Sales is inherently competitive, so why not focus that energy on goals that grow your business? Gamification applies game mechanics like scoring, competition, and rewards to motivate reps and promote friendly rivalry. Implementing a well-designed gamification program aligns individual rep performance with broader campaign targets. Reps receive constant feedback on their progression while competing for glory and prizes.

How gamification works

1. Publicly tracking activities
   • Utilize leaderboards to track activities that contribute to targets.
   • Provide constant feedback to reps on their performance.
   • Promote transparency and healthy competition within the team.
2. Valuing all rep strengths
   • Offer a variety of success metrics so all reps feel valued.
   • Recognize both quantitative metrics (sales volume, deal size) and qualitative achievements (creativity, persistence).
3. Incentivizing effort redirection
   • Use real-time notifications to redirect effort towards high-value activities.
   • Encourage reps to stay focused on tasks that directly impact sales goals.
4. Encouraging teamwork and accountability
   • Foster healthy competition that promotes teamwork.
   • Ensure reps hold each other accountable, creating a supportive and driven sales environment.

Focus on campaign goals

Rather than generic contests, connect games directly to key campaigns. Gamify goals around moving slow inventory, upselling product bundles, and acquiring ideal customer profiles. This campaign focus ensures gamification drives results, not just participation. Reps compete on meaningful activities, not just the volume of calls or meetings.

Offer multiple paths to win

Not all reps have the same opportunities, abilities, or clients. Provide a mix of quantitative and qualitative success metrics so anyone can compete:

• Objective metrics: Sales volume, deal size, profit.
• Subjective achievements: Creativity, persistence, long-shot wins.

With enough options, every rep can play to their strengths while expanding their skills.

Make it visual

Visibility keeps gamification engaging and effective. Use leaderboards, trophies, badges, progress bars, and more to showcase competitor standings and highlight winners. Public recognition feeds intrinsic motivation and friendly peer pressure to sustain effort.

Connect to rewards

Level up the competition by tying games to compensation and rewards. Offer prizes like gift cards, public praise in company meetings, choice of leads, additional PTO, etc. Basing a portion of commissions or bonuses on gamified metrics also works. The potential for extra earnings increases participation.

Automate tracking

Manually updating scores is time-consuming and prone to errors. Connect your CRM and other systems to automatically log and score targeted activities as they occur. Automation provides an always-on view of rankings and progress without added workload. Reps stay caught up in the action.

Customize for culture

Every sales organization is unique, so tailor games to motivate your team. Involve reps in designing competitions and incentives that resonate. Ongoing feedback helps refine games to maximize engagement and business impact over time.

Some gamification ideas

1. Most unlikely upsell
   • Awarded to someone who upsold a notoriously difficult client.
2. Growing fish in a tiny pond
   • Goes to someone who cross-sold or upsold a client previously considered to be a low priority or small spender.
3. Big fish on the line
   • Given to someone who secured a contract with a potentially huge spender.
4. Best bait
   • For someone who had success with a novel approach to attracting the client’s attention or closing a deal.
5. The long haul
   • Awarded to whoever contacted a client the most to get them to say yes.

These cover a broad range of “ways to win,” ensuring all reps are incentivized, even if they previously felt disadvantaged due to territorial designations, specific account assignments, or longer tenure within the company. You can even tie rep incentives and commissions to each trophy or the total amount of trophies collected over a period—e.g., trophies accumulated over 12 months contribute to their total end-of-year bonus.

Balancing objective and subjective metrics

The numbers-based trophies can be awarded according to the data systems set up for a particular campaign. Subjective metrics like “Best Bait” can be opinion-based, with reps pitching their achievements during monthly meetings. The sales team debates and votes on a winner, fostering emotional investment, teamwork, and sharing of successful tactics.

Conclusion

Gamification, when applied thoughtfully, can significantly enhance sales performance by aligning individual efforts with broader campaign goals. By focusing on real, impactful metrics and providing a variety of ways to win, you can motivate your sales team to achieve greater success. Customize your gamification strategy to fit your company culture and objectives, and watch your sales soar.

FAQs

What is gamification in sales?

Gamification in sales involves applying game mechanics like scoring, competition, and rewards to motivate sales reps and promote friendly rivalry, driving better performance.

How can gamification improve sales performance?

Gamification improves sales performance by providing constant feedback, encouraging healthy competition, and aligning individual efforts with broader campaign goals.

What are some examples of gamification in sales?

Examples include leaderboards, badges, trophies, and awards for various achievements such as most unlikely upsell, best bait, and the long haul.

How can I tailor gamification to my sales team?

Involve your sales team in designing competitions and incentives that resonate with them. Use ongoing feedback to refine the games and maximize engagement.

Why should gamification metrics be both objective and subjective?

Combining objective and subjective metrics ensures that all reps can compete based on their strengths and encourages a variety of successful sales behaviors.