Terms

Spiff

A spiff is a short-term, immediate bonus paid to a salesperson for achieving a specific goal, like selling a particular product or booking a set number of demos. Companies use these incentives to quickly move specific inventory, launch new products, or meet short-term sales targets. While typically a cash bonus, a spiff can also take the form of gift cards, merchandise, or travel incentives.

Historical Context

The term "spiff" dates back to 19th-century England, originally describing a bonus paid to retail clerks for selling old or undesirable merchandise. This practice helped shopkeepers move slow-selling stock while motivating their sales staff. By the early 20th century, spiffs were a common practice in both wholesale and retail.

The concept continued to evolve, with a notable modern example being Apple's use of spiffs in the 1980s to drive computer sales. This strategy significantly boosted their market presence and helped solidify the spiff's place in modern sales culture. Today, they remain a popular short-term incentive across many industries.

Common Uses

Spiffs are versatile tools used to drive specific sales behaviors and achieve immediate business objectives. Companies strategically deploy them to influence sales team focus and accelerate results in key areas, often outside of the standard compensation plan.

  • Products: Pushing high-margin items or new product lines to gain market traction.
  • Inventory: Clearing out old or overstocked merchandise to make room for new items.
  • Adoption: Encouraging the sale of a newly launched product or service.
  • Loyalty: Building brand preference among channel partners or third-party resellers.

Spiff vs. Stipend

While both are forms of payment, spiffs and stipends serve fundamentally different purposes in a business context.

  • Spiff: A variable, short-term bonus tied directly to performance, such as selling a specific product. It's ideal for driving immediate sales goals, like clearing old inventory or promoting new items. However, it can sometimes encourage unhealthy competition. Enterprises and mid-market companies use spiffs for tactical sales boosts.
  • Stipend: A fixed, regular payment meant to cover specific expenses, often for interns, trainees, or as a general allowance. It provides predictable income but isn't tied to sales performance. This makes it suitable for roles where support and enablement are prioritized over direct sales incentives across companies of all sizes.

Industry Applications

Spiffs are a go-to tactic across numerous industries to energize sales teams and hit specific targets. They are particularly effective in environments with tangible products and clear sales cycles, allowing companies to adapt them for various strategic goals.

  • Retail: clearing out seasonal merchandise or slow-moving inventory.
  • Manufacturing: incentivizing distributors to prioritize and push new product lines.
  • Technology: driving sales of specific software bundles or new feature adoption.

Benefits and Drawbacks

Spiffs can be a powerful tool for motivating sales teams and achieving quick wins, but they aren't without their risks. When implemented thoughtfully, they can drive significant results. However, if poorly managed, they can lead to unintended negative consequences.

  • Benefits: Spiffs provide a direct incentive, boosting sales team motivation and focusing efforts on specific, short-term goals. This is highly effective for launching new products or clearing out excess inventory quickly.
  • Drawbacks: They can encourage negative behaviors like "sandbagging," where reps delay sales in anticipation of a spiff. This can also foster unhealthy competition and lead reps to prioritize spiffed products over the customer's best interest.

Frequently Asked Questions about Spiff

Are spiffs considered taxable income?

Yes, spiffs are considered taxable income by the IRS. They are treated as supplemental wages, and companies must report them accordingly. Salespeople should expect to pay income and payroll taxes on any spiff payments they receive, whether in cash or as a non-cash prize.

How are spiffs different from regular sales commissions?

Spiffs are short-term bonuses for specific, tactical goals, like selling a new product. Commissions are a core part of a salesperson's compensation, calculated as a percentage of total sales revenue over a longer period. Spiffs are extra, commissions are standard.

Can spiffs create a negative sales culture?

They can if not managed properly. Over-reliance on spiffs may lead to unhealthy competition, reps prioritizing spiffed products over customer needs, or "sandbagging" sales. A balanced incentive structure is key to avoiding these pitfalls and maintaining a positive team environment.

Other terms

Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
00 items

Data-Driven Marketing

Data-driven marketing uses customer data to inform marketing decisions, optimize campaigns, and deliver personalized experiences to consumers.

Data-Driven Marketing

Demand Generation Framework

A demand generation framework is a strategic process for creating awareness and interest in your product, ultimately driving new business.

Demand Generation Framework

Customer Lifecycle

The customer lifecycle is the journey a person takes from first becoming aware of your brand to becoming a loyal, repeat customer.

Customer Lifecycle

Ballpark

Learn about ballpark, including estimating with ballpark figures, understanding ballpark estimates in sales, & ballpark estimates vs. precise quotes.

Ballpark

Website Visitor Tracking

Website visitor tracking collects and analyzes data on user behavior to understand their journey and improve the overall user experience.

Website Visitor Tracking

Buying Cycle

The buying cycle is the journey a customer takes from first realizing they have a need to making the final purchase decision.

