--- title: "Motivating Salespeople with Clever Betting Techniques" description: "This article discusses how distributors can use betting techniques to motivate salespeople, drawing on the biblical story of the talents to illustrate the Matthew effect. It outlines setting stakes, creating a prize pool, and public award ceremonies, and advises on which products and timings are suitable for such bets." author: "New Distribution" publisher: "New Distribution" email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com" telephone: "+8615854817671" published: "2014-07-17" language: "en" canonical: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/motivating-salespeople-with-clever-betting-techniques-3f8e890c/" markdown: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/motivating-salespeople-with-clever-betting-techniques-3f8e890c.md" original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/E2CgxCB1AqCRGY2Iqyb3dA" translation: "https://xinjignxiao.com/zh/articles/%E6%BF%80%E5%8A%B1%E4%B8%9A%E5%8A%A1%E5%91%98-%E5%B7%A7%E7%94%A8%E5%AF%B9%E8%B5%8C%E6%8A%80%E5%B7%A7-3f8e890c.md" attribution: "New Distribution — https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/motivating-salespeople-with-clever-betting-techniques-3f8e890c/" usage_policy: "https://xinjignxiao.com/ai-policy.txt" --- # Motivating Salespeople with Clever Betting Techniques > This article discusses how distributors can use betting techniques to motivate salespeople, drawing on the biblical story of the talents to illustrate the Matthew effect. It outlines setting stakes, creating a prize pool, and public award ceremonies, and advises on which products and timings are suitable for such bets. **Tip: Click the blue text above to follow "FMCG Distributor Professional Consulting" for more marketing and distributor internal management insights.** In the New Testament's Gospel of Matthew, there is a story. A king, before going on a journey, gave each of his three servants one talent of silver and instructed them: "Do business with this until I return." When the king returned, the first servant said, "Master, you entrusted me with one talent; I have gained ten more." So the king rewarded him with ten cities. The second servant reported, "Master, you gave me one talent; I have gained five more." The king rewarded him with five cities. The third servant said, "Master, I kept your talent hidden in a cloth because I was afraid of losing it; I did not use it." The king then ordered that the third servant's talent be given to the first, saying, "For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away." This story illustrates the well-known Matthew effect, which has been applied in economics, such as in the stock market. The meaning is that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer; winners win more, losers lose more; those who lead by one step continue to lead. The king's approach not only motivated the servants to some extent but also tested their abilities and identified the clever ones worthy of promotion. In fact, distributors can learn from the king's approach when motivating salespeople. By cleverly using "betting" to motivate salespeople, they can also discover talent. Since it's a bet, rules must be set: **Setting the Stakes.** The most important and attractive element of a bet between a distributor and a salesperson is the stake. Therefore, the distributor must carefully consider the stake amount, which should differ between salespeople and the boss. For salespeople's stakes: First, the stake should not be too low. A too-low stake has no effect on salespeople; it's neither painful nor itchy, fails to stimulate their potential, and may make them feel the boss lacks sincerity. Second, although the stake should not be too low, there should also be an upper limit. If the stake is too high, it may create pressure on salespeople, and they might resort to unethical means to win the bet and avoid losing the stake. If such a situation occurs, the bet becomes meaningless. Therefore, the optimal stake should be between one-third and one-half of the salesperson's monthly income. This not only creates pressure to stimulate their potential but also avoids the negative effects of an excessively high stake. For the boss's stake: Since the salesperson is putting up a significant portion of their monthly income to bet with the boss, the boss should show great sincerity in setting the stake. This makes the salesperson understand: first, the boss takes this bet seriously, so the salesperson should have the right attitude; second, if the boss values the bet this much, winning it will surely earn the boss's respect. Therefore, the boss's stake should be twice the salesperson's stake. For example, if the salesperson puts up 1,000 yuan, the boss should put up 2,000 yuan. If the salesperson wins, they not only keep their 1,000 yuan but also win 2,000 yuan—the appeal is obvious. **Setting Up a Prize Pool.** Most distributors think that setting the stakes is enough. In fact, it's not, because the money is still in each person's hands. Human nature is such that we only cherish things when we lose them. So, at the end of the month, if a salesperson loses and has to give up the stake, they will regret not having worked harder. To address this mentality, distributors should set up a prize pool: at the beginning of each month, participating salespeople and the boss must put their stakes into the pool. This changes the effect dramatically. First, since the stake is no longer in the salesperson's hands, they will feel the pain; second, if they lose at the end of the month, the stake is gone. If this effect is achieved, the distributor can rest assured that the salesperson will work hard for the rest of the month. **Award Method.