Cash incentives are in the form of a bonus. A bonus is an incentive payment that is supplemental to the base wage. It has the advantage of providing employees with more pay for putting out a greater effort. For example, a salesperson may receive a spot bonus for working long hours to keep a client or fill their order. Many sales managers are finding that cash is not as powerful for motivating a salespersons performance.
Incentives can also be in the form of non-cash items.
The most popular of the non-cash incentives include free merchandise, travel, recognition and status. When to use Incentive Programs When looking at what kind of incentives should be used to motivate a sales force, sales managers need to take a closer look at their salespeople and what their needs, wants and goals are. Then compare them to the goals and needs of the company. The company should also look at what type of memory value its incentive program will have on its sales force. It has been proven that companies who use incentives that captures the attention of the employees will stay in their memory longer keeping the salesperson working hard to earn other types of awards.