Steady Eddie

Sales managers in search of a new merchandise incentive reward to dangle in front of their salespeople are confronted with a bewildering array of options. So how do you choose? Well, first you want quality, right? Your salespeople aren’t going to give their all for something with a price tag from the Everything’s a Nickel store. Second, you want a brand name. You don’t have time to explain that the Mongolian Trading Company is really a well-respected retailer. And third, you want options. Your salespeople can’t be labeled or pigeonholed easily, so you can’t go with a one-size-fits-all reward.

Many sales organizations looking to meet all three of these strict constraints have found a happy solution with the Eddie Bauer catalog. According to Kathie Henderson, the company’s manager of incentive sales, these three are among the most compelling reasons customers look to Eddie Bauer to solve their incentive dilemmas.

“Eddie Bauer is a highly recognizable brand name,” she notes, “so contest participants already will be familiar with the high-quality merchandise and apparel in the catalog. Plus, with such a wide range of offerings, from casual apparel and travel gear to swimwear and much more, it’s virtually guaranteed that your salespeople will find something – if not a number of things – to motivate and excite them to reach their goals as they look through the catalog or surf our Website.”

Noting that today’s sales forces typically reflect a greater diversity than ever before, Henderson also points out that incentive solution providers must be able to deliver rewards that inspire and motivate people with all sorts of backgrounds and interests.

“Our customers know they can use the Eddie Bauer catalog as a sales incentive with the confidence that no one will be left out,” she says. “Young, outdoorsy types, working moms with young children, people who like to travel, people who don’t like to travel – our catalog customers come from a range of demographics and income levels. So even if your team includes both lower-level reps who might only be working toward a $50 gift card and more established reps chasing a gift card worth 10 times as much, both groups will be motivated by what they find in the Eddie Bauer catalog.”