
Spiff Commission
Spiff commissions, or SPIFs (Sales Performance Incentive Funds), are incentives designed to motivate sales teams to achieve specific, short-term goals.
These goals may include selling particular products, meeting quarterly targets, or driving sales during promotional periods.
Spiffs offer financial rewards, gift cards, prizes, or other incentives to sales professionals who meet or exceed these objectives.
What is a spiff commission?
A Spiff commission, also known as a Special Performance Incentive Fund commission, is a short-term, performance-based reward or bonus paid to sales representatives or employees in addition to their regular commission or compensation.
The purpose of spiff commissions is to motivate sales teams by providing immediate and extra incentives for achieving specific, predefined goals, often within a short time frame. Spiff commissions can be cash bonuses, gift cards, prizes, or other rewards.
What are the benefits of incorporating spiff commissions into a sales compensation plan?
The benefits of incorporating spiff commission are:
- Motivation: Spiff commissions motivate sales teams to meet or exceed short-term goals, boosting their morale and productivity.
- Immediate results: Spiff commissions yield immediate results, making them effective for achieving quick sales targets.
- Adaptability: Companies can use spiffs to adapt to changing market conditions and to align incentives with specific objectives.
- Competitiveness: Spiff programs often introduce a competitive element, encouraging sales teams to outperform each other.
What is spiff commission software?
Spiff commission software is a digital tool used by businesses to automate and manage spiff commissions.
It streamlines the process of setting up, tracking, and paying short-term sales incentives.
These tools help reduce manual errors, improve visibility into earnings, and boost sales team motivation by providing real-time performance insights.
What is the difference between a spiff and a commission?
The key difference in the spiff vs commission comparison lies in their purpose and duration.
A commission is typically a recurring incentive tied to sales performance over time, often forming a core part of a salesperson's compensation.
A spiff, on the other hand, is a short-term, one-time bonus designed to quickly drive the sale of a specific product or service.
Is a spiff a commission?
Yes, a spiff is a type of commission, but it's more specific and short-term. While all spiffs fall under the broader category of commissions, not all commissions are spiffs.
Spiff commissions are designed for immediate impact and are usually offered as bonuses for selling particular items during a limited time frame.
Why are spiff commissions used in sales?
Spiff commissions are used to drive urgency and sharpen focus on high-priority offerings.
Sales leaders deploy them to push slow-moving products, meet short-term targets, or energize a sales team around a new product launch.
They are particularly effective in creating healthy competition, improving sales engagement, and generating immediate results.
When should spiff commissions be offered?
Spiffs are most effective during time-sensitive campaigns, product rollouts, or seasonal sales pushes.
They work well when there’s a need to hit short-term objectives or give extra motivation during slow sales periods.
Timing matters—offering a spiff commission during a critical sales window can make or break performance outcomes.
How do you implement spiff commissions?
Implementing spiff commissions starts with setting clear goals, defining eligible products or services, and communicating the reward structure transparently.
Using spiff commission software helps streamline tracking, automate payouts, and provide visibility into performance metrics. It also ensures fairness and reduces disputes around incentive payouts.

Employee pulse surveys:
These are short surveys that can be sent frequently to check what your employees think about an issue quickly. The survey comprises fewer questions (not more than 10) to get the information quickly. These can be administered at regular intervals (monthly/weekly/quarterly).

One-on-one meetings:
Having periodic, hour-long meetings for an informal chat with every team member is an excellent way to get a true sense of what’s happening with them. Since it is a safe and private conversation, it helps you get better details about an issue.

eNPS:
eNPS (employee Net Promoter score) is one of the simplest yet effective ways to assess your employee's opinion of your company. It includes one intriguing question that gauges loyalty. An example of eNPS questions include: How likely are you to recommend our company to others? Employees respond to the eNPS survey on a scale of 1-10, where 10 denotes they are ‘highly likely’ to recommend the company and 1 signifies they are ‘highly unlikely’ to recommend it.
Based on the responses, employees can be placed in three different categories:

- Promoters
Employees who have responded positively or agreed. - Detractors
Employees who have reacted negatively or disagreed. - Passives
Employees who have stayed neutral with their responses.
