Want to light a fire under your sales team?
Throw a SPIFF at them. 🔥

Want to burn the whole house down?
Keep throwing SPIFFs. 🧨

SPIFFs are the Red Bull of sales incentives—⚡quick hit, fast buzz, short-term lift… and then, the crash. 💥

Used strategically, they can close gaps and drive focus. But overused? They rot your pipeline, your comp plan, and your culture from the inside out. 🧪

Let’s dig into why. 👇

✅ What SPIFFs Are Good For

Used the right way, SPIFFs are a tactical weapon—not a strategy.

They shine when you need to:

  • 📉 Close Q4 gaps and hit revenue targets

  • 🚀 Drive focus on new product launches

  • 🐢 Jumpstart momentum in a slow quarter

They give your team a quick burst of energy—a rallying cry around a clear, time-bound goal. 🗓️

But here’s the catch:
They only work when they’re short-term.

🚫 What Happens When You Overdo It

Here’s where things start to break:

💀 Pipeline Poisoning
Reps start sandbagging deals—holding them back to cash in on the next payout boost. It’s deal manipulation disguised as strategy.

🎯 Misaligned Priorities
SPIFFs pay for behavior, not always outcomes. When dollars outrank deals, your whole sales motion warps.

☠️ Culture Rot
SPIFFs should feel like a bonus—not a baseline. But when reps start expecting them?
Your comp plan loses all credibility. 💸

🧭 So What’s the Fix?

It’s simple—just not easy:

The best SPIFF is a comp plan that actually works. 💯

That means:

  • 💥 Clear upside for top performers

  • 🎯 Incentives tied to long-term company goals

  • 🧱 Consistency that builds trust

  • 🔍 Visibility reps can understand—no PhD required

SPIFFs aren’t evil. 😇
They just need boundaries.

Use them like Red Bull:
A jolt when you need it—not your daily fuel source. ⚡🚫

About Sales Assembly

We’re a resource for live, year-round skill development and certifications for the core roles within b2b revenue teams.  Contact us to explore membership options for your organization!