The President’s Club (or CEO Club, High Achievers Club, etc.) has become a common way for companies to honor and recognize their high performing employees. Usually this exclusive “club” is targeted towards sales representatives as a way to motivate them throughout the year to hit their sales targets and to see all of their hard work pay off in a big way when the sales numbers are final.
Top performers are announced within the organization and then typically taken on a trip to celebrate their successes. Sounds great, right? Hit your sales goal, board a plane and enjoy a week in paradise – sign us up! But, someone has to plan this trip. Maybe that someone is you, and you’re not sure how to structure the parameters of the contest let alone plan a weeklong vacation at a resort. Don’t stress! Today we’re sharing ideas that should make the planning process easier.
Set the contest parameters
Prior to deciding what resort you’ll use, what gifts you will give away, or any of the “fun” stuff, you’ll need to determine how you want to structure this contest, and what goal the sales representatives will have to achieve to be considered for this coveted award.
First, have a number of attendees in mind. You’ll need to establish your budget early on in order to make the most of this trip, so knowing how many employees you’ll need to provide transportation and lodging for is extremely important. Once you have that number in mind – maybe it’s 5% of the sales force or more like 10% if you have a larger budget or a smaller group of employees – try to avoid having this contest pan out with winners from only one region.
Your reps will be more motivated if they know the playing field is even from the jump. For example, award the two top performing sales representatives from each regional territory and then the top two overall nationally performing reps. This way, you’ll get a great group of employees from diverse locations across your company’s territories.
Location, location, location
Now that your parameters are set, and your number of attendees is roughly mapped out you’ll need to pick the location for the trip. Some of the most popular destinations for President’s Club trips are tropical resorts or getaways outside of the United States. Interested in a pro tip? Don’t cut corners when you choose the resort. You want this trip to be highly desirable, and also serve as motivation for years to come. If the President’s Club winners return from the trip and spread the news that the trip was hardly worth the effort they put in all year long, you’re in trouble. All-inclusive resorts are a budgets best friend, you won’t stress out about additional costs like food and beverage, which can fluctuate greatly and are hard to predict. Don’t forget to account for transportation when you’re planning this getaway – your winners will need to get there somehow!
Announce the winners and send some swag
Once the sales contest has concluded, typically at the end of the year, you’ll need to determine your winners and announce them to the organization. Once your finance or accounting team has had a chance to review the numbers, now comes the fun part – letting the recipients know they’ve won! You can announce the winners of the competition in so many ways, but here are some ideas to get you started:
- Schedule a conference call or webinar with the entire sales organization and executives
- Include the announcement in your weekly Sales Newsletter if you have one
Personalized phone calls to the winning reps prior to the announcement to the rest of the organization would be a great way to personally acknowledge their hard work and prepare them. After the organization and recipients are aware that they are being rewarded, send out some customized swag. We like to call these packages “hype gifts”. The goal is to acknowledge the winner’s hard work, but also get them excited about the upcoming trip.
If you’re going somewhere tropical, which you most likely are, play up the location theme. Items like branded sunglasses and beach towels are great gifts to get your winners in vacation mode. You can customize these items with your brand logo or even come up with a logo and tagline specifically for the President’s Club trip – we love this option. It provides a great keepsake and reminder of the hard work that the rep put in to earn the trip and the swag.
Some other great hype gifts are items that make traveling more enjoyable – think Bluetooth earbuds for the plane ride, or a portable phone charger to make sure that all of the devices are charged up and ready to take photos of the trip. Another great option is to create a short video with footage from the resort so you can really drive home how amazing this trip will be that they are about to embark on.
It’s time for the trip
So it’s finally time for the President’s Club trip to actually take place. All of your planning and all of the sales team hard work is finally over, and it’s time to enjoy the resort that you meticulously planned out. You want to make sure that your team feels comfortable and welcomed to the resort when they arrive, and the best way to make sure this happens is with some welcome gifts, or as we like to call it “room drops”. In a nutshell, room drop gifts are personalized products sent to the resort ahead of time and placed into the employee’s rooms for them to receive once they arrive. It’s always exciting to walk into your room and see that someone at your company has thought of you enough to send a gift to surprise you! The perfect way to choose a room drop gift is to think of what your employees will want to use while they’re enjoying their week in paradise. Customized apparel – think tank tops, tee shirts or hats – is always a great choice; your employees can sport their branded apparel proudly throughout the week. Vacuum insulated tumblers are thoughtful room drop gifts; they’ll keep your employees beverages nice and cold. Backpacks and Bluetooth speakers are also guaranteed crowd pleasers – winners can stow their belongings and bring their favorite tunes to the pool.
Another way to welcome employees is to have a member of Sales Management or maybe even someone from the Executive team, depending on who is attending this trip, meet employees in the lobby of the resort with a smile and a glass of champagne. Toast the hard work of the individuals who ushered your company towards success over the past year.
Don’t forget that this trip also serves as a fantastic way for members of the organization to get to know each other and network in a no pressure, off site environment. Don’t be afraid to plan some activities for downtime at the resort, but remember that mostly your employees will want to relax and kick off their shoes after a productive year of sales.
Gather feedback
After everyone has returned from the trip and had some time to get back into the swing of things, send out a survey to gather feedback. An electronic survey allows employees to anonymously give their honest feedback about the President’s Club Trip. Ask what they liked or didn’t like, what they wish would have been a part of the trip, or what the company might try to improve upon for next year. This is a great way to improve upon the quality of the award year after year.
