Gamification in Sales | Upside of Motivation & Growth

Tell me, and I forget, teach me, and I may remember, involve me, and I will learn. – Benjamin Franklin
There is a significant buzz on Gamification, previously seen as a management trend and is being implemented more and more by many organizations to drive customer and employee engagement. It is especially proving to be a very positive approach to motivate sales teams and make the most of their enhanced productivity. Techniques that were once used in video games are now being applied in gamification to boost sales by awarding points. Points are awarded for making appointments or getting customer orders etc.. For those who are not familiar with the term, Gamification sounds like a buzzword and something gimmicky. Gamification is defined as the application of game design elements, competitions, and leaderboards to motivate behavior.

Sales personnel are ambitious people, competitive by nature and gamification plays into that perfectly. Small competitions are perfect for sales reps.
A typical SalesRep always wishes to be first in the team, and a little challenge in a competitive environment will drive them even further and make them work harder on their goals.
Displaying real-time standings promotes recognition and gamification is the best to make their jobs even more exciting and an opportunity to compete with their peers.

On the flip side, Gamification is often loosely defined, leading to market confusion, inflated expectations, and implementation failures. Gartner is redefining gamification as “the use of game mechanics and experience design to engage and motivate people to achieve their goals digitally.”
The gamification market is expected to reach USD 11.10 Billion by 2020, at a CAGR of 46.3% [3]
Gamification has been applied to almost every aspect of life, viz – Marketing, Ideation, Healthcare, Financial Services, Employee Productivity, Government, etc. The term “gamification” first gained widespread usage in 2010, in a more specific sense referring to the incorporation of social/reward aspects of games into the software. Among established enterprise firms, SAP AG, Microsoft, IBM, SAP, LiveOps, Deloitte, and other companies have started using gamification in various applications and processes.
A Deeper Look into Gamification:
Gamification is 75% Psychology and 25% Technology – Gabe Zichermann.
Gamification philosophy stands on cognitive psychology and behaviorism and is an “effective approach to increase motivation and engage users’ 
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” — Jim Ryun
 

The goal of gamification is to motivate people to change behaviors or develop skills, or to drive innovation.

 
Gamification focuses on enabling players to achieve their goals. When organizational goals are aligned with player goals, the organization achieves its goals as a consequence of players achieving their goals.
Human motivation and its impact on business is a complex topic. Gamification is not just about video games and sales contests.
On the other hand, Gallup study is indicative of – 87%OF EMPLOYEES WORLDWIDE as NOT ENGAGED AT WORK, so, how do we relate and get started?
Get Started towards —-> Advantage Gamification.
“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” — Tony Robbins.
The key to sales gamification lies in understanding why, when, and how to apply it to the sales teams and also to keep them continually engaged in a meaningful experience. Gamification begins after clearly defining business objectives and aligning sales activities with these goals. It is a simple act of measuring performances and providing instant recognition and appreciation to those who exceed/succeed on their goals.
Studies also predict that Sales Performance Management (SPM) services will double to roughly $5.6 billion by 2020 [3] and this includes gamification that focuses on sales acceleration.

The more training and technology, the more efficient, knowledgeable, and fast sales teams are, this competitive advantage is helping to drive the market and open up numerous opportunities to gamify the sales acceleration process.
Data in the CRM can be used to identify where bottlenecks are formed and can be addressed to keep the teams focused and operating at higher levels.

How Future B2B Value will be derived from Gamification
Future solutions will go well beyond the coding web and mobile apps. Advanced machine-learning models have transformed the way systems can leverage visual recognition, speech, and language understanding that are used in gamification.
For B2B players, it means the ability to react faster to the market and gain an edge over the competition through virtual performance improvement programs. Whether that involves an incentive program, a set of behavior-based learning opportunities or one-to-one communications, the intersection of AI, gamification and incentive programs delivers a whole new world of possibilities.
Machine learning works on the evidence that computers can be taught to do something by coaching over and over again until they produce the desired results. Little code or writing rules is needed. Traditional coding will become less important as the industry makes way for people who have a high-level understanding of mathematics and intuition for pedagogical methodology. Eventually, motivational contests that can “learn” from activity levels and audience results will be able to improve the rules of participation for better incremental gain.
There are limitations today with what can be done. Contest rules are fairly simplistic and generally such as “do this — get that,” and are managed on a single platform that may or may not integrate various corporate initiatives. In the future, incentive program design and implementation will happen within an ecosystem of apps where game pieces, badges, and points are collected and redeemed for personalized rewards based on machine learning [5]
Lakshmi Nanduri -Program manager @YASH Technologies
References:

1. https://blogs.gartner.com/brian_burke/2014/04/04/gartner-redefines-gamification/
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamification
3. https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/gamification.asp
4. https://www.gallup.com/services/190118/engaged-workplace.aspx
5. How Future B2B Value Will Be Derived From Gamification https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2017/10/23/how-future-b2b-value-will-be-derived-from-gamification/#7a5ecce15e52
6. https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-business-research/call-for-papers/special-issue-theoretical-perspectives-and-applications-of-g

• Gamification in Sales
• Motivate Behavior
• Psychology and Technology