incentive strategy is simple – in theory: page 27

Marty Teplitsky is creative director, audience – The Invertising Agency in Toronto.

Those of us who make our living out of maximizing the effectiveness of an organization’s salesforce have changed our tactics in a big way over the last several years.

The image of coffee mug-type paraphernalia linked to some empty jargon about ‘Quest for Excellence’ or ‘Best of the Best’ has long gone.

Now, there is The New Motivation – a substantive, strategic approach encircled by creative relevance.

At audience, we call it invertising.

A way of getting the most out of the people who matter most in your company – the men and women who sell to, and service your customers.

Let me put you into the head space of many of the sales professionals we encounter. It centres on one word: fear.

They fear the effects of re-engineering and process redesign, downsizing, earnings ceilings, mergers, competition, jaded customers, and the cyber-ready, energetic rookies entering the selling force.

And, although it’s important to point out that salesforces consist of individuals with varied perceptions about their futures and their companies, certain observations are generally true; these people are confused about how to remain competitive, and they see self-improvement as their big ticket for growth and achievement.

They want to know all the habits of highly successful sellers, and have a wide array of proven resources at their disposal.

Accordingly, the trend in our industry, the stuff that’s really working today, is devising distinctly creative, performance-enrichment campaigns.

Generic solutions are history.

Progressive, leading-edge companies are designing interactive vehicles that train, educate, inform and reach salespeople in a much more intellectual, content-driven way.

Inspiration through education, less hype – more how.

Yet the key to making these programs pop is to sculpt these initiatives to the unique market conditions and challenges of the respective salesforce.

What really cranks these guys up is tactical components that capture the company culture, competitive realities, sales targets, customer attitudes and product knowledge.

The added value is that you give them something tangible, something they can use today, something beyond mere boosterism and back-patting.

And, speaking as a creative guy, it is tantamount that this New Motivation be edgy, dynamic, clever and exciting. We strive for ideas that cross traditional media, the new media, and, at times, we even create our own media.

You’re asking, ‘What does this New Motivation look like?’

Well, first off, the three- or four-day sales conference by itself is not enough anymore.

Companies determined to lead in their respective sectors are rethinking that narrow sales enhancement investment.

Nowadays, we are, ostensibly, creating conferences that last all year; ongoing, interactive campaigns loaded with worthwhile tools that reward by teaching the salesperson how to be better, how to be smarter, and how to win.

The New Motivation uses inventive live gatherings, as well as direct mail, video, e-mail, business literature, telephone sessions, cd-roms, expert performance seminars, the Internet, circular suggestion boxes and best-selling audio books.

This approach also crafts highly customized, innovative business simulations, which marry entertainment and content.

It features intense competitor psychodramas and research exercises.

It distributes abstracts of the ‘must read’ articles dealing with behavior enhancement and performance skills.

And, within this approach, reward is no longer defined by a Florida sun trip, but by admission to an advanced sales seminar at Philadephia’s Wharton School or the London School of Economics.

Even premium and incentive merchandise is now strategically centred and significant in The New Motivation.

If an item is going to be sent out to the salesforce, it has to have meaning, either symbolic or utilitarian, underlining how it can make the sales professional excel.

One example of this is an incredible item audience employs called The LifeClock, an individualized clock that counts down how long you have left for a specific project or sales goal (or even how much time you have left in your life.)

So, the key to making The New Motivation work for you is to forge a relationship with a corporate communication company that thinks like an agency instead of a production house.

This is a company that will work with you and your salesforce to plan a creative, comprehensive program along a year-long continuum.

A New Motivation approach with less hype and more how.