If you’re looking for a way to motivate your sales team, gamification might be the answer. Gamification isn’t new, and it has been a buzzword in the area of employee engagement for quite some time. However, advances in technology help make it more fun and engaging and also much easier than it ever was before.
Gamification is about using game mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics to encourage desired behaviors and increase performance. If it’s done well, it can be very effective. Just to illustrate that point, 70% of companies that use sales gamification report an increase in key sales performance metrics of between 11 and 50% (as stated by Zippia in ‘25 GAMIFICATION STATISTICS’).
What Is Gamification in Sales?
If you’re starting to get interested, let’s take things a little further by answering the question “What is gamification?” in terms of sales.
Gamification is a term used to describe game-like elements that are incorporated into non-gaming situations. Believe it or not, gamification is all around you. It takes the form of fitness apps, loyalty programs, and even platforms such as Reddit and LinkedIn.
Gamification owes its success to people’s desire to meet specific goals and it’s been scientifically proven to improve engagement and performance.
So, back to the question of what is gamification in sales. It’s a form of software that helps sales teams turn often mundane day-to-day work activities into competitions. It uses things like leaderboards or point systems to maximize performance. It has been proven that rewards other forms of acknowledgement, and friendly competition improve overall effort and performance.
The games or challenges can be as simple or creative as you want and the games can be used to rate reps’ performance in areas such as deals won, calls made, individual rep results, revenue generated, and a whole lot more.
A gamification program is effective because accomplishing something and receiving rewards makes our brains produce endorphins. These endorphins increase excitement, boost motivation, and increase the desire to keep playing.
Benefits of Gamification in Sales
Use gamification and you enjoy the following benefits:
1. Increased Motivation
A career in sales can be challenging and at times, the job itself has its ups and downs. Sales gamification is a way of addressing employee needs and encourages employees to focus on the right goals.
Gamification software provides all the encouragement and motivation a sales team needs. It rewards strengths but also provides constructive feedback on a person’s weaknesses.
2. Improved Communication
At times, it must seem like sales is very much an individual effort when in fact it’s very much a team sport. To reach collective goals, sales teams must work together and communicate as a whole.
A common problem across all industries is that important communication often gets lost. Another benefit of gamification for sales is that it allows for consistent communication between sales team members.
Gamification software makes it possible to streamline sales team communication using regular alerts, team updates, and chat groups.
3. Ramped Up Competitiveness
Salespeople tend to be very competitive. That’s why gamification provides the perfect platform for sales managers to take advantage of this.
Typically, it’s not the prize that gives sales reps the incentive. Rather it’s the competition itself and the opportunity to test how they stack up against the rest of the team.
A vital component of sales gamification is the leaderboard. Reps can see where they stand and enjoy seeing their face and name at the top.
However, it’s also important that reps understand why they’re doing what they’re doing and for the emphasis to be placed on the results of behavior rather than the behavior itself.
4. Increased Engagement
The life of a salesperson is full of ups and downs. The winning sales are very rewarding and exciting, but the lost deals and dead ends can get people down. Increased levels of remote working and fewer in-person interactions can also be a recipe for disaster.
Gamification comes to the rescue and can help combat disappointments while at the same time creating an engaging environment to work in. Sales teams get excited about the contests and keeping track of leaderboards helps to keep them engaged and feeling revitalized.
5. Team Alignment with Key Business Objectives
If you want your sales teams to consistently improve their performance you have to ensure they understand the targets, how to achieve them, and how execution is measured. Key performance indicators (KPIs) are an effective way for sales personnel to track their journey to meeting their goals.
However, KPIs can be complex and difficult to understand. Gamification allows complex tasks to be turned into simpler ones that are easier for employees to understand. When KPIs are clear and communicated in an easily digestible way, sales representatives understand what is being asked of them and how they can deliver the required results.
How to Implement Gamification for Your Sales Team
Don’t feel implementing gamification will be overwhelming. It’s much easier than many people think. Gamification techniques such as spin-the-wheels, mystery boxes, scratch-offs, grabber games, and more can quickly boost employee engagement and loyalty, as well as generate positive user experiences.
However, the following tips will ensure you implement gamification effectively, to make the most of this exciting tool.
