The First Step in a Travel Incentive ... Set the Goal
Pretty basic.
Like when they asked Casey Stengal what was the most important position on the team. Casey answered emphatically and without hesitation, "The Catcher!"
"Why the catcher, Casey?"
"Because, if you don't have a catcher the ball'll roll all the way to the screen." Pretty basic.
Because if you don't have a goal how can you know where you are going, and how can you know when you arrived?"
Your business is not like my business or your brother's business. Your business is distinct, completely separate, maybe even unique. That being so there are rules, just like the Laws of Nature, that transcend the differences and remain immutable.
The Prime Rule to grasp when you design a Travel Incentive goal is: A Travel Incentive should be a profit center, i.e. Any expenditure of money should return more than its worth in additional profits.
The second of these Rules: Always use a Point Goal Structure. A goal structure utilizing points not dollars, not percentages ... but points. I.e. 600 or 6,000 or 60,000 trip points wins a trip. The prime reason a Point Goal Structure is better (than a Dollar Goal structure) is flexibility. You can manipulate trip points to assume a design that will support and reinforce every one of your contest objectives. When you download our “Ground Rules for a Point Goal Incentive Travel Contest.” You will see the effectiveness of our use of trip points to guarantee two basic rules of the Travel Incentive Marketing Tool:
(a) Guarantee that our contest will be a profit center,
(b) Made the trip achievable by anyone willing to expend the extra effort, by setting the participants required sales increase goal for their first trip at a most reasonable level (19%). And for their second trip, a tough but attainable level (33%).
Author’s opinion: Don't over-stess at the needed 33% sales increase for two reasons: The first is that no man or woman will ever have a stronger incentive, or could be more motivated to suceed, than when he or she is has earned a deluxe, all expense paid, heavenly vacation for himself or herself and now must earn a companion trip for their spouse to make the journey a shared experience they treasure together, and remember as long as they remember anything. You'll receive the greatest extra effort they are capable of giving. Second, because we will offer them a way to buy the needed points to insure the sharing experience.
The flexibility of a trip points structure is a wondrous thing.
The Fairmont Banff Springs, Alberta Canada. A fine destination for Travel Incentive winners.
The last Rule: Make the trip point goal challenging but achievable for the majority of the participants; "If it is viewed as unattainable, the program will be destined for failure." Quote from Wikipedia.
Accumulating Trip Points: The Participants are, to use a fitting metaphor, climbing a mountain. They are part of a team but it hardly matters how their teammates fare. They alone are the important team member. What matters is that they reach the summit not how many of their team mates make it with them.. For once they reach the summit they will be rewarded by a flight to a deluxe, all expense paid (yes, heavenly) vacation with their most significant other!
Their first leg from ground to Base Camp is the easiest. So we set a Base Camp goal that is equal to their total revenue produced during last year’s contest period. We award the participants one trip point for every $1,000 in revenue they produce until they reach their Base Camp goal.
Author’s opinion: Any salesman or entrepreneur worth his or her commission check or annual profit believes they can, at the very least, equal last year’s sales. That’s why I said it was the easiest.
Once past their Base Camp goal we award them twelve (12) trip points for each $1,000 in revenue.
Once they have earned their first trip we award them twenty four (24) points for each $1,000 in revenue.
