Designing an Incentive Scheme to Motivate Salesmen to Expand Our Outlet Base – Any Advice?

I am working for a leading FMCG. I have to design an incentive scheme for the salesman so that he approaches more outlets to increase the outlet base that the company caters to. How can this be done? How should I proceed? Somebody, please help.

You can set a target-based incentive. This can be at different stages.

Tell them that if they complete 15-20 outlets in a month (the number depends on you), they would receive a fixed amount, which you have to decide. Then for 20-30 outlets, a fixed amount, for 30-50 outlets, another fixed amount, and above 50 outlets, a fixed amount.

Alternatively, you can also inform them that in a month, they must complete a fixed 20 outlets (again, depending on you), and for each outlet above that, they will receive a set amount (e.g., Rs 200/- per outlet above 20).

I hope this helps you out.

Thank you very much, Chitra.

The problem is a bit different. The salesman now has a fixed plan in which he goes to visit 50 shops. However, there may be other shops in that area that the company currently does not visit. What we want to do is to have him approach those shops, convince them to sell the company's product, and set up an incentive scheme for this.

So, my doubts are:

- Should the incentive scheme be:
- Rs/shop added?
- Rs/% of shops?
- Business added?

In this case, the incentive should be entirely business-based because any person would agree to sell the company's product if you provide an incentive to the salesperson. However, if in the end, they do not bring any business or income to the company, then the salesperson's incentive would become a burden for you.

Hello, this is Tejesh, Mr. HR student. You can divide your sales team as Executives (Exe), Team Leaders (T.L), and managers. You can design a separate incentive scheme according to the above criteria for the field force. You can set a specific time and announce that the top 10 individuals who achieve their targets within the given time will be rewarded.

If the Executives are performing well, the Team Leaders will receive special incentives (as ultimately they are the ones who motivate the Executives). If the Team Leaders fulfill their targets, the managers will receive some rewards. However, ultimately, the Executives should receive a more structured incentive, as they are the ones who bring business to you.

Ask sales executives to cover areas division-wise or locality-wise. You can request Executives to prepare a weekly tour program indicating which locations they will be visiting on specific dates, and do not forget to gather feedback from them. Provide special incentives for shops or sales outlets with good sales.

Regards,
Tejesh.