May 2, 2025 Offset Slowing Home Sales with Smarter Incentives

Building product companies can use smarter incentives to drive sales and strengthen relationships, even as the housing market slows.

Building Resilience Through Relationships

When times are good, it’s easy to take partner loyalty for granted. But in a tougher market, loyalty becomes a competitive edge. For building product companies, sales incentives are a strategic tool to stay competitive, gather data, and protect market share when buyers are holding back and prices are under pressure.

Investing in incentives now can help building product brands:

• Stay top of mind with contractors and distributors who may be getting hit from multiple sides.
• Encourage upselling and cross-selling of high-margin or strategic products.
• Keep sales momentum during economic slowdowns.
• Gather real-time sales data to inform marketing, forecasting, and product strategy.

This isn’t theoretical. Our partners who implement incentive programs in line with broader business priorities typically see an average 30% increase in sales and outperform competition, especially during periods of economic contraction.

What Makes an Incentive Program Work?

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach, but our most successful programs often have these traits in common:

• Clear goals and structure: Participants need to understand exactly what behaviors will be rewarded. The 20-60-20 rule is a proven approach: reward the top 20% with premium incentives, while offering lower-tier rewards to motivate the middle 60%. This structure boosts sales and keeps teams engaged.
• Tiered rewards: Offering rewards based on performance helps engage both casual and top performers, motivating everyone to strive for more.
• Digital accessibility: The program should be easy to join and navigate, whether via app or online portal, ensuring participants can access it from any device.
• Smarter real-time reporting: Participants want to track their progress, and brands need data to optimize performance. Real-time reporting keeps everyone aligned and drives continuous improvement. Dashboards and reports include predictive analytics that surface trends in key metrics to help guide strategy before issues arise. Explore ways AI and automation can enhance your strategy here.
• Personalized support: Having dedicated program managers helps drive adoption and troubleshoot issues, especially in industries where tech adoption varies.

The ROI of Recognition

One of the most underappreciated benefits of sales incentives is their ability to make frontline sellers feel seen, especially when the reward is thoughtfully chosen and meaningfully presented. Contractors and distributors are often bombarded with requests from brands, often with little recognition in return. A well-run incentive program tells them: We value your partnership, and we’re invested in your success.

That emotional connection is what turns a transaction into a relationship. Picture a contractor getting a thank-you note from their rep alongside a gift card they can use for a night out with their family, or a distributor recognized by name in front of their team when they reach a milestone and earn a reward trip. These experiences create memories, foster loyalty, and strengthen trust.

It’s also why a one-size-fits-all approach often falls flat. The most effective programs consider how rewards are delivered (a public shout-out from a manager versus a private message), how desirable and personal they feel (a custom travel experience versus generic swag), and how unexpected rewards can create even more impact. In stressful times, feeling genuinely appreciated, on both a practical and emotional level, can be just as motivating as the reward itself.

The Value Exchange Has Changed

Sales incentives aren’t about bribery or buying loyalty; they’re about recognition and reinforcement. At their best, they create a meaningful value exchange: participants get rewarded for driving results, while brands gain access to performance data, increase market share, and deepen relationships across their sales channels.

For building product brands with indirect or multi-tiered sales structures, this is especially impactful. It’s not always easy to see who’s selling your product — or why they might be choosing a competitor instead. A smart incentive program adds transparency to that equation, capturing sales data and giving marketers and sales leaders a window into what’s really working.

Why it Matters Right Now

It’s been a tough season for the housing market. According to a Forbes report updated April 7, rising inflation and high interest rates have driven up the cost of building materials. Additionally, the impact of federal tariffs is reverberating across the industry. According to Realtor.com, Trump’s tariffs are expected to raise the cost of building a new home by $9,200 on average. These tariffs apply to a wide range of imported goods and have pushed the average import tax rate from 2.3% to 26%.

That’s a major jump in the cost of source materials, and one that’s forcing builders to raise home prices to stay profitable. For the brands supplying those builders, it adds new urgency to differentiate themselves, justify value, and build tighter relationships with their sales channels. Incentivizing dealers, contractors, and distributors to champion your products — rather than the competition — has never been more critical.

A Real World Example

Take one of our clients, a leader in U.S. construction equipment sales and rentals. In the midst of a housing market slowdown and with new competitors entering their markets, they partnered with us to launch an incentive program focused on building relationships. Instead of relying on simple discounts, the program delivered value that resonated with both customers and employees, leading to sales of key products increasing by 40% over three months.

What I love about this kind of result is that it’s not just a short-term win. It creates long-term loyalty and preference, which leads to stronger advocacy and more success at the point of sale. When you reward the right behaviors and engage your partners in meaningful ways, you’re investing in the future of your brand, not just today’s sales.

Don’t Wait for the Market to Bounce Back

It’s tempting to hit pause during a slowdown. But the brands that lean in now will be the ones that emerge stronger when the market rebounds. Incentive programs offer an efficient, targeted way to maintain sales activity without relying on aggressive discounts or massive ad spend. They’re also a smart investment in long-term loyalty — something that’s hard to buy back once it’s lost.

About the Author:
Nichole Gunn is the Global Chief Marketing Officer at Extu, bringing over 20 years of marketing expertise in the B2B sector. With a passion for data-driven strategies and innovative leadership, she excels in demand generation, brand development, and customer experience. Across 3,500+ industry partners, Extu’s award-winning content marketing has consistently increased sales by 30%. Notable clients include Adobe, FW Webb, Dell, and Toyo Tires.

Read more from the author:

Choosing the Right Sales Rewards | Modern Marketing Today, January 9, 2025

Through-Channel Marketing for HVAC Contractors | ACHR News, November 16, 2024

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