How do you align your retail sales team and incentives with omnichannel and cross-channel goals?

1 Define your objectives

Before you can align your sales team and incentives with omnichannel and cross-channel goals, you need to define what those goals are and how you will measure them. For example, do you want to increase online sales, in-store traffic, repeat purchases, average order value, or customer retention? How will you track and attribute these metrics across different channels? How will you communicate these goals and expectations to your sales team? Having clear and specific objectives will help you design and implement effective incentives and feedback systems.

2 Train your sales team

Your sales team is the key to delivering a great customer experience across channels. They need to have the skills, knowledge, and tools to serve customers on their preferred channel, whether it is online, in-store, or on the phone. You need to train your sales team on how to use your omnichannel and cross-channel platforms, such as your e-commerce site, your mobile app, your CRM system, or your loyalty program. You also need to teach them how to cross-sell and upsell across channels, how to handle returns and exchanges, and how to provide consistent and personalized service.

3 Reward your sales team

One of the biggest challenges of aligning your sales team and incentives with omnichannel and cross-channel goals is to avoid creating silos or conflicts between different channels. You don't want your sales team to compete or cannibalize each other for commissions or bonuses. You want them to work together and share the credit for each sale. You can do this by creating incentives that reward your sales team for the overall performance of the business, not just for their individual channel. For example, you can offer a team-based bonus for reaching a certain revenue or profit target, or a customer satisfaction score. You can also reward your sales team for referrals, cross-channel sales, or repeat customers.

4 Monitor and adjust

Finally, you need to monitor and adjust your sales team and incentives according to your omnichannel and cross-channel goals. You need to collect and analyze data from different sources, such as your e-commerce site, your POS system, your CRM system, or your customer feedback surveys. You need to track and evaluate the performance of your sales team across channels, and identify the strengths and weaknesses of each channel. You need to provide regular and constructive feedback to your sales team, and recognize and celebrate their achievements. You also need to review and update your incentives and goals periodically, and make sure they are aligned with your business strategy and customer needs.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?