The Problem
Picture this: sales teams working hard all month, then waiting 60-80 days to receive their earned incentives. That’s exactly what was happening with our client’s brand promoter network, and it was destroying morale faster than any competitor could.
The entire disbursement process was stuck in the stone age – completely manual, with zero transparency about when payments would arrive. Brand promoters were constantly reaching out with frustrated queries, and the whole system was creating a vicious cycle of low engagement.
Management knew this was unsustainable. When your best performers are questioning whether their incentives will ever arrive, you’ve got a retention crisis brewing. The mandate was clear: fix this process and get disbursement times under 15 days, or risk losing top talent to competitors who actually paid on time.
Our Dual-Strategy Approach
Full Autonomy to Solve
Management gave us complete freedom to identify bottlenecks and implement solutions. This wasn’t about tweaking the existing process – it was about reimagining how incentive disbursements should work in a modern business environment with advanced sales automation tools.
Two-Pronged Strategy Implementation:
- SaaS Platform Adoption: Implemented reward-based system where earned incentives are credited to digital wallets, allowing sales teams to choose brand coupons (Paytm, Flipkart, etc.) or cash out directly to their personal wallets
- Process Optimisation: Streamlined internal workflows and agency coordination for indirect disbursements
Technology-First Solution
We adopted a SaaS-based platform that could handle direct disbursements automatically. This wasn’t just about digitising the old process – it was about creating an entirely new workflow that eliminated manual bottlenecks and provided real-time transparency through marketing automation principles.
Change Management Focus
Technology alone wouldn’t solve the problem if people didn’t adopt it properly. We designed comprehensive training programmes and transition strategies to ensure teams could leverage the new system effectively whilst maintaining strict turnaround time adherence.
Implementation & Results
Phased Transition Strategy
Rather than switching everything overnight, we managed the SaaS platform directly for three months. This hands-on approach ensured proper configuration, identified edge cases, and built confidence before transferring responsibilities to internal teams.
Centralised System with User-Focused Training
The disbursement system was managed centrally, with comprehensive training provided to sales teams on wallet access and fund utilisation. Each team member received email notifications about their performance achievements and detailed performance slips showing transparent calculations, ensuring complete visibility into earnings and disbursement timelines.
BEFORE
- 60-80 day disbursement delays
- Completely manual process
- Zero transparency
- Constant promoter queries
- Low team morale
AFTER
- Under 15 day disbursements
- Automated SaaS platform
- Real-time transparency
- Minimal queries
- Boosted team morale
Measurable Impact on Team Performance
The reduction from 60-80 days to under 15 days wasn’t just a process improvement – it was a complete transformation of team dynamics. Brand promoters could focus on selling instead of chasing payments, and team leaders could concentrate on performance coaching rather than payment troubleshooting.
What We Learned
Technology Adoption Requires Human Strategy
The SaaS platform was powerful, but success came from the 3-month transition period where we managed it directly. This hands-on approach built internal confidence and identified process refinements that made long-term adoption successful.
Incentive Timing Impacts Performance
Reducing disbursement time from 60-80 days to under 15 days had effects far beyond payment processing. Team morale improved, retention increased, and sales performance got better because people could see immediate rewards for their efforts.
Process Optimisation Beats Feature Addition
Rather than building complex custom solutions, we focused on optimising existing workflows and integrating proven SaaS tools. This approach delivered faster results with lower risk and better long-term maintainability.
Transparency Eliminates Most Support Issues
When brand promoters could see exactly where their payments stood in the process, query volume dropped dramatically. Clear communication and real-time status updates solved more problems than any support team expansion could.
Key Results Achieved
- 75% reduction in disbursement time (60-80 days to under 15 days)
- 90% decrease in payment-related queries
- Significant improvement in team morale and retention
- Enhanced transparency with real-time payment tracking
- Sustainable process successfully transferred to internal teams
