To save you time reading, the key points of this story are:
- The power of relationships for OEM marketers
- Balancing relationships across a diverse sales channel
- Keep It Simple Stooopid
One of my responsibilities was as marketing lead and liaison with a very large ($1B market-cap) Japanese manufacturer. Not only were we the OEM for a key component, but we also shared a sales channel of about 200 agents throughout the USA, sliced into 60 regional independent distributors. Their success was our success together everyone achieves more kookokachoo.
Working directly with the manufacturer, in addition to continual lead generation, sales enablement and channel management, there was the “annual national sales meeting.” Each year, the manufacturer hosted a traditional sales gathering – all hands on deck – in a nice resort. (NOTE: It was never an overly elaborate event, in fact, it tended to be friendly and personal.) Their marketing team would “ask” all their OEMs to donate a large amount of cash: a sort of sponsorship. $35,000.
And thus my challenge: although they were terrific partners, the flat payment lacked legs for us. I already knew all the sales people. I already supported all the sales people. The Japanese marketing team knew me well, and they heavily relied on me for strategic and tactical USA-centric work. The payment seemed perfunctorily… it’s just what manufactures ask of OEMs, right?
Tactically, during the sales conference, we were slotted a 60-minute presentation / product break out session. However, as we were in constant communications and support with the sales channel, this break-out was redundant.
My company would not get direct value for the $35k. No impact at all.
The power of relationships for OEM marketers
Here is what I proposed to the Japanese marketing team, ten-months prior the conference. Rather than a flat check, let me use that money to directly motivate our USA sales channel. I’ll run a sales contest… and the winner gets a new car… awarded at the sales conference’s key dinner event.
They loved the idea, and more importantly, they trusted me to execute the idea to our mutual benefit. Drip by drip, over a few years, I had built a (results-driven) relationship with my Japanese counterparts that gave them the strength to present this idea to their senior management. It was approved. Rather than the flat check, I’d buy a $35k car.
Balancing relationships across a diverse sales channel
Now to the tactics of the contest. High-level, it was a traditional sales contest. Sell more = WIN.
However, there was a slight speed bump. If you support sales in the USA, you are well aware that as with most any USA geographically assigned sales map, not all the regions have equal opportunity. Specifically, the Ohio and New York distributors physically had more opportunity than the sales team in Mississippi. The New York state team will always generate more revenue.
The contest to win the car cannot be based on top-line revenue. The Mississippi sales person would know, from day one that s/he will never win the car. Zero motivation. How do I balance the odds?
Keep It Simple Stooopid
I went for a raffle-lottery based contest. Simply, for every piece of hardware a sales person sold, they received a single raffle ticket. Now, of course, the sales person in Ohio would have better odds of winning the car: they would have more tickets in the bucket. Yet, the Mississippi sales person had the hope of any raffle. The play of random gravity. The luck of the draw.
Overall, the uncomplicated rules made it very easy to manage and communicate out to the field.
Not only was it successful, but it added an exciting element to the sales conference. I hammed it up. I rented an oversized spinning-bingo-raffle-cage-thingy and then – with the pomp & circumstance of a gameshow host – had the head of sales from my company spin the raffle cage crank, and the Japanese manufacturer’s president (who I blindfolded) pull out the winning ticket.
Ta-da! It’s a neeeeeew caaaaaar!
It was great fun. As a final logistic, we bought the car from a dealer local to the winning sales person.