INCENTIVE TRAVELT H E B U S I N E S S B E N E F I T S O F

W H I T E P A P E R

A STRATEGIC MEETINGS AND EVENT MANAGEMENT AGENCY I cievents.com

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For any business, high sales performance is one of the most crucial indicators of year-on-year incremental growth, and thereby success. It stands to reason then, that even when numbers are positive, business leaders feel there’s capacity to perform higher. Where there’s room for improvement, every opportunity to push sales performance further should be seized.

Enter the business benefits of incentives. Top performing companies, identified by the Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) experiencing over five percent annual revenue or stock price growth, are embracing the power of sales incentives. A massive 93 percent of top performers reported that business executives within the company strongly believe that non-cash incentives grant the organisation a competitive advantage.

Among the different types of non-cash rewards, one particular offering stands out as the most beneficial for driving sales and channel partner performance: incentive travel.

In this white paper, we discuss what makes incentive travel the number one motivator for sales and channel partners, and highlight five destinations for a rewarding incentive trip.

HOW INCENTIVE TRAVEL CAN PUSH YOUR SALES PERFORMANCE FURTHER

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WHAT IS INCENTIVE TRAVEL?

Recognition, a form of social reinforcement, is a major motivator for many people. It can often be considered taboo to discuss cash rewards, but earning incentive travel is likely to act as a form of social capital and encourage recognition from colleagues.

People typically place a greater-than-market value on products that must be earned. In a 2017 study, Adam Presslee and Willie Choi found participants placed higher value on a non-cash reward after having worked for it. Naturally, cash rewards have an objective value that cannot appear greater in this way.

Cash can quickly be mentally incorporated into the recipient’s salary and used for utilitarian purposes which are transactional and unmemorable. Meanwhile, incentive travel creates a lasting memory and opportunity for social connection that may never have been achieved with cash rewards.

Being unique and more likely to create an emotional desire, non-cash rewards are thought about more frequently by your salespeople. This repeated thought builds motivation, encouraging greater effort, perseverance and performance.

When cash is assimilated into salary, recipients can begin to feel entitled to it, meaning if it is taken away motivation can dip below original levels. Incentive travel offers much greater novelty, clearly distinct from one’s pay package.

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PE R C E I V E D F I N A N C I A L VA L U E

S E N T I M E N TA L A PPR E C I AT I O N

G R E AT E R F R E Q U E N CY O F T H O U G H T

AVOIDANCE OF ENTITLEMENT

Incentive travel is an experiential non-cash reward incorporated into an incentive program in order to motivate salespeople to go above and beyond. Professionally designed incentive travel programs can change behaviours in your business, drive profits and improve employee and channel partner engagement. As a non-cash reward, incentive travel is more likely to act as an effective motivator. The IRF identifies key psychological benefits of non-cash rewards that result in great improvements to performance. These include:

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H OW D O E S I N C E N T I V E T R AV E L B E N E F I T

YO U R B U S I N E S S?

to non-cash rewards in general, including merchandise. So why would travel, which can seem expensive, be the superior option for your incentives program?

A stunning 95.5 percent of qualifying program participants felt at least somewhat motivated by a travel reward, according to a survey by the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE). Perhaps more compellingly, 90.7 percent of non-qualifying participants found it similarly motivating and 67.5 percent would work harder to qualify in of incentive travel goes beyond basic motivation.

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Mid-level performers are generally the most difficult to motivate. While top salespeople will typically be self-motivated, those who sit comfortably in the middle need an incentive they deem worthwhile in order to deliver above-average performance.

An open-ended program, wherein any staff who achieves a goal can earn incentive travel, has incredible motivational benefits leading to improvements in sales productivity.

With a program focusing on reach, rather than exclusivity, businesses are able to move a large volume of middle-performers above and beyond their usual performance. Thereby, the business can experience greater incremental revenue growth than if the program only motivated top performers who were already working to their fullest.

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D R I V E I N CR E M E N TA L G R OW T H

Your most effective salespeople are some of your business’s most valuable assets. These team members are already performing highly, but can represent a significant risk should they leave the company.

Individual travel rewards awarded to the highest performing salesperson each year can improve retention of your most valuable staff. Almost three-quarters of all incentive travel qualifiers surveyed by SITE felt increased loyalty as a result of the program.

Sales staff may be less likely to leave their jobs when they are close to achieving a desirable travel reward, and after the fact will feel appreciated, well-rested and engaged.