Buying Cycle

Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is the emotional commitment an employee has to their organization, motivating them to contribute to the company's success.

Employee Engagement

Customer Data Platform (CDP)

A Customer Data Platform (CDP) centralizes customer data from all sources to create a complete, unified profile for each individual customer.

Customer Data Platform (CDP)

Ad-hoc Reporting

Ad-hoc reporting is the creation of one-off reports to answer specific business questions as they arise, providing instant, targeted insights.

Ad-hoc Reporting

Sales Operations Key Performance Indicators

Sales Operations KPIs are measurable metrics that track the efficiency and effectiveness of a sales team's operational processes.

Sales Operations Key Performance Indicators

Demand Capture

Demand capture is the strategy of engaging potential customers who are already actively looking for a solution that your company provides.

Demand Capture

Programmatic Advertising

Programmatic advertising uses AI and real-time bidding to automate the buying and selling of digital ad space, targeting specific audiences.

Programmatic Advertising

Customer Churn Rate

Customer churn rate is the percentage of subscribers or customers who cancel their service with a company during a given time frame.

Customer Churn Rate

Generic Keywords

Generic keywords are broad search terms that lack specific details like brand or location. They attract a wide audience with less specific intent.

Generic Keywords

Loss Aversion

Loss aversion is our tendency to feel the sting of a loss more acutely than the pleasure of an equivalent gain.

Loss Aversion

Stress Testing

Stress testing is a type of software testing that determines a system's robustness by pushing it beyond its normal operational capacity.

Stress Testing

Referral Marketing

Referral marketing is a strategy that incentivizes existing customers to recommend a company's products or services to their personal network.

Referral Marketing

Inbound Sales

Inbound sales attracts interested prospects who've engaged with your brand, letting sales reps connect with warm leads instead of cold outreach.

Inbound Sales

Targeted Marketing

Targeted marketing focuses on specific consumer groups whose needs align with your product, allowing for more personalized and effective messaging.

Targeted Marketing

Text message marketing

Text message marketing is a strategy where businesses send promotional messages, offers, and updates to customers via SMS or MMS.

Text message marketing

Lead Generation Tactics

Lead generation tactics are the strategies and methods used to attract potential customers and convert them into leads for your sales team.

Lead Generation Tactics

FAB Technique

The FAB technique is a sales framework connecting product features to advantages and then to the specific benefits for the customer.

FAB Technique

Sales Demonstration

A sales demonstration is a presentation showing a prospect how a product or service works and how it can solve their specific problems.

Sales Demonstration

Marketing Attribution

Marketing attribution is the process of identifying which touchpoints contribute to a conversion and assigning value to each of them.

Marketing Attribution

Sales Operations Analytics

Sales operations analytics is the practice of analyzing sales data to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the entire sales process.

Sales Operations Analytics

Inbound Lead Generation

Inbound lead generation is the process of attracting potential customers to your business with valuable content and tailored experiences.

Inbound Lead Generation

Customer Segmentation

Customer segmentation is dividing customers into groups based on shared traits. This allows for more targeted and effective marketing efforts.

Customer Segmentation

Personalization in Sales

Personalization in sales means tailoring outreach to a prospect's specific needs, interests, and context to make communication more relevant.

Personalization in Sales

SEO

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search results.

SEO

Statement of Work

A Statement of Work (SoW) is a document that outlines a project's scope, deliverables, and timeline. It acts as a contract between parties.

Statement of Work

Remote Sales

Remote sales is selling from a distance. Reps use digital tools to connect with prospects and close deals without meeting them in person.

Remote Sales

Lead List

A lead list is a curated database of potential customers (leads) with contact information and other key data for sales and marketing outreach.

Lead List

Sales Dialer

A sales dialer is software that automates outbound calling for sales teams, allowing reps to connect with more prospects in less time.

Sales Dialer

Sales Lead

A sales lead is a potential customer—an individual or organization that has shown interest in your company's products or services.

Sales Lead

Price Optimization

Price optimization is the process of finding the ideal price for a product or service to maximize profitability or other business objectives.

Price Optimization

Latency

Latency is the delay between a user's action and a system's response. It's the time it takes for a data packet to travel to its destination.

Latency

B2B Sales Process

Learn about B2B sales process, including key components of B2B sales processes, & crafting an effective B2B sales strategy.

B2B Sales Process

Sales Training

Sales training is the process of honing a salesperson's skills and knowledge to enhance their effectiveness and drive sales success.

Sales Training

Business Continuity

Learn about business continuity, including understanding key components, steps to ensure continuity, common challenges, & best practices.

Business Continuity

Application Programming Interface Security

API security is the practice of protecting application programming interfaces from attacks, preventing data breaches and unauthorized access.

Application Programming Interface Security

Video Email

Video email involves embedding a short video directly into an email. This lets recipients watch your message without leaving their inbox.

