Extreme Teams

If this is business as usual, you can toss out the ties and jackets in favor of survivor shorts and trekking boots. At the offices of Optimus Solutions, an IT services provider in Norcross, GA, you’re as likely to find Tiki torches, tribal masks, inflatable palms and blow-up rafts as computer screens or ergonomic chairs. Why the exotica? It’s all part of the company’s “Survivor” and “Fear Factor” contests – which may send one salesperson parachuting out of a plane while forcing another to speak in front of her peers. It’s a toss up which choice carries a higher intimidation factor.

“These contests get the reps’ attention,” says Sandy Potter, vice president of business development. “In times like these, we want our reps to think outside the box and go the extra mile, so we set that example.”

Adventure and creativity have become popular and effective tools to motivate high performers or encourage team spirit. “People are looking for new and exciting opportunities to work together, learn together and socialize,” says Roger Herman, a certified management consultant in Greensboro, NC. “The trend is to bring people together for shared adventures that build relationships, stimulate collaborative thinking and boost performance.”

Here are some incentive and team-building programs that have earned rave reviews. Maybe one of them would suit your team-building needs.

“Survivor” – Sales Style

“Survivor” and “Fear Factor”-themed programs, held during the lazy summer months, “keep motivation high during our slowest time of year,” says Potter of Optimus Solutions. “We have a young, energetic sales force, and they really get pumped up over these contests. The level of participation is very high.”

Sales reps earn points for such specific actions as penetrating new territory, going after the competition, closing a deal, or quoting a new product. “I am trying to build skills and behaviors, because people who do the right things end up with better results in the long term. Our contests are not just games – they are educational processes,” Potter says.

The grand prize, which last year was an all-expense-paid adventure trip to Costa Rica, is awarded via a drawing. Top performers have better odds at winning, because each point equals a ticket in the hopper – yet everyone on the team has a shot at it. “If the reward goes to the same top dog year after year, it’s not as motivating,” Potter explains.

To keep enthusiasm high throughout the contest, each week’s top point-earner is rewarded, while the most dismal performer is penalized – but the details of the bonus or chastisement are always a surprise. “They never know when a reward – or potential punishment – is coming up,” Potter said. For example, one week’s loser might have to confront a fear of public speaking and conduct a presentation to the rest of the sales team, while the winner, who may be afraid of heights, might receive skydiving lessons.

Such small, frequent, nonmonetary awards (or penalties), presented in front of the reps’ peers, can be just as effective in motivating salespeople as big-ticket items or cash, according to a recent study by Cutting Edge Information, a consulting and research firm in Durham, NC. “Instant rewards delivered shortly after sales reps meet a goal or achieve an objective have become very popular,” says Jon Hess, senior analyst for Cutting Edge. “They are an easy means of reinforcing excellent performance, particularly if delivered in a peer setting.”

Drive Sales with a Porsche

Optimus Solutions also boosts sales with a deceptively simple, yet extravagant, incentive: a one-year lease on a Porsche 911 to any salesperson who generates more than $1 million profit for the company – an objective that’s “aggressive, yet obtainable,” says CEO Mark Metz.

“I quickly realized the advantage this incentive had over more traditional options, such as cash, a watch or a trip,” Metz says. “Having the Porsche in the parking lot every day was a constant motivator for all our reps. They all started calculating how much business they needed to generate in order to be driving that car.”

One rep won a Porsche in 1999; three won in 2000; there were five winners in 2001 and another five in 2002. That first year’s winner has continued to meet the goal, year after year. “Seems he didn’t want to go back to driving his old Civic,” Metz says. “Now he has such confidence in his continued performance that he finally sold his Honda.”

More importantly, the company’s revenues have soared from $8 million in 1998 to more than $124 million last year.

Race to the Finish

If there’s no room in your budget for a fleet of Porsches – how about go-karts? At Jim Russell Racing Drivers School in Sonoma, CA, your top performers – fully outfitted in racing suits and helmets – can race go-karts at 90 miles an hour, zoom formula race cars along an autocross course, or burn and squeal tires in 400-horsepower Mustangs.

“Dinners for two and trips to Mexico are fine, but companies are looking for something cooler,” says Del Leutbecher, Jim Russell’s sales manager. “Golf tournaments and gifts are mundane. Sales guys today have an ‘extreme’ mentality. They are highly driven adrenaline junkies. This program gives them that rush.”

Diego Lombardo, an account manager for MobilSense Technologies in Agoura Hills, CA, participated in the racing program in a previous position – a reward for being in the top 20 percent of his team. He says the chance to drive a formula race car was a “huge incentive” – precisely because it was so out-of-the-ordinary. “We had always gone on resort trips, which are great, but this was unique and fun. Anyone can go to a resort, any time – but this was an experience that I couldn’t do on my own, so I worked hard to win it.”

