Communications | Behavior Matters!

Girl with glasses sitting at her desk looking board with her chin on her hand — Good Communication is Key to Engagement

Numerous companies have a difficult time building engagement and trust with their employees.

The problem doesn’t always have to do with their processes or procedures or even management behaviors –in many cases it has to do with how they communicate to their employees. In over 20 years of helping companies solve these issues, we’ve found that companies often don’t communicate with their employees in a way that helps them understand and buy-in to the very programs that are designed to engage them.

While some companies have significantly improved their ability to create professional-looking presentations and graphically appealing brochures, they still have not fully embraced bringing a behavioral science approach to their internal communications to communicate in a more human way.

This is where we help.

Once is Not Enough – Incentive Communications Need a Campaign

On March 1, 2021

In behavioral science, Communications, Incentive Compensation, Incentive Plans and Sales Awards

words an numbers over a group of people working at a table — Four Steps to Communicating Incentives

There is an old adage in advertising that says, “people need to see an ad seven times before they are influenced by it.” What does this mean for your incentive programs?

While advertisers may argue about the exact right number (I’ve seen some say that it takes 20 times – really, that seems overkill?), the concept that multiple views of information drives behavior has been shown to be true. This is called “effective frequency” in the advertising world.

In our internal communication world, we call it a communication campaign and organizations don’t use campaigns as often as they should. In the world of incentives, a full campaign can be a fantastic tool to add to your toolbelt.

12 Magic Words to Unlock Sales Performance

On February 15, 2021

In Communications, Employee Motivation, Incentive Compensation, Motivation

person at a desk form above with a quote — The Power of Word Choice

“Prevail, accomplish, compete, strive, thrive, triumphed, achieve, mastered, win, success, gain, attain.“

What do these words have in common?

When used appropriately they have the power to increase performance by 15% (or more!).

Engage your reps with stories, anticipation, and graphic recall

On February 1, 2021

In Communications, graphics, Incentive Compensation

Presentation on a laptop on a table with hands and text — Whiteboard videos can provide up to 15% greater retention of information

Telling your “incentive story” with video creates greater engagement, higher recall, and an overall increase in IC plan knowledge.

If you’ve seen the Academy Award-winning movie, Schindler’s List, at the mention of the girl in the red coat, you can probably recall the specific scene I’m referring to vividly. This singular scene often stands out as the most revered and remembered scene in the movie. If you have not seen the movie, it is a black and white film yet in this specific scene there is a little girl walking through a crowded ghetto in a red coat.

Little girl stands out in a red coat amongst a crowd of black and white soldiers — “The Girl in the Red Coat” is a fantastic example of vivid visual storytelling

Her red coat stands out vividly in comparison to the black and white coloring of the rest of the film. It captures our attention and draws our eyes to focus our attention on her. We follow her among the throngs of people and watch as she comes in and out of our view.

So what does this have to do with incentives?

A Home Run for IC Directors

On January 15, 2021

In behavioral science, Communications, Employee Motivation, Incentive Compensation, Leadership, Motivation, Uncategorized

Man sitting back in office chair with his hands behind his head looking satisfied — Create a Great IC Program AND Make Sure it is Understood

Incentive compensation professionals work hard at developing incentive plans that drive employee motivation while also meeting their company’s strategic objectives.

In the past, this has been achieved by using rules of thumb and stringent financial analysis. Yet, hard work is not enough in today’s turbulent times.

Are poor IC communications holding your sales teams back?

On January 1, 2021

In behavioral science, Communications, Incentive Compensation

Boring pile of legal binders — Good Communication is Key to Engagement

Several years ago, we worked with a large Fortune 500 company whose IC Director was frustrated with low performance.

The metrics were there, the incentives were good, but the understanding was low… and sales were short. How could a well-designed plan that they had spent months developing not be working?

Communication makes your job easier – now get your company to invest in it

On January 1, 2021

In Communications, Employee Motivation, Incentive Compensation, Incentive Plans and Sales Awards

iPhone on table with plant — When companies invest in better incentive communications everybody wins

In today’s hyper completive world, you need a competitive advantage to stay ahead.

