The goal is 10,000 and Armstrong is just about there. We’re talking sign-ups for the manufacturer’s What’s the Big Deal Spring 2009 Retail Salesperson Stimulus Package, where salespeople have the opportunity to win an array of prizes just for selling Armstrong resilient, laminate and wood flooring— not to mention $10,000 cash prizes as the top performer in each respective category.

Last fall’s What’s the Big Deal contest attracted about 8,000 sign-ups when all was said and done, and many came away with rewards. This time around, despite the tough economy, selling Armstrong is even easier with the company kicking off its extensive national advertising campaign. Aside from the significant investment in support of its retailers, the products consumers see in the campaign are What’s the Big Deal-eligible for points.

“This time around, the goal was to first increase the number of participants, and then to double the number of retail salespeople earning points in the program and taking advantage of the rewards,” said Kent Clauson, director of marketing. “Retailers love the flexibility of prizes: TVs, trips, etc.” To that end, a recent Armstrong survey revealed 76% of last fall’s participants were satisfied with the level of available prizes.

While retailers can win big throughout the three-month promotion, so does Armstrong. Clauson noted how the company saw an increase in sales throughout the What’s the Big Deal contest. (The aforementioned Armstrong survey revealed the program influenced 81.5% participants to suggest more Armstrong products to their customers.) “When we compared overall sales during the program period year over year as well as the three months prior and three months after, the program products were up significantly over non-program products,” he said. “In response, we have expanded the number of eligible products, as well as more of the popular products, to reward retailers for selling the entire portfolio.”

Specifically, Armstrong has made 30 to 40 more products eligible for What’s the Big Deal points. They include new Grand Illusions and Park Avenue laminate styles, new Bruce wood SKUs and all of its new felt, StrataMax and CushionStep products.

“Basically, the only products that aren’t included are the base-grade commodity products along with the high-end Homerwood and T. Morton brands,” Clauson said. “Going forward, we will look to further expand the number of products in the contest because of the positive feedback.”

Why do so many people participate? Clauson attributes it partly to the rewards but also the ease of participation. “They sign up on the Web site, they get updates, they can claim their prizes online; everything is really simple,” he said.

For more information on the promotion or to sign up, visit retailerchallenge.com.