_-"*T
General Electric Cornparay
Promotion far Gaining Distributor Selling Swpport
-:- : : i-.' can replace a light bulb, but it takes a motivated
, : :: ::! to market the benefits of upgraded quality light-
:--. -.::d that's where the growth and profits lie for General
:-: -:::,: Company and its lamp distributors.
J,. focus altention on its upscale products, GE created a
:"-: :i incentive campaigns for distri-butor salespeople,
"Sca1e \'{t.
-:a:rrueg fun themes of ups and downs, first,
S,--ir-ore " . ." and then "Run the Sellmore Rapids." Dls-
::-,uior salespeople handle approximaiely 5o lines in
-'r,lS1 c&ses, so the campalgn's goalwas io catch their atten-
:-:,r and hold a share of their minds for GE's upscaie light-
in{products. Thevhadfive months to reachthe "sun'-mit"
ard tiren a July breather before starring dovrr the " rapids. "
TLe com-bination brought GE a 4o percent lncrease rl
,.:res of the featured products.
TLe tr.i,l promotions ran under the bannei of "GE
Larp and Ballast Upse11 Erpedition." Eacl, segmtnr
,-f-e red merchandise prizes on three plateaus io pror-ide
r:r:ri saLes levels for distributor reps. The salesperson
:i-rLd ciarm a prize at each level or continue ciimbing to
:, , :. -::ar-rlalue ilr" rnountain.
up
-{r the summit, the iri:rner's name was entered in a
''Ti.e S\.'s the Llmjtl" sweepstakes offerrng 5c irips to a
cL-rclce of five destlnations. These champj.on climbers also
recerved a \4t. Sellmore brass paperweight inscrjbed "1
Fleached the Top."
-li the end of the year, those u'ho made the rapids finish
Ine also had a chance to v.il vacation trips, including a
\rirg::l isiands wind;ammer cruise ald a Grand Canvon
r^-L-;i e - r,'a i er erped iti on.
The promotion began irr January, rn'hen Mt. Selimore
aillouncements. catalogs, and other materia-ls v,'ere
marled to distri-butors. GE's own sales force of 3oo f isited
ciistri-butors to pitchthe program, put uP posters, andhold
sales meetings.
t/
The distributor signed up its people. anC they were
grven a sales 1og and claim formto order any of rz incentive
ltems where they qualified. To reach'tire first level of Mt-
Sellmore, the sales rep had to seII ro cases of the feaiured
products. Level z was reached at 2c cases, and the levei 3
gorJ *u* 3o cases. Backingrhc effor.. sales reps had a
"ales
'Trv-A-Case" form To start customers on the Watt-N{rser
or oiher upscale 1ines.
To keep the salespeopie coricentrating on seliing' uith
a minimum o{ paperw-ork. they had or-rly to fill out the
claim forru listing tiie cl-rstomer's name, inYcice nurnber,
Llrocuct code. and,num,ber o{ cases. This v'as r-erified by
the GE sales rep, arrd no invoice copies or other records
lvere requrred.
Each rep corrki cjairrr r-rp ro tirree awaicis during the
fi-,.e-ilon.rir canlaiE-:. Thus. r.'hen a salesperson solC rc
ca-.es. he or she irai io de cide whethe:- to take the inccnri','e
rrrmedratelr', or coniinue to the ne--,1 ievei.
Fi-,,e .Lot..t v'ere ofiered at leve1 r: a popittr 3acket,
iqlr{e set, binoculars. elecrric ori}i. or GE clocli-rariio-
teie';hone. -\t rhe nexr lriare au. .he sales rep could earn a
drsc camer-a. clock-radio. fcur-p:.eceluggage set, or afish-
ing kit. At the sumnrit. a salesperson cou-ld select a wrist-
ra.atch. co rdless phone, o r Sp acemaker T\'' set.
Everv tlme the sales rep eamed a summri-ieveltaward
bv selling 3o cases of 1amps. one sl4reepstakes chance u'as
entered. Ten trips weie anarded bv drau'ings in each of
five sales regions. Trips rvere indir,rdual, rather than in
gloups, and each u,i:rner could choose bei ween Colorado.
Nert, Orleans, Las \,'egas. Orlando and Disnev\trror1d. cr the
Bahamas. Each tnp v'as for fcur da1's and three nights.
rt.ith S:oc spendingmoneJ throunin. ,.
The Mt. Seilmore climb ended on June 3o, arld in Ju1;,
the Sellmore Rapids carnpaiSn materials rn'ere in the fieid,
ready fcr anArgust r start. The concept ltlas the same, v-ith
 : : -i:::--a _-
=-::ji-::-t-S: : :-:-: --i."
".:..
:r,l ieve. _1 jur.ped tc 40 cases i:: saies
:rr rerraids. .Ar:.d now ni:rners cou_ld eajrn up to five prizes
instead of three, including an exira award if they com_
pieted all three rapids levels before Septemler i2.
In both campaigns, the sa-les objective emphasized
increased movement of the upgraded lighting products
and promoted relighting, not just repiacing 1amps. Con-
r,lncing commercia_l and industrial buyers that ,.The time
is right to relight" requires creative selling by the distrjb -
utor rep.
Approrimately 15,ooo reps were in the field, and more
tha:r i4,ooo registered to participate in GE's campaign. Of
this num-ber,3,7o6 of them earned awards, with many
earning more than one-for a total of more than 5,zoo
incentives given.
GE's upscale products covered by the incentive pro-
gram offered i.mproved lighting quality and energy sav-
ings. These products were more profitabLe, and tirey
S-....=:: i-:j-: --- - :,:::'t--.i -:: al:ur j::,er:rtr' oit,:ra_i sa1es. Duringthe
can:pa,gr, ho'wever. sa]es for GE's upscale llnes increased
ic pror-lde blg- on average by 4c percent o\.er the prer.ious year, despite
hear,y price competirion and iraport pressure. More than
z.! millionof these upscale iampsv,ere sold, u,hiie sa-les of
standard products u.ere flat.
The GE Lamp and Ballast Upsel1 Expedition was a big
hit wlth distributors and their salespeople from the start.
Alj the way up the mountaln and dovr the rapids, exciting
incentives kept the reps arrention on the sales objective
and on the firush Line.
Disaussion Questroms
r. What do you thinl< accounted for the dramatic suc_
cess of GE's promotion program in gainlng distr"ib-
utor selling support? Discuss.
z. Do you thilk that "fun and games,' are really neces_
sary in promoting a "serious" product such as i.n_
dustrial ii ghtin g? \X*/ h,v o r r+.hy not ?