How to Create Friendly Competition in Your Sales Teams

Competition is the fuel that fires us to achieve goals. In sales, it’s especially important.

David Smith

Published in

The Art of Sales

4 min readOct 5, 2017

“Great sales teams don’t just happen overnight; they are built from the ground up”

In order to create a culture of motivated, enthusiastic, compelling sales teams, you will need to start with the basics and build an organization that challenges them, rewards them, and provides opportunities for growth.

Salespeople are energetic, outgoing, competitive, and driven by new challenges. If you can find a way to keep them happy and motivated, not only will the increase revenues, but they will also bring energy to your organization that will continue to attract the right people.

Establish Solid KPIs

You don’t need to track a zillion different performance indicators; especially if you don’t understand what half of them even mean. Understand your business and track the KPIs that are most relevant to your organization.

For instance, in sales here we generally track conversion rate, new leads per month, forecasted vs. actual sales, offers sent, and budget progression. We track these because we believe they are the best indicators of our total sales growth as a company and also because we sell only a few products. Whatever KPIs you choose, be sure to choose what fits you best.

A sales team who understands the organization’s most important performance indicators and who drives together to move the needle on those is guaranteed to boost revenue and performance in your organization. Tracking performance on KPIs can increase your revenues in three simple steps:

Sales reps who have a clear understanding of how you determine, track, and calculate value can easily see exactly where they fit in in the organization and how they contribute.
Those reps who understand their direct contributions feel more fulfilled.
Salespeople who are more fulfilled will bring positive energy, excitement, and confidence into the meeting room; all of which are all highly likely to influence closing a sale and thus increasing revenues.

Help your sales teams out by determining your most important KPIs, clearly defining them, providing recognition when they are achieved, and giving continuous feedback and support to continue the cycle.

Coach with Data

Coaching is a key component of encouraging growth and performance. Whether your reps have been in the business for decades or are just starting out, everyone has something to learn.

In-house coaching is a great way to build collaboration and teamwork by allowing your top performers to give invaluable insight to their fellow peers. Establishing performance review sessions based and allowing teams to provide feedback and lessons to one another is an incredible way to boost performance and make your reps feel valued.

You can use data to track team performance and provide encouragement where it is due. Nothing motivates a rep quite like hearing “congratulations!” or “good job!” from their peers.

Lastly, use gamification in your sales coaching. With all of the data, reports, and progress visible, it becomes much easier to recognize and acknowledge achievements.

Remember, one key to building a winning sales team will also be showing respect and appreciation where it is due. So, when the screens and data sets make it easier for you to see the great work that your teams are doing, remember to take a minute and tell them how much you appreciate their hard-work.

Challenge Your Sales reps

Good salespeople are driven by competition. Challenge your reps to do their best everyday by leading from the front, establishing goals, and driving their competitive instincts through competition.

Next, help them set goals. Provide detailed insight on their sales performance and where they could create improvements. Whether rookies or experienced veterans, everyone needs to know what their sales targets are. This will provide a clear understanding of what is expected from them and what tools are available to help them achieve these objectives.

Finally, consider creating competitions. By taking advantage of your reps’ natural competitiveness and desire for friendly competitions, you can increase fun, motivation, and performance.

Using leaderboards or a monthly/weekly “Wall of Fame” can be a great way to provide recognition to your high scorers. You could also set a key target such as number of offers sent or number of meetings booked and holding a digital race where the winner unlocks a trophy or badge.

Rewards for the winners may include offering a 1:1 meeting with the CEO or lunch at their favorite restaurant. As much as salespeople enjoy competition, they also like being rewarded for their efforts. By doing this, you can simultaneously increase morale and revenues.