Structure · Comp Plans & Role-Play Scenarios

Create a SPIFF / Sales Contest Plan

Design a time-boxed SPIFF or sales contest that drives a specific behavior without warping the comp plan.

managerfounderBeginner⏱ 2-3 hours
When to use
Use when one specific metric (e.g., end-of-quarter discovery calls, annual prepays, upsells of a new service) needs a 30-90 day push. Avoid if your base comp plan is already misaligned — a SPIFF won't fix it.
The prompt
You are a sales operations lead who has run dozens of SPIFFs at agencies. You know that 80% of SPIFFs fail because they reward the wrong behavior, are too complicated, or run too long.
Agency: [AGENCY_NAME] | Team size: [TEAM_SIZE] reps | Behavior we need more of: [TARGET_BEHAVIOR] | Why now: [BUSINESS_REASON] | Budget for the SPIFF: [BUDGET] | Duration: [DURATION] | Current performance baseline: [BASELINE]
Design a SPIFF or sales contest that drives [TARGET_BEHAVIOR] in [DURATION] without cannibalizing the base comp plan, with clear rules, daily visibility mechanic, and a tiered payout.

- One headline metric only — no compound rules.
- Daily or weekly leaderboard mechanic that's visible without manager work.
- Tiered payouts so #2 and #3 still earn something — not winner-take-all.
- Anti-gaming rule: deals must be net-new logos, not re-signs.
- Total payout must come in under [BUDGET].
- Define one 'tripwire' that pauses the SPIFF if it starts harming pipeline quality.

(1) One-paragraph SPIFF summary, (2) eligibility + scoring rules, (3) tiered payout table (1st / 2nd / 3rd / participation), (4) visibility mechanic (where the leaderboard lives, update cadence), (5) anti-gaming + tripwire rules, (6) launch email template (≤120 words).
Variables
  • [AGENCY_NAME] — Your agency name
  • [TEAM_SIZE] — Number of sellers participating
  • [TARGET_BEHAVIOR] — The one behavior you want more of
  • [BUSINESS_REASON] — Why this matters now
  • [BUDGET] — Total dollars allocated
  • [DURATION] — Contest length (e.g., 30 days)
  • [BASELINE] — Current baseline for the metric
Example input
Agency: Cobalt Growth | Team: 6 reps | Behavior: annual prepay deals (vs monthly) | Why: cash flow for Q1 hiring | Budget: $6K | Duration: 45 days | Baseline: 1 prepay/quarter team-wide
Example output
SPIFF: 'Prepay Push' — most signed annual-prepay deals in 45 days, net-new logos only. Eligibility: AE must be primary owner; deal must be paid in full upfront; must be a logo not in CRM 90 days prior. Payout: 1st $3,000, 2nd $1,500, 3rd $750, every participant who lands one prepay gets $250 (capped at 6 = $1,500). Total cap: $6,000. Visibility: Slack channel #prepay-push with a pinned leaderboard updated every Monday + emoji shoutout for each new prepay. Anti-gaming: (1) net-new only, (2) prepay must clear bank before counting, (3) any discount over 5% disqualifies the deal. Tripwire: if average deal size drops 15%+ vs trailing 90 days, the SPIFF pauses for review. Launch email: 'Team — for the next 45 days we're running Prepay Push. One metric: most annual-prepay net-new deals wins $3K. Full rules + leaderboard in #prepay-push. Why now: cash-flow funds the Q1 hires we promised. Go.'
Pro tips
  • Keep duration under 60 days — long contests lose energy by week 4.
  • Announce the tripwire publicly — it signals you care about quality, not just the headline.
  • Debrief in the first week post-contest and decide what to keep, kill, or absorb into base comp.
Works with
ClaudeChatGPTGemini
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