Are you ready to supercharge your sales team’s performance and drive results? You’re not alone. In fact, 90% of top-performing companies have already embraced the power of sales incentive programs to motivate and reward their teams.
Sales incentives have a direct impact on revenue growth and salesforce morale, yet many plans fail because they focus on one-size-fits-all commissions.
Today’s top-performing organizations are crafting multidimensional incentive schemes—blending base commissions, strategic bonuses, and digital rewards like eGift cards. Below, we’ll explore why these diverse incentives are essential, the key types to consider, and how to implement them effectively.
What are Sales Incentives?
Sales incentives are rewards or compensations designed to motivate sales teams and individuals to achieve specific sales goals or targets. They are essential for the success and motivation of any sales team.
A properly structured sales incentive plan can boost performance by 44%. Hence, the importance of designing and implementing an impactful sales incentive plan should not be overlooked.
However, not all incentives are created equal. In 2025, the most effective sales incentive plans focus on multidimensional approaches that go beyond basic commissions.
5 Types of Sales Incentives
1. Role-Specific Incentives
- Role-specific incentives align with each individual’s unique responsibilities and performance metrics.
- For example, a sales rep might be rewarded based on closed deals, while a product manager receives incentives tied to successful product launches. This approach ensures each team member has a clear, direct path toward their goals.
2. Split Incentives
- Split incentives occur when two or more departments have goals that aren’t fully aligned.
- A sales team might be incentivized to sell existing products for short-term gains, while product development needs time to build and promote new offerings.
- Creating shared incentives, such as successful cross-department collaborations or co-developed products helps unify teams toward a common objective.
3. Presales Incentives
- Presales incentives focus on the early stages of the sales funnel, rewarding activities such as lead generation, qualification, and nurturing.
- Longer sales cycles, especially in B2B settings, benefit from consistent motivation during these stages to maintain momentum.
- Why it matters: Early-stage recognition helps teams stay engaged, boosts conversion rates, and shortens overall sales velocity.
4. Omnichannel Incentives
- Omnichannel incentives reward sales reps for their roles throughout the sales cycle, regardless of where the sale is ultimately completed.
- By tracking activities across various communication channels like email, social media, and phone, it adapts to today’s multifaceted sales journeys to ensure that reps are credited even if the final sale is made without their direct involvement.
5. Analytics-based Incentives
- Analytics-based incentives rely on data analytics to identify trends, set benchmarks, and allocate rewards objectively.
- By evaluating performance through real-time dashboards and AI-driven insights, businesses can align incentives with strategic goals more effectively.
- Example: Use advanced CRM analytics to track sales activity, then distribute eGift card rewards when specific data-driven milestones (e.g., response time, upsell rate) are met.
Designing a Proper Sales Incentive Plan
It involves several key steps to ensure that it motivates the sales team, aligns with company goals, and drives desired sales behaviors.
Below is a step-by-step approach to ensure your program motivates sales teams, aligns with company goals, and drives desired behaviors.
Step 1: Align Incentives with Company Goals
- A Forrester study showed that 62% of high-growth B2B companies tie their sales incentives to more than just “closed deals.” Metrics like new customer satisfaction, cross-selling ratios, and retention or upsell rates are factored in. If your main goal this quarter is to push a new product line, allocate extra points or a special eGift bonus for those deals.
Step 2: Introduce Real-Time Recognition
- Instead of waiting for a quarterly or annual payout, consider real-time micro-bonuses. For instance, a rep who hits a weekly pipeline target might receive a $50 eGift Card instantly. In a pilot at HubSpot, real-time micro-incentives correlated with a 15% faster deal velocity.
Step 3: Consider Tiered eGift Rewards
- Different deal sizes or complexities can merit different tiers of eGift. For instance, smaller deals might earn reps a $20 dining eGift, while larger enterprise deals could net them a $200 travel eGift. This flexible approach keeps reps motivated at all levels without creating an unsustainable commission structure.
Why eGift Cards:
- Immediate Gratification: Eliminates the lag time of monthly/quarterly payouts.
- Personal Choice: Sales reps pick the brand or experience they value—be it Amazon, Starbucks, or Airbnb.
- Efficient Admin: Using a platform like Toasty, managers can track usage, keep budgets under control, and see which incentives yield the best results.
Real-World Example
Key Takeaways
- Multidimensional incentives outperform traditional models, combining base commissions, bonuses, and eGift cards to align with diverse sales goals.
- Real-time recognition accelerates deal velocity, with micro-bonuses boosting morale and productivity by 15% in pilot programs.
- Tiered eGift rewards scale with deal complexity, offering flexibility and maintaining budget control while motivating reps at all levels.
- Analytics-driven strategies ensure fairness, using CRM data to reward milestones like response time and upsell rates objectively.