Here’s the thing: Even when you think they’re working, sales contests can be ineffective.
For proof, take a look at your last 15 winners. You’ll probably see the same names over and over again – the salespeople who move the needle the most.
While those people love your contests, the salespeople in the lower and middle-performance brackets don’t.
That doesn’t mean you should never hold another contest. These five strategies will incentivize everyone on your team, promote internal collaboration and coaching and ultimately have a bigger impact on your bottom line.
1. Gather feedback
When designing your sales contest, it’s important to get feedback from your salespeople. After all, they’re the ones participating.
Todd Richardson, director of inside sales and development for HR software company Lumity Inc., said this strategy is a great way to get more buy-in.
To implement this informally, ask your salespeople what they liked and what they’d change about previous contests. Then, describe your current ideas and request their feedback.
A more formal option is establishing a contest committee. Such a committee would be responsible for refining the contest idea, implementing it and tracking the results.
“We seek to understand each team’s ‘language of love,’ i.e., what they care about,” said Ram Parimi, director of sales for hospitality company Social Tables.
2. Use different metrics
There are a couple of good reasons to use activity-based metrics. Adam Rizika, vice president of sales and marketing for media technology company VidScale, points out that salespeople are typically measured on their units sold or profit made by commissions and quotas.
In addition, the most effective sales contests motivate the entire team – not just the people at the top. Using activity-based metrics makes winning attainable for every person on the team.
Some activity-based metrics:
Number of phone calls
Number of voicemails
Number of meetings
Number of trade shows attended
Number of emails
3. Give “experience” prizes
Research shows that experiences make people happier than possessions. Rather than giving your winners gadgets, gift cards or cash, find unique and meaningful experiences to give them.
Not only will these prizes be more satisfying, but they’ll subconsciously associate your company with the good memories they form.
Some ideas to get you started:
Tickets to a big sporting event
Two movie tickets and a voucher for dinner at a nice restaurant
An all-expenses-paid weekend trip
A windsurfing, kitesurfing, kayaking, surfing or bungee jumping outing for two
Mixology classes and bartending supplies
A winetasting
“The last prize I offered was a trip to New York City,” Rizika said. “I’ve found that salespeople put a greater value on experiential prizes than just their monetary value.”
4. Make it collaborative
Running a sales contest is a great way to engage your reps and generate enthusiasm. But contests usually have a downside: They also encourage competition.
The fix? Make at least one aspect of your contest collaborative.
“By using contests that my salespeople won as team, I created a really happy, almost familylike environment,” Richardson said.
Like Richardson, you can establish goals for the whole team – or have salespeople compete in small teams. If your company has multiple locations, try having entire offices compete.
Rewards can be collaborative as well.
Parimi said that when Social Table’s sales team was less than 20 people, the entire team would “run out” and go take shots at a local bar for every 20 deals closed.
Similarly, Richardson took the entire office to lunch each time his team met their objective.
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5. Add some fun
Giving your sales contests a fun or novel angle isn’t necessary, but it’s definitely a great way to make your salespeople more enthusiastic and show them that you care about more than profits.
So, rather than just calling it a “sales contest,” have a theme. A sports-related theme, like a March Madness or Super Bowl bracket, is usually a hit, but you can also tie your contests to the season or a company-specific tradition.
In addition, you can pass out T-shirts that match the theme (and if you have teams, give each team a slightly different shirt.)
And rather than announcing the winners via email or meeting, consider having a kickoff or wrap-up party.
Rizika also recommended giving one or two “wild card” prizes, such as “weirdest customer request granted,” “most unexpected close,” or “longest time spent on the phone with one customer.”
With these five changes to your sales contest, you’ll not only reach every person on your team, but you’ll also bring them closer together. Ultimately, you, your salespeople and your bottom line will all win.
27 sales contest ideas to use in 2025
One-time sales competitions are a great way to infuse energy and excitement into your sales team, improve sales motivation and drive performance. These competitions encourage friendly rivalry, teamwork and a competitive environment where challenges encourage participants to go beyond their limits.
Our curated sales competitions strike the right balance between individual achievements and team collaboration, offering creative challenges with inspiring rewards. From exclusive prizes to unique experiences, every effort is acknowledged, ensuring motivation stays high.
Dynamic sales games enhance engagement by tracking key performance metrics, such as sales volume or customer acquisitions. Participants strive for top spots, driven by enticing prizes like cash bonuses, gift cards, tech gadgets or vacation packages.
Check out our proven sales contest examples to learn how these strategies have driven success for other organizations. Take your team’s performance to the next level with innovative sales contests that inspire and challenge.
Here are 27 sales contest ideas to implement to motivate and engage your sales team:
The biggest deal of the month: Recognizes the salesperson who closes the largest deal by revenue or size.
Highest number of new clients: Rewards the individual who brings in the most new clients in a specific period.
Daily sales leaderboard: Tracks daily performance and rewards the top performers daily.