As sales professional your time and energy should be focused on selling not on trying to decipher the communications you receive from your organization.

Understanding how your incentive and rewards programs work should be easy. Today’s competitive tool for outperforming your goals is better communication.

Your comp plans and rewards may be good, perhaps the best, but if your company is not investing in communication, you often miss out on their true potential.

Want to earn more and win more awards? Ask for better communication.

On January 1, 2021

In Communications, Incentive Compensation, Leadership, Uncategorized

Hand raised with fist on white background with text and rocket icon — Make sure you have the tools to climb to the top

It’s no secret that as a salesperson you want to win.

You want to sell, to be on top, to surpass your target, and to join that award trip. You want to be rewarded for the hard work and sales that you bring in.

But that can be hard to do if your company isn’t telling you what you need to do to win. Companies often spend significant time and energy designing those metrics and fall short when it comes to communicating them to you. This puts you in a tough position between your intentions and the outcomes of the plan.

Better Communication Means Higher Sales for You

On January 1, 2021

In Communications, Incentive Compensation, Motivation

Don’t let poor communication impact your incentive pay

You are out there every day working hard and selling to your customers – shifting with each change that is thrust upon you and dealing with the uncertainty that has come with these trying times.

It can be stressful, it can be challenging, but you believe that what your company does is important and that you are bringing value to your customers.

In return, you deserve to be fairly rewarded for growing your business and helping the company succeed. And yet, when you get your quarterly bonus check, it is less than ideal. This shouldn’t happen.

Sculpting Motivation – Maximizing your Total Rewards with Behavioral Science

On September 22, 2020

In behavioral science, Communications, Employee Motivation

This article highlights the key learnings from Kurt’s presentation at the “2020 World at Work Spotlight on Sales Conference”. The original slide deck is available below.

Man screaming into phone exhibiting bad sales behavior — Rewards Programs are a Key Driver of Sales Behavior

In 1937, paleontologist Gustav von Koeningswald was working on the island of Java in Southeast Asia, searching for new evidence of our early human ancestors. To achieve this goal, he needed to find fossils, and the apex of fossils was the skull. With an intact skull, paleontologists are better able to distinguish between ape and human.

But skulls were rarely are found intact.

Instead, paleontologists needed to piece together a multitude of small skull fragments in a complex 3D puzzle. It was difficult work – difficult to find all the pieces and difficult to fit them together in the right way to reform the original skull.

To help alieve the burden of searching and finding the skull pieces, von Koeningswald enlisted the help of people from the local village. He did this by giving them an incentive. He paid them 10 cents per skull fragment that they delivered to him.

Category: Communications Page 1 of 5

Experience Matters: Helping Companies Communicate More Effectively

Numerous companies have a difficult time building engagement and trust with their employees.

This is where we help.

Once is Not Enough – Incentive Communications Need a Campaign

There is an old adage in advertising that says, “people need to see an ad seven times before they are influenced by it.” What does this mean for your incentive programs?

12 Magic Words to Unlock Sales Performance

“Prevail, accomplish, compete, strive, thrive, triumphed, achieve, mastered, win, success, gain, attain.“

What do these words have in common?

Engage your reps with stories, anticipation, and graphic recall

Telling your “incentive story” with video creates greater engagement, higher recall, and an overall increase in IC plan knowledge.

So what does this have to do with incentives?

A Home Run for IC Directors

Incentive compensation professionals work hard at developing incentive plans that drive employee motivation while also meeting their company’s strategic objectives.

Are poor IC communications holding your sales teams back?

Several years ago, we worked with a large Fortune 500 company whose IC Director was frustrated with low performance.

Communication makes your job easier – now get your company to invest in it

In today’s hyper completive world, you need a competitive advantage to stay ahead.

Want to earn more and win more awards? Ask for better communication.

It’s no secret that as a salesperson you want to win.

Better Communication Means Higher Sales for You

You are out there every day working hard and selling to your customers – shifting with each change that is thrust upon you and dealing with the uncertainty that has come with these trying times.

Sculpting Motivation – Maximizing your Total Rewards with Behavioral Science

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