Published in Tire Business Magazine: Incentives Move Tire Sales Through the Distribution Chain

Are you looking for ways to drive tire sales (no pun intended) through the distribution chain? Sales incentives can serve as a powerful tool to enhance sales performance, gain market share, and widen profit margins. You’re probably familiar with the basic concept of distribution chain incentives: your sales reps do something that helps promote your company’s growth and you reward them for it. But how about using them strategically in specific ways at key points in your distribution channel to move more product?

Incentive Ideas for Tire Distribution Chains

Incentive Solutions’ Executive Vice President, Jim Costello, recently shared some tire distribution chain incentive ideas with Tire Business magazine. Check out these tips and strategies he covered:

Reward behaviors that increase sale value.

Reward tire dealers and distributors for behaviors that increase the value of each sale. For example:

  • Registering product protections (ex. tread life or road hazard warranties).
  • Securing the customer’s aftermarket or check-up service appointment.
  • Submitting feedback surveys, questionnaires, and/or reviews.

Make it easy for dealers/distributors to submit more sales and customer data.

What’s standing between you and more data about your end-consumer? Your dealers’ and distributors’ motivation to send you that data. If you’re asking them to go the extra mile by submitting such information, meet them halfway by making it easier for them to do so. As Jim suggests, “an online document upload tool allows your channel partners to instantly submit warranty registrations, invoices, receipts, etc. in PDF or image file formats.”

Build up product knowledge with training incentives.

Sales training materials such as courses, webinars, quizzes, and daily trivia help ensure your sales force is informed and confident when selling your tire and auto products. A sales incentive platform is capable of delivering this content along with rewarding sales reps for their completion and success. Training incentives help you elevate product knowledge and sales skills continuously.

Create targeted sales strategies with incentive program segmentation.

By segmenting your sales incentive program audience according to region, performance level, role, organization, department, or partner type, you can “manage multiple, simultaneous sales promotions and reward-earning opportunities.” You can create incentive experiences that are highly personalized and relevant to each piece of your distribution channel.

As the 2020 pandemic showed us, even the sales of necessary items like tires isn’t always guaranteed. Having a distribution chain incentive plan in place can help tire manufacturers grow market share and maximize each sale value, making it easier to survive economic downturns, then make the most of a swing in the opposite direction!