How to Increase Close Rates and Build Better Customer Relationships With Destination Motivation

To increase close rates while also building better customer relationships requires sales managers to perform a delicate balancing act. Luckily, new tech-based solutions can provide sales leaders and their reps with the tools they need to grow their business while also delivering an exceptional customer experience. We sat down with Caleb Nelson, Founder and President of Destination Motivation who shares how his solution has been proven to increase close rates and develop long-last customer relationships. 


Ingage: Can you give us some background on Destination Motivation and how you work in the Home Improvement space?


Caleb: In 2015, I noticed that a lot of Home Improvement companies that were struggling with low conversion rates and high cancellation rates had better outcomes when they started offering coupons or price drops. The problem with this model is that it causes companies to lose out on margins and profits, especially now that there’s so much competition. The average homeowner receives at least 3 estimates for their project, which forces a lot of companies to offer buy-one-get-one deals and other deals that lower margins. 


That’s when Destination Motivation was founded. We help companies differentiate from competition without dipping into those margins and they make more long lasting relationships with their customers. The vacation vouchers we offer give the end user a great experience while helping reps decrease cancellations, increase conversion rates and ultimately make each project more profitable. 


Ingage: Let’s switch gears and talk about how Ingage plays a role in your process. What made you want to partner with Ingage?


Caleb: I first saw Ingage presented by Charley Goldberg at a conference and I immediately said “I want that for my company.” After speaking with the Ingage team, I realized that this would be the ideal partnership because Ingage can provide sales reps a seamless way to integrate the Destination Motivation proposal for customers. Plus, with the advanced analytics on Ingage, sales leaders can go in and see if their reps are actually presenting the Destination Motivation solution or if they’re skipping over those slides. It helps managers fine tune where they need to coach to and ensure that every solution is being presented to close a deal. 


Ingage: We’re excited to hear that we can integrate with Destination Motivation so easily! What kind of results have you seen since starting the partnership with us?


Caleb: Anytime I pitch to a new company, I always ask if they’re an Ingage user because I know if they are, I can point to so many success stories of Ingage and Destination Motivation users. One in particular was a company seeing major fluctuations in their conversion and cancellation rates even though they had adopted Ingage and Destination Motivation. They were honestly getting some pushback from their team who was used to their standard sales process. But with an average cancellation rate of 13%, the sales manager finally decided he would require just one rep to present the new way. Not long after, the cancellation rate went to zero. Now the sales manager requires at least 80% of leads to be presented with the Destination Motivation solution and he can track it using the Ingage analytics. 


Ingage: You mentioned some sales reps were weary of changing their sales process. How do you connect with reps who aren’t interested in adopting new tech or new offerings?


Caleb: This is definitely something we’ve had to face, especially when speaking to long-term sales reps who don’t really care about changing as long as their numbers are consistent. I’ve found that one of the best ways to get reps involved is through a sales contest where we build in a stretch goal and encourage them to beat it. This gets them engaged emotionally and once they start seeing the amazing results, they start using it and really selling it. I love to highlight this one rep who literally said that the Destination Motivation solution was the “stupidest thing” he ever saw. What a burn. Nevertheless, he joined in on one of the contests we hosted and he saw his close rate go from 17% to 70%! Now he’s regularly using it to close deals and build better relationships with his customers. 


I think a lot of the resistance to adopting new tech, especially something like Destination Motivation, comes down to reps simply just being uncomfortable with something new. But when you can show them that it’s a proven system and you partner with other tech like Ingage, it becomes more real and it makes the rep feel more comfortable. 


Ingage: Finally, what are you most excited about in the coming months for the Destination Motivation and Ingage partnership?


Caleb: Overall, I think we already have great integration and complement each other. Going forward, it’s exciting to think about how much of an impact our partnership can have on the industry and for customers of home improvement companies. 


For more information about Destination Motivation, schedule a demo here


To learn more about how to integrate Ingage with Destination Motivation, schedule a demo here.

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