Do You Hold Sales Contests?

Yes: 21%

• We are about to do it in the new year. If they beat the sales of the corresponding month from the year before, everyone gets Starbucks or pizza. —Sherry Redwine, Odyssey Pets, Dallas, TX
• When I am trying to grow a food line, staff is incentivized with a $5 to $10 cash spiff for each new customer they put on the food. We will use this for new food lines or when we are discontinuing a line and need to transition the customer. It’s amazing how fast a line grows when they are focusing on it along with getting bonuses to be on it. —Michelle Nelson, The Pet Authority, Albert Lea, MN
• We have sales goals and contests in each of our stores and between all our stores. It keeps things interesting and helps our crew work towards our sales goals. —Nancy Guinn, Dog Krazy, Fredericksburg, VA
• We set monthly profit goals in each of our profit centers, and bonus managers if goals are met. Would love some new ideas in this area. —Angela Pantalone, Wag Central, Stratford, CT
• We usually focus on a category, that way we aren’t promoting a brand, but a solution. My team prefers food as their reward. —Michelle Pelletier, Bentley’s Pet Stuff, Grafton, WI
• We’ve run various spiffs and sales growth contests. The challenge is to keep sales from dropping off after the additional incentive period ends. —Keefer Dickerson, Nashville Pet Products, Nashville, TN
• Example: We bring in a new food …. Whoever sells the most food in the first month receives a gift card for gas/stuff. Whoever sells 5 pounds of a specific manufacturer gets $1. Every 15 pounds gets $3. Every 30 pounds gets $5. Biggest sale of the day gets a free lunch. —Debbie Fazica, Pet X Supply & Tack, Howell, MI
• Every now and then we’ll give out lottery tickets. If an employee makes a sale over $50 (not including pet food), they get a $1 lottery ticket. If they make a sale over $100 (not including pet food), they get three $1 lottery tickets. It works out pretty well sometimes. They might win $5 or $10 once in awhile. We haven’t done it in awhile, and now that you made me think about it, we are going to bring it back in January, when sales are slow. —Diane Marcin, Benny’s Pet Depot, Mechanicsburg, PA
• Simple: Beat the day, get a percentage of of the difference as a bonus. It keeps everyone hustling to make add-on sales and turning browsers into customers. —Doug Staley, Pet Palace of New City, New City, NY
• Our most recent contest is not sales-based, but rather getting customers to sign up for our email. I gave the staff the option of winning either a $25 gift card or to have dinner with me at a local restaurant of their choice. When I announced it, I was both surprised and flattered that they all immediately opted for a dinner with the boss. Since launching the contest two weeks ago, I have had them sign up over 100 new customers! —Wendy Megyese, Muttigans, Emerald Isle, NC

No: 79%

• We try to pay fairly and give back to our employees in ways that are not incentive based. It’s important to the brand of our store and for the overall customer experience that they don’t feel pressured to buy just anything — but rather they leave the store with what they need. Sometimes that may be a lower-priced item —the consumer always appreciates when we save them money, and they always come back when we do. Having sales incentives may skew that experience. —Johnna Devereaux, Fetch RI, Richmond, RI
• We’re not a big “selling” store. We provide information on what we think is best for the customer. —Eric Mack, Purrrfect Bark, Columbus, NC
• Most of my staff are just cashier-orientated. Not sales … unfortunately. —Janelle Pitula, Wags to Whiskers, Plainfield, IL
• We don’t consider ourselves a store that “sells. “ We prefer to consider ourselves a store that helps solve problems. If a product is right for the customer, great, but if not, we want to make sure we’re not acting with a bias towards a product that is getting spiffed. —Shane Somerville, Paddywack, Mill Creek, WA