Both, depending on how often you run them. A SPIFF is a tactical lever for a specific short window: a product launch, a stalled segment, a quarter end push. Run one a quarter with a clear metric, live visibility of standings, and payment within days, and you get real lift. Run them constantly and reps start sandbagging deals into the next one, which is exactly the behaviour you were trying to avoid. Two design rules matter more than the amount: never winner takes all, because the other 90 percent check out immediately, and budget it as a percentage of the expected revenue lift so it does not quietly become a permanent line item.
3 hand-picked resources, 3 link-checked. Pick how you want to dig in.
Why we picked it Honest about the failure modes, sandbagging in anticipation of the next SPIFF, budget creep, and erosion of intrinsic motivation, plus the spacing discipline (one major program a quarter) that keeps them working.
From Everstage 12 min read
Open everstage.com →Why we picked it Five design rules worth memorising, including show causality and keep the payout cycle under 60 days, plus a business case method for setting targets from total team cost rather than from wishful top down math.
From Winning by Design 15 min read
Open winningbydesign.com →Why we picked it The numbers you want when arguing about a plan: median commission around 11.5 percent of ACV, AE pay mix near 53:47, quota to OTE median 4.2x, and a median SaaS win rate of 19 percent. Use it to check whether your plan is normal.
From Everstage 12 min read
Open everstage.com →How comp, quotas and territory reads from a different seat.
The same ground, over in Co-founders, team & legal, our Starting Up track.