1. Understand What Matters to Your Reps
Think very carefully about what rewards your reps are going to appreciate. Then, choose wisely. If the prizes up for grabs are something your reps desire or value, they’re more likely to work harder for the best chance to win.
2. Set Goals and Objectives
Any targets set should be achievable. But you also need to make sure the team has all the necessary resources to achieve their goals. On the flip side, don’t make the targets too easy. Because where’s the fun in that?
Finding the perfect balance is hard, but BeeLiked’s reward program gives you the right model based on your company’s needs and budget.
3. Create an Engaging Incentive
Make sure your sales incentive program uses rewards that motivate and engage your sales team. For incentive programs to influence behavior, they have to be fun and engaging and hit the mark. Personalized incentives that resonate with the target audience will ensure sales growth and promote loyalty.
Monetary incentives are always going to be attractive but non-monetary incentives can be just as effective. Consider paid days off, free trips, free lunches for a week, or badges for completing certain challenges.
4. Use Gamification Tools
The best incentive platforms for sales teams will be those that make good use of the right gamification tools.
There are plenty of sales gamification tools to choose from, all of which have their pros and cons. BeeLiked, for example, is an all-in-one solution you can use for motivating sales teams. This off-the-shelf solution does everything for you but also gives you the option to brand up the gameplay.
Best Practices for Gamification in Sales
- Align your gamified incentives with your sales strategy. Incentives have to be relevant to keep sales reps engaged and motivated. They must also align with tangible and measurable business objectives.
- Reward actions, not numbers. In other words, reward people for taking part or performing, not just for winning.
- Maintain communication and feedback. Evaluation has a key role to play in any gamification strategy, so keep lines of communication open.
- Ensure fairness and transparency. Gamified solutions have to be designed with transparency, fairness, privacy, and diversity in mind.
Challenges of Gamification in Sales
We’ve already mentioned that integrating gamification in sales is easy, but there are a few challenges that have to be overcome. The good news is that there are simple solutions to each one.
Gamification can end up being demotivating if the rewards are unfair or not achievable. However, if you understand what motivates your reps the most it makes it easier to pick the best intrinsic rewards
Another issue is that measuring the ROI of gamification can be challenging. The way to overcome this is to compare before and after data and to track the right KPIs.
One final challenge is to keep gamification engaging. Problems occur when the same game is used. Engagement quickly drops off but this can be reversed by building diversity into the games and incentives.
Gamification Ideas for Sales Teams
Employees are individuals and tend to be motivated in different ways, not all of which involve prizes. Luckily, there are various gamification ideas you can use to motivate everyone and achieve the desired results.
Sales Contests and Challenges
Humans are competitive, we just can’t help it so why not start with a good old-fashioned contest? They’ll give sales reps a bit of a push to help them meet their quotas. The most effective ones tend to be short-term, such as an end-of-the-sales month challenge.
Leaderboards
Use leaderboards to track how everyone is doing, but they don’t necessarily have to be about who closed the most deals. Instead, consider focusing on which agents assisted with the most sales, for example.
Gift Cards and Rewards
Gift cards and rewards are a great idea for a long-term sales period. Employees are awarded at the end of a set period after outcomes are achieved.
Cash Bonuses for Closing Deals
Monetary rewards shouldn’t be dismissed entirely, money talks after all, and can be a very powerful motivator for many people.
Friendly Competition to Promote Engagement
If your teams love to compete with one another, gamification will promote engagement. Friendly competition also makes the process of achieving goals more fun overall. Competition is one of the most common tools used to make the gamification process effective in sales.
Milestones for Long-Term Goals
You could use a point-based rewards system or online rewards option for teams to engage with as they work towards long-term goals. Consider monetary rewards or longer lunches for completing tasks. It’s possible to scale rewards however you see fit to make sure teams are motivated.
Sales Gamification Software Solutions
If you’re looking for the best gamification rewards platform for your sales team, BeeLiked is a worthwhile option. Features include interactive promotions, gamified rewards, enterprise scalability, seamless integration, data privacy, excellent support, and much more.
Try BeeLiked’s enterprise gamification solutions for free for 14 days and see if it’s the right fit for your business.
