An incentive must be near and reachable not far away and loaded against people.

1. If The Cart is Too Heavy
colinmyles.blogspot.ie /2016/09/if-cart-is-too-heavy.html
"If the carrot is too far away and the cart too heavy, the mule
don't move " Appalachian Saying
I was reminded of this quote by the recent goings on at
Wells Fargo and an excellent article by Matt Levine [ read
here ]
Back when I was more involved in direct sales, the above
quote was something I was taught when evaluating a
compensation plan. It may be simple, but all the
fundamentals of sales incentives are there.
If a target is so far away it would take a miracle to reach,
people will give up. If you load people with excessive form
filling, they will throw their hands up in the air and say " why
bother, it's not worth it ". People do not want extra hassle.
Has the person or committee setting up the targets got skin
in the game, or just running the numbers through a computer
model ? A model which doesn't take into account the unpredictability of human beings. Look what happened in the
2008 banking crisis when the models were followed to a tee.
Now the last thing your firm needs, is to be investigated for shady sales practices. And yes, the desire to maintain
and increase sales is a must for any business. However you need to come up with a plan and incentive scheme,
that doesn't ruin your good name or put your people under so much pressure, that they decide to game the system,
just so they can put food on the table for their kids.
This is your aim, something that is fair but encourages people to stretch to reach. Anything else and you run the
danger of disillusioned staff and the temptation to game the system.
Remember, fair and achievable, not far and heavy.
Colin Myles
Author
1/1