Referral rockstar challenge: Encourages employees to focus on getting client referrals with a reward for the most successful ones.
Cross-selling champion: A competition to reward the salesperson who excels at cross-selling additional products or services.
Fastest to hit the target: A race to see who can hit their sales target first during the contest period.
“Weekend Warrior” sales contest: Designed to reward those who make sales over the weekend.
Product of the week sales focus: Focuses the team on selling a specific product and rewards the top performers for that product.
Most improved salesperson: Recognizes the salesperson who improved the most from the previous period.
Team battle East vs. West: A team-based contest in which different regional teams compete against each other.
Call blitz challenge: Encourages reps to make as many outbound sales calls as possible within a set time.
Customer feedback challenge: Rewards those who gather the most or best customer feedback during the contest period.
Upsell master contest: Focuses on encouraging sales reps to upsell higher-tier products or services.
Shortest sales cycle race: Competes to see who can close deals in the shortest time frame within the sales cycle.
Social media sales influencer: Rewards those who use social media most effectively to drive sales.
Longest retention rate: Encourages a focus on client retention with rewards for keeping clients the longest.
Salesperson of the quarter: Recognizes the overall top-performing salesperson for a quarter.
Rookie of the month: Aimed at newer team members, recognizing the best-performing rookie.
Best demo delivered: Rewards the salesperson who delivers the most effective product demos.
Holiday season sales sprint: A time-limited holiday contest to drive extra sales.
Customer loyalty builder: Focuses on rewarding salespeople who help build long-term customer loyalty.
Consistency pays off contest: Rewards consistent daily or weekly performance, not just peaks.
Mystery prize for the top salesperson: Offering a mystery reward for the top performer adds an element of surprise.
Top performer for add-ons: Encourages sales reps to focus on add-on sales with existing customers.
Email campaign converter contest: Rewards those who convert the most leads through email campaigns.
Best follow-up strategy: Recognizes the salesperson with the most effective follow-up techniques.
Cross-team collaboration contest: Promotes teamwork by rewarding cross-team collaboration that results in sales.
Sales contest templates to help you get started
1. Top seller of the month contest
Objective: Boost sales performance by recognizing the top seller for the month.
Duration: One month.
Rules: The salesperson with the highest revenue by the end of the month wins. Include a leaderboard to track progress throughout the month.
Prize ideas: A gift card, bonus or vacation day.
Fun element: Introduce power-ups, like double points for deals closed on specific days.
2. Team vs. team contest
Objective: Foster teamwork while encouraging friendly competition.
Duration: One month.
Rules: Divide the sales team into two or more groups. Track team sales totals and the team with the highest cumulative sales at the end of the month wins.
Prize ideas: Team lunch or fun group activity.
Fun element: Allow the winning team to “dunk” a manager in a dunk tank or create other fun consequences for team leaders.
3. Big deal hunter
Objective: Focus on closing high-value deals.
Duration: Two weeks.
Rules: Points are awarded for deals above a certain threshold. The salesperson who closes the most high-value deals wins.
Prize ideas: High-end gadgets or a dinner at a fancy restaurant.
Fun element: A special “mystery prize” for the runner-up could add excitement.
4. Sales bingo
Objective: Create variety by encouraging multiple types of activities.
Duration: One month.
Rules: Create a bingo card with different sales-related tasks (e.g., booking five meetings, closing a deal with a new client, cross-selling an additional product). The first person to complete a row, column or the entire card wins.
Prize ideas: Cash prizes, gift cards or company merchandise.
Fun element: Incorporate daily or weekly mini-challenges for bonus squares on the bingo card.
5. Deal of the day
Objective: Keep daily momentum high.
Duration: Daily or weekly.
Rules: Each day, the person who closes the biggest deal wins a small prize. Track who wins the most daily deals for a larger end-of-month prize.
Prize ideas: Daily gift cards, coffee deliveries or small bonuses.
Fun element: Randomize certain days where points are doubled or special prizes are introduced.
6. New client challenge
Objective: Encourage closing deals with new clients.
Duration: One month.
Rules: Focus on acquiring new customers or clients. The person who signs the most new clients wins.
Prize ideas: High-value experience-based rewards like tickets to a game or a trip.
Fun element: Offer fun “title upgrades” like “Client Acquisition Champion” to boost recognition.
These templates can be adapted to suit your specific sales goals, team dynamics and company culture.
Final thoughts
Sales contests are a powerful way to energize your team and keep performance levels high, but they work best when everyone feels motivated to participate.
Implementing the strategies and contest ideas we’ve shared enables you to create a fun, engaging environment that brings out the best in every salesperson.
From collaborative goals to creative prizes and themed challenges, these contests aren’t just about winning – they’re about building a stronger, more connected team.
Whether it’s boosting productivity, improving collaboration or simply adding some excitement to daily tasks, these ideas can transform your sales efforts.
Now, it’s time to take action! Start planning your next sales contest and watch your team’s enthusiasm and results soar.
