It isn’t socially acceptable for a salesperson to publicly brag about earning a 40 thousand dollar commission check...
But it is perfectly acceptable to tell people you and your plus-one are heading to Bali for a week to explore the jungle and relax on the beaches, all expenses paid. You get to share how your company rewards its top producers with trips like this, how they choose a new destination every year, and how excited you are to be part of it.
It doesn’t come off like bragging. It comes off like you earned something rare. And people love hearing about it.
Sharing President's Club qualification is good for the seller (I’d argue it’s in the seller's best interest since it makes you more marketable) and even better for the company (free advertising that’s 100 times more effective than filling out a “best places to work” survey and don’t forget sellers will fall over themselves to close enough deals to qualify).
There’s a name for this (not making any of this up as some sales-psychological hack); it’s called Trophy Value (seriously google it). There’s research behind why experiences like this stick and you’ve probably experienced some degree of it.
Trophy Value is what makes this type of SPIFF/Incentive more than transactional. The excitement starts before the trip, grows during the experience, and lingers long after it’s over. That lasting emotional attachment is what makes these programs so powerful.
You can’t always quantify everything on a spreadsheet, but that doesn’t make it any less real. Same way no one questions the value of Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign.
It’s human nature to share when we’ve done something hard; and this is amplified with sellers. Just check your LinkedIn feed.
If companies lean into that and give sellers something worth sharing, three key audiences win:
- The company (revenue and culture lift)
- The winners (I still yearn to feel the way I did after an exceptional Pclub)
- The plus-ones who can’t wait to share their experience (which further motivates sellers to qualify again)
This is why President’s Club isn’t just a one-off trip. It’s a strategic program that drives revenue, performance, and loyalty with a few deliberate, well thought out choices.
Photo credit: Elephant sanctuary during President’s Club in Bali with my now wife. Haven’t been back to Bali since. Haven’t fed an elephant since. But I’ve told that story more than 400 times, even before starting a President's Club consulting shop.