How do you get prospects to become worldstravelonline ? What extra can you add to your presentation to make the sale? Why not try an incentive? The three top incentives to get people to do anything is cash, products and travel. Cash incentives cost the most and believe it or not are the least effective. The reason being is that you pay dollar for dollar and what little cash you offer is used to pay bills and is quickly forgotten. Products work quite well, and it is true you can by them at a discount off retail but the problem is, most of your clients already have everything. It is almost impossible to guess what they want. Printed mugs, shirts, pens are very old fashioned. What is left to offer, a CD player?
Vacation and travel incentives are one of the most powerful methods of attracting business, retaining profitable clients, increasing profits, enhancing product awareness, and improving employee productivity. Businesses who have used vacation incentives in their marketing and promotions have seen at least 30% increase in their sales!
Why not recreation travel? First of all it is the cheapest. The most successful travel promotion in the country today (I will be mentioning it later in this article) cost 1.5% of its market value! More important recreation travel appeals to everyone. And travel is a long lasting gift. For example, think of all the preparation that goes into effect for a long vacation. Then think of all the pictures that you take during your vacation and remember for a lifetime. That’s right. Memories of a vacation can last forever! How is that for a great incentive! To show you how powerful recreational travel is just look at the most popular screen savers on everyone’s computer. You won’t find pictures of money. You won’t find pictures of products. What you will find is everyone’s dream vacation resort with palm trees in the background. Get the picture! The first words from most lottery winners are – “The first thing I am going to do is go on a long vacation”. I assume you get the point that recreation travel is one hell of an incentive.
According to the results of an email survey conducted by the Incentive Travel Fact Book, 58% say travel is more effective than cash or merchandise. Survey respondents consider travel to be the most effective reward. “Cash bonuses are necessary but travel is a higher reward”, says Verizon’s Porterfield. Porterfield added, “When people spend their money, its gone. But the recognition that comes from travel incentives lives on”. Additionally, in a recent survey of American workers, 85% said they were motivated by vacation travel incentives.
Incentive magazine in their September2003 issue said travel is remembered two to one over cash or merchandise and a USA Today survey said “93% preferred travel over other incentives”. Incentive Magazine said business respondents to a recent survey said travel incentives meet 99% of their objectives.
Travel incentives make great sales incentives. In a special report in Promo Magazine, it was noted that LifeUSA attracted new agents and sent sales soaring by abandoning its annual cash incentive program for an inclusive campaign that gave out merchandise and travel. By the program’s conclusion enrollments exceeded LifeUSA’s initial goal by 700%!
Travel incentives make great employee incentives. Target Appliances President Daryl Gamerman in Maryland said, “We introduced our first travel incentive for sales employees five years ago and since then we’ve only lost staff due to retirement. I don’t ever have a problem with our sales people not working hard or volunteering for extra work, because they know it will help them qualify for a great trip”.
