What role do incentives play in optimising sales force effectiveness (SFE)?
CP. Clearly incentives can be an important element in motivating sales representatives; however, they need to be matched to the behaviours and metrics that will dictate sales force effectiveness for that sales team as well as complying with codes of conduct in the individual country. In an SFE model, for example, incentives should be based on achieving optimal coverage or frequency on target doctors and not simply on call rates. If targets are set and measured transparently, the vast majority of sales representatives are motivated by achieving or exceeding them, be they related to the amount or value of what they sell or number of target health professionals seen. To then reward success with financial incentives is vital; however, it is also important to remember the value of recognition both individually by managers and amongst their peers. PDN. I strongly believe that incentives per se have a limited role to play in sales force effectiveness, unless you are working in Central and Eas
