TennisandSales profile picture
TennisandSales profile picture

TennisandSales

Head Of Sales

Politicker
Acclaimed Answer
Executive
+9

Hot Take: Spiffs are a terrible idea

idk if that is really a hot take BUT everyone seems to do them and I cant stand them.


If you have to do a spiff to increase activity, you will not create lasting results.


Here is what you WILL do:


  1. Give reps a reason to sandbag meetings and activity for the spiff
  2. Increase the likely hood of FAKE dials
  3. See a major dip in the metrics you care about after the spiff is over.

Can anyone out there change my mind??

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47 comments

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CuriousFox
WR Officer
9
๐ŸฆŠ
The way I look at it is hey great - if i hit one, extra money. If not, no big deal.
TennisandSales
Politicker
2
Head Of Sales
word fox.

did you ever want to just win everything though??? I for sure had my phase where if there was a competition, I was winning it. Ive calmed down a bit now....maybe im getting old and boring??
CuriousFox
WR Officer
6
๐ŸฆŠ
Nah. It ain't that deep, ya heard?
DungeonsNDemos
Big Shot
1
Rolling 20's all day
It's all gravy :)
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
4
Bravado's Resident Asshole
I am experiencing this with the rest of my team right now. It's crazy what people will do for a $50 gift card... I have been through enough of these little competitions to know why I am actually doing it. Just be excellent.. all of the time, not just for short periods of time.
TennisandSales
Politicker
2
Head Of Sales
YEP! also I used to be the guy that HAD to win every spiff because im super competitive and would do the crazy things for the $50 gift card.....but then I did realize that it did not really help me in the long run.

no one thought I was better at my job because I won the gift card. so i had a big change of heart
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
2
Bravado's Resident Asshole
Oh believe me, I win, but I do it with purpose and am consistent. It's never just a one-off deal for me.
TennisandSales
Politicker
1
Head Of Sales
hahaha!! love the attitude here
SaaSsy
Politicker
1
AE
$50 GC? Is that for call metrics bc yea, that drives bad behavior for sure. I think spiffs can work when they're designed the right way. If your business is cyclical or you have trends that show Q2 is always the toughest to close deals, they can help.
TennisandSales
Politicker
1
Head Of Sales
yeah having a realistic view of how business works, you should be able to be ok with not EVERY quarter being amazing.
butwhy
Politicker
3
Solutions Engineer
Lalalalala I cannot hear you over the sound of my renewal SPIFF on a huge seven figure upsell next month.

I love SPIFFs, because I love money. But I somewhat agree with you that it doesn't product productivity directly.
TennisandSales
Politicker
1
Head Of Sales
hahahahah!!! wait....a solutions engineer doing renewals??? is that what they call sales ppl at your org?

and how much money are you getting for the SPIFF?
butwhy
Politicker
1
Solutions Engineer
I am a strategic SE, so I own one whole account and get comped on net new acv through the year, not just the land. This spiff is a significant percentage for the amount of the entire renewal acv. It's gonna be substantial on the one I have coming.
TennisandSales
Politicker
0
Head Of Sales
wow ive never met someone with that title with that responsibility haha. well glad you are gunna get that ๐Ÿ’ฐ๐Ÿ’ฐ
Sunbunny31
Politicker
3
Sr Sales Executive ๐Ÿฐ
SPIFFS here are tangible - meeting quota for the quarter gets you a bump, for example. We don't have gift cards in our Enterprise group.

I like our SPIFFS - often tied to short term goals that are great if you can meet them. An extra bump for making my quota? Cool, I'll take it.
TennisandSales
Politicker
2
Head Of Sales
for sure! i like this. things like "first one to hit quota gets..X" or if the whole team hits quota everyone gets X.

something like that I would be more in favor of
Sunbunny31
Politicker
3
Sr Sales Executive ๐Ÿฐ
Favorite story from the past, years ago.

We needed to prospect and get new business. Someone had gotten lists of businesses, and they were divided up by geo. The lists were pretty much garbage - companies that would never in a million years use your product (gas stations on a corner for an ASP software solution for eCommerce). The spiff, a gift card, was tied to dials. Of the four members on my team, two went hard for the cards and dialed every number on the list in order to win. One of my colleagues and I rolled our eyes, chucked the list after checking for anything suitable, and prospected as normal into our target market. We didn't win gift cards, but both of us easily coasted to quota and built business that mattered.

We had a manager that was just not good at what he did.
TennisandSales
Politicker
2
Head Of Sales
hahaha!!!! ahh yes I have had this EXACT experience.

Except i was was the idiot doing hard for the cards! ๐Ÿ˜‚

never again.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
1
Sr Sales Executive ๐Ÿฐ
That was you? Nice to know you landed well. ;)
TennisandSales
Politicker
1
Head Of Sales
๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚ yep that was me, happy to be on the other side of THAT. i credit it all to you bunny.
jefe
Arsonist
3
๐Ÿ
I bought golf clubs and an HDTV with SPIFFs so I don't mind them.

