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Looking for Ways to Motivate Your Sales Team? Look to Cisco’s New and Improved Seller Rewards Program!

Most good sales managers know that salespeople tend to be highly motivated by compensation and recognition. Without these two things, most people will not put 100% into the job. As a former field salesperson, I can 100% confirm that incentives, in whatever form they came, drove my efforts. I’m not saying that recognition wasn’t important, or my commission didn’t matter. But when I had the opportunity to participate in an incentive program where I could earn extra dollars, it ALWAYS got my attention and motivated most of all.

If that sounds like you and your team, you’ve come to the right place. The Seller Rewards Program rewards Cisco Partner Companies for their employees selling Cisco products or completing various challenges designed to improve sales skills or knowledge of Cisco Products. Seller’s earn “Points” which can be redeemed for hundreds of thousands of name-brand merchandise, gift cards or even cool excursions.

Starting in FY21 (August 2020), we are making it even easier for Partners to participate in this great program. Here are just a few of the changes you can expect to find in the FY21 Seller Rewards Program:

1. The rewarded Points go to a Partner Company Account instead of to individual Sellers directly. We know that our Partners want to be in more control of their Sellers’ Incentives. We are enhancing the program so that each Partner can decide HOW their Sellers participate in this program. Most Partners will opt to have their Sellers continue to claim their own rewards. However, ALL rewarded points will go directly to the Partner Company Account before going to the Sellers’ accounts. Partners can now choose one of two options:

Option A: Partner companies can choose to allow Sellers to claim their own rewards and then have the Seller Rewards Platform distribute the points automatically into the Sellers’ account as they were claimed. This is the most motivating option as Sellers receive their points as expected, almost immediately.

Option B: Partner companies can elect to have a Partner Admin claim the rewards and then manually distribute the points to their Sellers as they desire. This option will require a Partner Admin to claim all rewards and then take the time to map the points to each of their program participants.

2. Partner Companies have easy access to downloadable reports with details of their Company’s Rewards. We have created downloadable reports that provide detailed information on the total company rewards and the dollar value of points redeemed by your Sellers. These reports will be updated on an ongoing basis so you can get the most up to date information for tax reporting purposes.

3. Quarterly Seller caps are now aligned with the Sellers’ total compensation packages. To better align the relevance of Seller Rewards points as part of a partner sales rep’s total compensation package, the following quarterly seller caps will be implemented for companies that allow direct seller claiming:

APJ 600,000 points

Canada 800,000 points

LATAM 400,000 points

United States 1,300,000

4. Account Statements now available for Partner Companies and their Sellers. With our new Seller Reward Statements, Partner Companies can get an at-a-glance view of their point claims, allocations to Sellers, and the redemption activity on an ongoing basis. Sellers will also have a similar view of their personal accounts with debits and credits to their point balances and transaction dates.

5. New and Improved Marketplace reward catalogs expanded with 1000’s of new options through our new fulfillment vendor. We’re excited to be working with our new fulfillment vendor BIW. BIW has a large global footprint and manages relationships with 1000’s of retailers and service providers around the world. As a result, you’ll enjoy exciting new options available for points redemptions including things like excursions (think white water rafting or tickets to the Sydney Opera House), incredible name brand merchandise options and of course 1000’s of different gift cards.

6. Enhanced Tools available for Partner Inquiries. Instead of opening an inquiry with questions about a specific claim or deal, Sellers now have access to look-up tools and enhanced support designed to answer your question quickly and efficiently.

If you are already enrolled, please stop in and take a look around at www.cisco.com/go/sellerrewards. The FY21 program with the new improved experience will be launching on August 31, 2020. Look for more information coming soon regarding our upcoming open house designed to acclimate participants to the new changes and provide extra opportunities to be rewarded. If you are not enrolled yet, please visit the Seller Rewards Program Page for enrollment instructions and additional information. Get ready for an exciting new fiscal year!

 



Authors

Karin Surber

Sr. Global Business Development Manager

Global Partner Strategy and Planning