I’ve been asked recently about the difficulty of reaching the right people.
In a blog post, How do you Play the Hunger Game if you Aren’t Hungry?, I talked about this growing difficulty for a project where we were offering $125 to talk to the right audience. We weren’t selling anything: it was a focus group discussion for a client on a topic, and we already held four successful ones. For some reason, this particular one wasn’t working: no one wanted the $125. I personally made 75 calls (our team made over 150) that day and drew a conclusion after speaking with my team: people aren’t hungry.
But is that really true? That no one wants extra money? Specifically, what about the plumbing contractors, an audience that someone asked me about just the other day? Isn’t any “right” audience hungry for money?
Plumbing Contractors Seem to Always be Working
This audience is constantly on the move, balancing tight schedules, emergency calls, and multiple job sites (actually, name an audience who isn’t on the move!). When I recently proposed a spiff program to a prospect to reach plumbing contractors, the prospect said they had tried one once, but it it didn’t work well. Like many others (i.e., we had one prospect who tried direct mail once and concluded it didn’t work), one failure made them stop trying.
A spiff program (Sales Performance Incentive Fund) is designed to motivate the “right” audience to promote or install specific products, and is perhaps one of the most successful ways to reach people who are always busy — but only if structured properly. One effort might not work if it lacks the right combination of strategy and tactics. So why DO such program fail with this type of audience or any audience?
Why Spiff Programs Fail in the Plumbing Industry
- Too Complicated or Time-Consuming. Many spiff programs require too much paperwork (logging purchases, submitting invoices, filling out forms). They simply don’t have the time.
- Delayed Payouts or Confusing Rewards. If a contractor doesn’t get paid quickly, the incentive loses its appeal. Programs that offer points instead of cash (or require too many steps to redeem rewards) create frustration instead of motivation.
- Lack of Awareness or Promotion. Contractors don’t always hear about spiffs—especially if the promotion is buried in an email or left to wholesalers to explain who are busy people too. If the manufacturer doesn’t communicate clearly and consistently, messages gets lost in the daily chaos.
- Not Worth the Effort. If a spiff pays too little (e.g., a $5 gift card for a product that takes hours to install), contractors won’t bother. If rewards are hard to claim, require minimum purchases, or only apply to certain models, participation drops.
- Wholesaler Resistance. If the program requires wholesalers to process the spiff, they may ignore it or deprioritize it. If wholesalers don’t push the incentive, plumbers never hear about it.
There are lots of reasons why one try would fail. However, the point is as usual, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
How to Make a Spiff Program Work for Plumbing Contractors
Keep It Simple—Eliminate Paperwork. Automation can work for or again you. QR codes are an excellent way that contractors would find easy to use. Even texting an invoice of a sale to register it for the spiff would be convenient. A mobile app developed for this purpose would work wonders. You can also pull in the distributor to track sales so contractors don’t have to.
Offer Instant or Near-Instant Payouts. Cash is king, so offering direct deposits gives instant satisfaction. But don’t underestimate the check, either. Our division of our company (MarketNet Associates) pays out more in checks than ACH. No points, no waiting—just real rewards quickly, neatly, efficiently.
Go Big with High-Impact Rewards. You can also offer tiered incentives so bigger purchases = bigger rewards. For example, you might do $25 per unit for everyday products, $100 per unit for premium installs, and maybe a Bonus: Install 10 units = extra $500 payout. There are many ways to structure these programs with contractors. It all depends on your products.
Partner with Wholesalers for Promotion. Make sure wholesalers are on board—offer them a spiff for promoting it. Have promotional materials at counters, in delivery trucks, and on invoices. It’s alright to ask, “How much money do I have to pay out to reach these contractors?” But the real question to ask is, “How much is it worth to you for loyal contractors for your product?”
Use Text Messages and Social Media for Awareness. Email isn’t enough—contractors live on their phones. Send SMS text reminders to those who opt in, and updates of your promotion, always being careful not to overload them (never forget just how busy they are). You can use the social channels of their choice as well!
Winning Spiff Program Ideas for Plumbing Contractors
Here are some ideas you might consider for starting a spiff program for plumbing contractors.
“Fast Cash for Fast Installs”
Depending on the product being spiffed, installation might be a consideration in your spiff. Once installed, many products have warranties. Tie the warranty after installation directly to the spiff. Get the contractor to “fill out” the warranty so at the same time, he’s doing the spiff for himself/herself.
“Win a Trip” Challenge
Have a end of spiff “big prize.” One of our clients did that one year, rewarding with a trip to Hawaii. The aggregate of cash paid out was the determining factor of who got to go on this very successful program, helping keeping them engaged over time.
“Product Up” Rewards
Depending on your product, tie in an “outside the box” reward on top of the cash. For example, what do plumbing contractors use in their trade? Tools, of course, so you can tie in tool rewards (partnering with a tool company perhaps). One client would reward the contractor with a flushometer wrench for every ten warranty cares they returned. Over time, that client built up one of the most accurate plumbing contractor lists in the business. Successful programs take time.
“Fuel Up Fridays”
Contractors drive trucks. Tie in a gas promotion to the spiff so that based on the accumulated sales that the contractor registers, he or she gets “gas money” each month or week or… We all know about fuel cost fluctuations. Building these “on top of spiff” promotions helps build loyalty to your brand.
“Text & Earn”
Building on that automation spin we discussed, have the contractor snap a photo of the installed product to get a bonus spiff. This helps you build case history information for your marketing department to pursue. After all, once you have the contractor’s name and photo and product, gathering the rest of the information for the case history is simply a matter of detective work.
What’s the Point?
The point is brainstorming ideas like this with trial and error will result in a successful program to reach this very difficult to reach audience. It is simply a matter of making it fast, simple and worth their time. If you’d like to hep you structure a specific program for plumbing contractors, drop me an email. Thanks for reading.