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R E CO G N I S E TO P PE R F O R M E R S

T H E TO P 5 B E N E F I T S

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For every dollar spent on travel, businesses realise £12.50 in incremental revenue, reports Oxford Economics.

When compared with advertising, for example, the costs of incentive travel programs are much more easily accounted for. The cost of your incentive travel is only incurred when the sales threshold has been met, and therefore goals can be strategically

Consider an incentive projected to result in £7.5 million incremental

would be £2.25 million. So, if the total cost of travel for all qualifying participants were as much as £1.5 million, and this came out of the

money that wouldn’t be achieved without the travel incentive.

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ACCO U N T F O R CO S T S E A S I LY

Travel incentives are not only reserved for your internal sales team. If your business makes use of indirect sales channels, partners can be a powerful tool for building revenue and gaining market share.

Tapping into the full potential of your channel partners means convincing their teams to recommend your products or services over a competitor’s. While common, discounts or commission can

With a highly desirable travel reward, you can excite and inspire channel partners to promote your products and develop genuine loyalty to your brand. As a result, businesses have reported 6.6 percent higher annual revenue growth compared to those without non-cash incentives.

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When properly implemented, incentive travel has the power to change behaviours for the better.

With an enticing destination, thrilling itinerary and comprehensive incentive strategy in place you can encourage your top performers to stay, your middle performers to move up and your channel partners to expand your market share. All of this, while seeing tangible return on investment and fulfilment of tailored objectives according to your business needs.

Incentive travel is a powerful tool for exciting and delighting the people who help your business thrive, but its success hinges on the program’s design.

CO N C L U S I O N

Revenue is not the only objective that can be driven by incentive travel.

The Incentive Travel Industry Index 2018 shows that, while sales and profitability remain at the forefront of objectives, fostering relationships between management and employees, increasing productivity and improving employee engagement are close behind.

Furthermore, almost 70 percent of buyers claim their programs are effective at meeting these objectives, with half saying measurement of ROI or ROO isn’t necessary.

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F U L F I L U N I Q U E O B J E C T I V E S

T H E TO P 5 B E N E F I T S

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S O U T H A F R I C A

INCENTIVE TRAVEL DESTINATIONS

• A true bucket-list destination with exceptionalvalue for money.

• Fly direct to Johannesburg from Londonin 11 hours.

• Delight seasoned travellers with out-of-the-ordinary trips to Rwanda or Kenya.

• Promise an exotic safari, excellent infrastructure

• Excellent exchange rate averaging to roughly18 ZAR to 1 GBP.

J A P A N

• A complete cultural experience awaits11 hours away from London.

• Invite delegates to explore a safe, clean andculturally rich cityscape across Tokyo and Kyoto.

• Showcase world-class service at uniqueaccommodation venues, from traditionalryokans to global hotels.

• Excite travellers with a high-end and trulymemorable stay.

Engage cievents to create a professionally designed incentive travel program for your business. Below are just some of our favourite destinations to inspire your sales force.

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C A N A D A

I N C E N T I V E T R AV E L D E S T I N AT I O N S

• Let your delegates embrace the outdoorswith a variety of land and water activities.

• Multiple flights a day from Londonto Vancouver & Toronto.

• Make the most of a near-equivalent exchangerate and Vancouver’s booming restaurant scene.

• Why not take a walk on the wildside and combineCanada with Alaska for a once in a lifetime trip?

speec less with dramatic line and ythical scenery.

• A multitude of clo e cities to explore, or combine with Scotland or Wales.

• Codeshare services provide a number of great lifts out to Dublin from any major Australian city.

• Value-added tax reclaim of nine percentguarantees value for money.

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L O S A N G E L E S

• Multiple flights a day from London.

• Scale up to a VIP experience with the Hollywood

lifestyle or back down to classic Americana.

• Witness American cultural artifacts and modern-

day global celebrities.

• A stand-alone destination with so muchto see and do combined with amazing food experiences.

•sector particularly if you look outside the key counties.

Established in 1986, cievents has grown into a globally recognised, award-winning, full service strategic meetings and event management

Brisbane, Gold Coast, Adelaide, London, New York, New Jersey, San Francisco, Toronto, Hong Kong, Auckland and Mexico City.

Today, our global resources and being part of the Flight Centre Travel Group affords us extensive negotiating strength and immutable strategic energy. Our incentive travel specialists have travelled the world to garner a wealth of real world experience to give our customers the insights they seek.

Each of our specialists is an expert in concept development, program design, teaser programs, registration, travel and destination management and on-site logistics management.

To learn more about our incentive travel capabilities, contact cievents today.

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