Go-kart racing was exactly the kind of incentive that Pamela Hinckley, vice-president of marketing for Redhook Brewery in Woodinville, WA, was seeking for her best sellers. Redhook, which makes specialty beers, is well known for its quirky and entertaining incentive trips, so wholesalers try hard to win. “We try to pick diverse and interesting destinations that foster bonding through new experiences,” says Hinckley, who has also taken sales managers cruising on Alcatraz Island and horse wrangling at Colorado dude ranches. “Competing on the go-karts forced them to learn about each other, which personalized the trip. Our aim is to maximize fun and friendships that reflect positively on the Redhook brand.”

And while racing may be the ultimate macho dream, Hinckley says, the two women on the trip were just as fiercely competitive once they gunned their go-karts.

Cooking up Sales

Want your salespeople to work effectively together – even in (literally) pressure-cooker environments? Kim Goad, president of Ovations Inc. near Baltimore, MD, says her cooking program literally puts team spirit on the table.

Salespeople, who don snazzy chef aprons emblazoned with their company logo, are randomly assigned to one of four groups, each of which prepares and serves one course of a gourmet meal, including appetizers, soup or salad, entrée and side dishes, and dessert. A personal chef stands by to assist with questions ranging from how to chop an onion to how to coddle an egg, while Goad, who calls herself a “performance improvement consultant,” facilitates organizational, conflict-management and problem-solving issues.

“In just a few hours, participants learn to take risks, deal with limited resources, build trust, solve problems, set priorities and meet deadlines – everything that happens in a long-term team” Goad says. “An activity like this helps the team get to know each other in a congenial environment that fosters better communication. It encourages individuals to work together for a result that everyone can enjoy. They learn to appreciate each other’s skills and call on one another for help instead of constantly competing individually. It allows for a great sense of accomplishment when the meal is complete. And it’s fun!”

The program concludes with a 30- to 45-minute debriefing session in which team members discuss how they can apply what they’ve learned to the work environment, and Goad hands out “Silver Spatula” awards. “When they return to the office, this new knowledge and camaraderie can boost morale, open up communication, and foster the creativity and risk-taking that’s needed to sell,” she says.

It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s a Super-Sales Team!

Seems like closing a sale these days requires Herculean, or at least heroic, powers. No problem. Just send your team to Marty Clark’s WarpShop – a school that turns mortals into super heroes.

“In a nutshell, a team of mere mortals walks in, and in 180 minutes they leave as a cohesive team of super heroes, complete with super hero names, powers, bright red capes, business cards and secret weapons,” says Clark, owner of Martin Production in Raleigh, NC. “And the best part is this: their teammates are the ones who’ve identified their particular skills and powers.”

The group gathers to brainstorm on each person’s “super powers” – for example, they may cite listening, negotiation, networking or closing skills – as well as each person’s “secret weapons,” such as high-volume calling, awesome appointment setting, or deliberate decision making. Then, based on each person’s particular powers and weapons, an appropriate super hero “identity” is chosen, such as Captain Closer, Sell-A-Tron, Big Brander, Prince of Power, The Daredevil Kid. “It’s a riot – but it’s also incredibly energizing,” Clark says. “If there are some intra-team conflicts, this ultrapositive event flies in the face of any negativity.”

According to Clark, long after their WarpShop experience, salespeople make mighty efforts to live up to their superhero identities – hanging their superhero certificates in their offices and even passing out their superhero business cards as icebreakers. “Their super powers, secret weapons and heroic identities become part of the company’s everyday lexicon,” he says. “So the WarpShop effects live on.”

Winning with Wine

Sharing a nice bottle of wine is one way to promote team spirit. Making the wine with your team is even better. Viviani Incorporated, a winery and destination/event management company in Napa, CA, offers a rollicking-fun grape stomp that’s guaranteed to get your team’s feet wet in winemaking, while they also polish their communication, cooperation and listening skills .

Called “Cabernet Chaos,” the contest requires team members to frantically stomp grapes in oak barrels as fast as they can, while competing to produce the most juice in the shortest period of time. The team must also guide its elixir down a copper trough into a jug, which is precariously poised by one team member on a teeter-totter, which is balanced by two team members on each side. Bonus juice is added through a drip system that rewards the team with better equilibrium. The team with the most juice at the end of the round wins.

“People who have never worked together have to listen to each other and communicate to get the common job done,” says Linda Viviani, who also offers other wine-based teambuilding programs, including “Wine Roulette,” “Blind Wine Tasting,” “Who Wants to Be a Winemaker,” and “Take a Cab(ernet).”