2025: 13 steps to reviewing your sales commission plan. Access tips from experts in top companies.
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Generally speaking, SPIFF sales reps are closely linked to the desire to improve the company's sales performance!
However, as we shall see, sales reps are one of the best ways of achieving a multitude of sales objectives. And it is vital to define this objective clearly before embarking on the organization and running a sales reps SPIFF.
1. Improve the commitment of your sales reps
Maintaining the commitment of your sales reps is a recurring problem common to all Sales Managers. The first step in solving this problem is to identify the sources of sales reps' commitment.
However, these sources are diverse and specific to each individual: competition, recognition, reward, collective emulation, well-being, etc.
Today, the SPIFF sales reps challenge is one of the ways of responding to most of these sources of motivation. And for good reason: by offering rewards and collective recognition, SPIFF encourages sales reps' commitment and productivity, and creates a stimulating, dynamic and competitive working environment.
2. Increase your company's visibility on the market
Generally speaking, no matter what sector your company operates in, competition is fierce. It's difficult to maintain your position as leader or, on the contrary, to be among the leaders.
To achieve this, some companies set up a specific programme of SPIFF sales reps to consolidate their market position and outperform the competition.
3. Increase your sales
Increasing sales is the main reason why companies set up sales reps. By their very nature, they motivate sales reps to sell more over a given period.
4. Renew as many contracts as possible
It cannot be said often enough: customer loyalty is just as important, if not more important, than customer acquisition!
According to Dawkins and Reichheld, authors of Customer Retention as a Competitive Weapon, "Retaining a customer can cost up to 5 times less than winning a new one".
So, as soon as the contract expiry date approaches, setting up a sales reps challenge is one of the best ways of achieving a 100% renewal rate. Although commission is also an important way of encouraging your teams to renew contracts, the SPIFF sales reps provide additional collective motivation.
5. Supporting the launch of a new product and/or service
The launch of a new product or service will determine its sales rep success. However, despite the importance of what is at stake, most sales reps do not always show their willingness to sell a new product or service to their prospects or customers. And with good reason: it's more difficult to sell what they don't yet know!
To remedy this, a programme of competition and incentives (financial or non-financial) can act as a stimulus and encourage them to enter a new market.
"We organize sales reps from time to time for the launch of a new offering, a new product to challenge initial sales."
Romain Darbon, Business Manager at Figaro Classifieds
6. Reaching your sales rep targets
With just a few days to go before the target date, companies are often looking for a last-ditch effort from their sales reps.
To ensure that this objective is achieved, many companies offer an incentive programme. Incentives are considered to be the best way of encouraging employees in the short term. And for good reason, SPIFF sales reps are designed to be perceived as a time-limited opportunity.
7. Improve the knowledge and skills of your sales rep team
SPIFF sales reps often have a direct impact on the company's sales performance!
However, the level of knowledge and skills of sales reps in their field also serves to boost the company's results. Examples include mastery of sales techniques (SONCAS, MEDDIC, AIDA, etc.), customer knowledge, adoption of sales reps (CRM, prospecting tools, etc.), etc.
Yet for many sales reps, the level of sales knowledge and skills is not perceived as a lever for sales performance. As proof of this, despite the importance of CRM within the sales rep organization, according to Forester Research, the adoption rate is only 50%.
So, to encourage them to improve their knowledge and skills in order to become better, challenges seem to be the best format. And for good reason: the assimilation and retention of information is much better when there is a playful element, competition and rewards. Challenges reward learners and create a positive learning dynamic.
The performance indicators to be monitored can be qualitative and/or quantitative, depending on the knowledge or skills involved. Assessment can be based on a practical case, a quiz, an application, a completion rate, frequency of use, etc.
8. Develop a market segment, industry or geographical area
Depending on the company's stage of development, its vision, objectives and ambitions, it may develop in a particular market segment, industry or geographical area.
In other words, a perfect opportunity to set up a sales rep SPIFF and motivate sales reps to focus their efforts on a specific area.
As you will have realized, the idea here is to keep the classic performance indicators (number of calls made, number of e-mails sent, number of Meetings held, number of customers signed, etc.), but to specify a market sector and/or an industry and/or a geographical area so that they are valid for the sales reps challenge.
