I want to talk to you about an annual Holiday Bonus that makes sense. Yes, I know what month it is. But, you need to plan and do some financial work to do it right and it also means you need to start now.

Here’s why…I bet you just hate having to give an annual Holiday Bonus that’s more out of obligation than deserved. Am I right?

It’s not that you’re Scrooge or anything but a lot of contractors have to take the money out of their own bank account or even worse from their own Holiday Fund.

Plus, what I used to hate is if you give a certain size bonus to a staff member based on something that’s not objective it’s pretty near impossible to take it away or even lower it. That stinks!


Here’s what I teach my clients to do instead. It’s called the Company Wide Game:

Everyone on staff participates in this game. So, everyone needs to understand how the game is played. And, this starts with the process we used to arrive at the Annual Company Sales goal. We need to do this through the budgeting process so we know if goals are met and the money needed to pay the company-wide bonus is not out of the company’s pockets.

Typically the bonus is 2% to 3% of annual salary [commissions don’t count because you can’t know this when you do the budget]. This number is known and should have already been added into your annual budget [again, why you shouldn’t wait until it’s holiday season]. It will also be used to arrive at your annual sales goal. If they hit this goal and profitability target, they get the bonus!

A good company-wide game should address the measurable profitability in an objective way. This profitability goal is the one you used to create your annual budget and your annual sales goal. The cost of providing this special bonus for all full-time staff is an excellent way to bring the company together once a month to talk about how they all play a role in sales and profitability.

A big graphic representation that tracks the progress weekly and monthly makes it more fun, as well as attainable. Once again, any reward programs must be self-funded. They are only rewarded based upon hitting the goals which means they pay themselves the bonus. 

The real purpose of a company-wide game is to allow for open discussions on what role a good CSR, a good Dispatcher and a good Tech play and how each person is dependent on the other to win.

By playing this game, it can help everyone in your company come together. And with your training, they’ll understand how the CSR, Dispatcher and Tech can work effectively in order to obtain the same profitability goals as you.

It’s a win-win-win for customers, staff and owners.

Special Announcement:

Biz Experts Al Levi and Ellen Rohr are kicking off a new Teleseminar Series:  Get More Calls Now (starting March 16, 2010)

Together, they’re showing their clients they work with one-to-one how to get their phones ringing right now. And now they plan to share these secrets with others in the Get More Calls Now program which has 3 simple, low-cost marketing “drivers” that will get your phones ringing (more leads, more SALES)…now. They could even double or triple the business you have. Though times are tough, some savvy business owners are going to dramatically GROW their sales. 

The Get More Calls Now program is designed to help business owners who…

• Need to get the phone ringing now? So that you can at lease keep the doors open!
  
• Want to really grow their company and skip the inch-by-inch slow growth process?
  
• Want to do more than just survive and create real opportunities for yourself and your team?

Learn more at www.GetMoreCallsNow.com.

Announcement:

The Step by Step Success program solves the “Contractor Overwhelm” issue by offering one simple, powerful business building Step at a time. Through interactive Teleseminars and one-to-one coaching in Office Hours, Al Levi and Ellen Rohr will help contractors implement ONE action each month that will help them make more money and start living a better life. 

One simple Step…one problem SOLVED every month. Topics include…

• Firefighting 101 teaches you how to handle ANY problem…Once and for All. 
  
• Establishing yourself as someone worth playing with, following…and fighting for. 
  
• Launching Laser-focused Direct Marketing to get Massive Results on a Shoestring Budget.

Learn more at www.StepByStepBusinessBuilding.com.