They need to be thoughtfully applied though.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
3
Sr Sales Executive ๐Ÿฐ
Exactly. If they are incenting behavior that drives revenue for the company while rewarding me? I'm in.
TennisandSales
Politicker
1
Head Of Sales
what about something like conference/webinar sign ups? ive had leadership spiffs to drive attendance there.

i saw that as helpful. its not my job to do that, so if you want me to do it give me a reason.
TennisandSales
Politicker
2
Head Of Sales
haha love it!
nomdeguerre
Executive
2
Account executive
To me spiffs just means something is wrong with your comp plan if it is just already driving the outcome youโ€™re looking for.
TennisandSales
Politicker
2
Head Of Sales
yeah Its crazy how simple it is, reward the behavior you want to see. and if you set up the wrong reward, you get the wrong behavior.
nomdeguerre
Executive
1
Account executive
Pretty much. Unfortunately, many times the people who build the comp plans are clueless when it comes to actual sales.
TennisandSales
Politicker
1
Head Of Sales
omg i would say about 95% of the time. thats my bet.

The CFO of my company......never worked for a Saas company before and has literally NO idea how to comp AEs
nomdeguerre
Executive
1
Account executive
They are trying to make it as complicated as possible, so they can get away with paying you as little as possible. And then they wonder why they are not getting the results the company is looking for. It. Is. So. Stupid!
TennisandSales
Politicker
1
Head Of Sales
its like these CFOs just LOVE to make things complicated because it makes them feel smart or something? idk...
nomdeguerre
Executive
0
Account executive
Yep, if they make the excel complicated enough you can never get rid of them.
GDO
Politicker
1
BDM
If the commish is high enough spiffs are not needed. So if spiffs are needed to motivate, go elsewhere
TennisandSales
Politicker
2
Head Of Sales
preach. this is a great sign that things are not going well haha
NotCreativeEnough
Big Shot
1
Professional Day Ruiner
an occasional spiff to motivate an increase activity towards a certain product or in a certain area is fine. spiffs being thrown out constantly are a sign the comp plan is trash and they have no intention of changing it though.
TennisandSales
Politicker
2
Head Of Sales
haha yes the CONSTANT spiffs is for sure not a great sign.

i have seen it more as a sign that leadership doesnt know how to motivate their employees and not that the comp plan sucks.

ive never had spiffs where the money is like significant enough to consider comp.
Kosta_Konfucius
Politicker
1
Sales Rep
What would be the replacement be if C-Suite is on the VP Sales to have a huge Q1 when the company does majority of its rev in Q4. Is it more on the VP of Sales to push back on the CSuite or what would be the best way to have a surge in activity without a Spiff
TennisandSales
Politicker
2
Head Of Sales
this is a GREAT question.

now im not VP or C level so i cant speak from experience BUT:

I think the VP would need to push back on the C suite.
I will BET that the C suite was also pushing hard to have a huge Q4 to close out the year. asking them to pull in deals that were going to push to Q1....that whole deal.

when shit like this happens I always think that the C suite is getting heat from the VCs and need to show fluff numbers.

that is NEVER going to motivate the sales team to produce more.

just deciding that they need to have a big Q1 doesnt mean it can happen.

if the VP cant/wont push back then they need to find a way to get the team to buy in. there is a good chance a SPIFF will NOT motivate everyone.
FinanceEngineer
Politicker
1
Sr Director, sales and partnerships
They are great for partners, to get them motivated to push a product they normally wouldnโ€™t. For your own team, just a waste of money and time.
TennisandSales
Politicker
2
Head Of Sales
yeah i think this is a good use case, to help motivate people to do something they normally wouldnt be asked to do.
FinanceEngineer
Politicker
1
Sr Director, sales and partnerships
I would also look into any shows that they are going to be at and try to get into their booth for a couple of hours. It helps build trust and can get in front of their customers as well.
TennisandSales
Politicker
1
Head Of Sales
not a bad idea. unfortunately the orgs that I sell to do not attend shows/events as vendors. only attendees
FinanceEngineer
Politicker
1
Sr Director, sales and partnerships
No, not your targets, your partners. Anyone you sell through or with. Iโ€™ve set up these programs in 3 different companies, so feel free to DM me with questions about it.
TennisandSales
Politicker
2
Head Of Sales
OH OH OH yes sorry. Great point. yes we have one main partner and we attend many events together.
ChumpChange
Politicker
1
Channel Manager
It's an extra "cookie" that just makes your normal function even better. No downside to the rep outside of gaming the system which is pretty hard to do since most spiffs are contingent on revenue being generated.
TennisandSales
Politicker
1
Head Of Sales
pretty true. i have seen a few AEs let the spiff REALLY get to them in a negative way....which was surprising to me
BostonHound
Opinionated
1
Enterprise BDR
I think theyโ€™re a great idea in moderation. Tie them to genuine opportunities created though not email or phone stats, and use then in times when morale seems lower or quota is tough sledding. At SDR level, you will notice the top performers who still are able to take it to another level and know those are who will be good closers at AE level
TennisandSales
Politicker
2
Head Of Sales
for sure moderation. if every week its another SPIFF that gets old QUICK. also i like the idea of avoiding the activity metrics and make sure they are tied to RESULTS.

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