A Message for Inside Sales Managers - Apply Spiffs to Key Performance Indicators

The first time I won a spiff was in 2002. I was an inside sales rep for a UK based company. We sold address validation software.  I remember the rules of the contest like it was yesterday – the person who booked the most web demos by noon would receive a $20 scratch ticket and free lunch in the cafeteria for a week.  We had nine sales reps in a sales pit and on the wall hung this huge whiteboard tracking our KPI’s. Once noon time hit, I was named victor of the $20 scratch ticket and free lunch spiff, later to be named “the scratch and sniff spiff”.

The power of spiffs should not be underestimated in the modern day sales arena. Sales organizations can increase their chances of exceeding their goals when they provide compensation for the activities that are essential to the sales process. For example, booking and conducting a web demo doesn't necessarily mean a deal will be closed.  However, as a sales leader you can still compensate your sales reps for achieving such an important sales metric.  Activity will always breed results so why shouldn't activity also breed compensation? Let's face it, cold calling and call blitzes are not fun. They may be for the managers who want to fill their phone call reports and whiteboards but, they are not fun for your sales reps.  


I'm not suggesting that you give $20 scratch tickets and free lunches out for sales reps exceeding their daily sales metrics. What I will suggest is that you reconsider what you're doing to motivate your sales team. Last time I checked, sales managers are compensated based on their teams hitting their numbers. If your company is budget strapped (as many companies are, especially start ups) then perhaps reaching into your own wallet and committing to $300 per month for sales spiffs is a good idea.  Go out and buy fifteen $10 iTunes gift cards and fifteen $10 Amazon gift cards. Monday thru Thursday hold daily sales contests and give a $10 gift card to the winner. On Friday, the day in which most sales reps are unmotivated give out three gifts cards - one in the morning and two in the afternoon.  Frankly, I don't understand why more sales managers are not doing this.  You can pretty much guarantee that more opportunities will be created as a result of increased sales activity. Would an extra five sales opportunities per month be a good ROI for your $300? How much better would your reports look to your board members and investors?


The final and most important step in the spiff process is recognition. Do not overlook this very important component. Be sure to announce the daily winners of your sales contest and acknowledge them publicly. You can do this by sending out a company wide email and posting your winners on a sales leaderboard.


As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic.


Thanks,


Ryan
CEO & Founder
RepTivity Inc.