** At the end of the month, the winner is determined. For the winning salesperson, it should be a proud day. Therefore, the award method should cater to this mentality, i.e., public awarding. This not only further motivates but also enhances the salesperson's sense of honor. The distributor must tally the results on the last day of the month to see who won, then publicly award at the next morning's meeting. Speed is crucial; do not delay, as delaying can have negative effects and cause salespeople to lose interest. The public award should be done properly and formally. Before the morning meeting, the distributor should prepare the prize money, not all in 100-yuan bills; using other denominations can make it look like more. At the meeting, the distributor first announces the results, then praises the winners, and finally distributes the bonuses. During the distribution, take photos or videos. This serves two purposes: one, to cater to the winners' sense of achievement; two, to show new recruits during hiring, proving results with facts. At the same time, the distributor should strengthen the training of long-term winners. Those who consistently win must have higher sales skills than others. Therefore, if the distributor consciously cultivates them, they will become the company's backbone. Through betting, distributors can motivate salespeople, but the bet should be applied to the right products and at the right time to truly be effective. Some products are not suitable for betting, or betting on them has little significance. For example, low-margin products or products with limited sales growth potential. Some occasions call for betting, such as new product launches, countering competitors, or nurturing new products. **First, Cultivate Specialty Products with High Margins.** Specialty products are often second- or third-tier brands, characterized by high margins, low sales volume, and relatively low market share. If a distributor wants to nurture a specialty product into a mature brand in the regional market, they can include it in the bet. The bet boosts salespeople's enthusiasm, so in daily work, they will focus on promoting the specialty product, and pay extra attention to related publicity, displays, and promotional activities. With this pace, after a few months, not only will the specialty product's visibility and exposure increase to a certain extent, but the high-margin specialty product will also bring considerable profit to the company. Over time, if it becomes a mature product in the regional market, it will add a new profit growth point. **Second, New Product Launches with Large Sales Potential.** For mature products in the regional market, or first-tier products, sales volume is already high, so the room for growth is small. Such products are not suitable for betting; even if salespeople work hard, sales won't increase much. However, for newly launched products, betting can play a crucial role. Since they are new, their market share is relatively low, so there is considerable sales potential. If the distributor bets on the new product with salespeople, it will greatly aid the product launch, shorten the time to get into stores, and quickly boost sales, rapidly expanding the new product's influence. **Third, Counter Competitors with Products That Have Selling Points.** Products with selling points have both commonalities and distinctiveness. For example, Six Walnut. Its slogan is "Drink Six Walnut for more brain use." Consumers hear this and associate the product with brain nourishment, making that its selling point. The reason to bet on products with selling points is to counter similar competitors. To stand out among similar products, one must have a different selling point. Therefore, betting on such a product not only increases its sales but also expands its influence. Over time, it will effectively counter similar competitors. Currently, distributors commonly use rewards to motivate salespeople. While this has some effect, small bonuses and penalties often fail to get salespeople's attention. Therefore, using betting not only avoids the lack of appeal of bonuses but also, due to the prize pool, gains salespeople's attention and makes them feel pressure. At the same time, betting fully embodies the Matthew effect: winners win more, losers lose more. This greatly motivates winners and spurs on losers. More importantly, in terms of the company's product portfolio, betting can not only enhance the influence of new products but also help distributors nurture mature products, while also countering competitors. Using "betting" wisely will bring new benefits to distributors. --- **Like this article? Feel free to share it on your Moments by clicking the top-right corner.** About us: WeChat ID: FMCG Distributor Professional Consulting Account intro: 20 years of FMCG distributor operation and management experience, specializing in distributor internal management. 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