Video Email

Marketing Automation

Marketing automation uses software to automate repetitive marketing tasks, such as email marketing, social media posting, and ad campaigns.

Marketing Automation

Guided Selling

Guided selling simplifies complex sales by giving reps step-by-step instructions and data-driven recommendations to close deals faster.

Guided Selling

User-generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) refers to any form of content, like images, videos, or text, created and shared by users on online platforms.

User-generated Content

SDK

A Software Development Kit (SDK) is a set of tools that allows developers to create applications for a specific software package or platform.

SDK

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting computer systems, networks, and data from digital attacks, theft, and unauthorized access.

Cybersecurity

Closed Lost

Closed Lost is a sales term for a deal that didn't go through. The prospect decided not to buy, or the sales team disqualified them.

Closed Lost

Load Balancing

Load balancing is the practice of distributing incoming network traffic across a group of backend servers, ensuring no single server is overworked.

Load Balancing

Customer Centricity

Customer centricity is a business approach that puts the customer at the heart of every decision, aiming to build loyalty and long-term value.

Customer Centricity

X-Sell

X-Sell, or cross-selling, is a sales strategy of selling additional, related products or services to an existing customer base.

X-Sell

Customer Experience

Customer experience (CX) is a customer's total perception of your business, based on every interaction across the entire customer lifecycle.

Customer Experience

Sales Pipeline Reporting

Sales pipeline reporting is the process of analyzing sales data to track progress, identify bottlenecks, and forecast future revenue.

Sales Pipeline Reporting

Customer Retention Rate

Customer Retention Rate (CRR) is the metric that measures the percentage of customers a company has kept over a specific period of time.

Customer Retention Rate

Event Tracking

Event tracking is the method of collecting data on specific user actions, or 'events,' on a website or app, such as clicks or downloads.

Event Tracking

End of Quarter

“End of Quarter” (EOQ) refers to the final weeks of a business quarter when sales teams rush to meet quotas, often leading to a flurry of deals.

End of Quarter

Net New Business

Net new business is revenue from customers who have never purchased from your company before. It’s a crucial indicator of sustainable growth.

Net New Business

Version Control Systems

A version control system (VCS) tracks changes to files over time, allowing you to recall specific versions and collaborate without conflicts.

Version Control Systems

Email Deliverability

Email deliverability is the ability for your emails to successfully land in your recipients' inboxes instead of their spam folders.

Email Deliverability

Logo Retention

Logo retention is a key B2B metric that measures a company's ability to retain its customers, or 'logos,' over a specific period.

Logo Retention

Key Accounts

Key accounts are a company's most valuable customers, vital due to their significant revenue contribution and strategic importance for growth.

Key Accounts

Sales Coach

A sales coach is a mentor who trains and guides sales reps to enhance their skills, boost performance, and ultimately close more deals effectively.

Sales Coach

Artificial Intelligence in Sales

AI in sales uses smart technology to automate repetitive tasks, analyze customer data, and help sales reps close deals more efficiently.

Artificial Intelligence in Sales

No Spam

“No Spam” is a commitment to sending only relevant, solicited messages. It means avoiding bulk, unwanted emails to respect the recipient's inbox.

No Spam

Reverse Logistics

Reverse logistics is the process for goods moving from the customer back to the seller, covering returns, repairs, recycling, and disposal.

Reverse Logistics

Dark Funnel

The Dark Funnel describes customer buying activities that are untrackable by companies, such as private chats and word-of-mouth referrals.

Dark Funnel

GPCTBA/C&I

GPCTBA/C&I is a sales qualification framework for understanding a prospect's goals, plans, challenges, timeline, budget, and authority.

GPCTBA/C&I

Infrastructure as a Service

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a cloud computing service that offers essential compute, storage, and networking resources on-demand.

Infrastructure as a Service

Buyer Intent

Learn about buyer intent, including understanding buyer intent signals, strategies to capture buyer intent, & buyer intent vs. customer interest.

Buyer Intent

Accounts Payable

Accounts Payable (AP) is the money a company owes its suppliers for goods or services bought on credit. It's listed as a current liability.

Accounts Payable

B2B Data Solutions

Learn about B2B data solutions, including unlocking the power of B2B data, & key components of effective B2B data solutions.

B2B Data Solutions

Mobile App Analytics

Mobile app analytics involves collecting and analyzing data from mobile apps to understand user behavior and optimize the app's performance.

Mobile App Analytics

Accessibility Testing

Accessibility testing is a software testing method that verifies an application is usable by people with disabilities, like vision or hearing loss.

Accessibility Testing

Net 30

Net 30 is a common payment term where a client has 30 calendar days from the invoice date to pay for goods or services in full.

Net 30

Sales Enablement Technology

Sales enablement technology refers to software and tools that equip sales teams with the resources they need to close more deals efficiently.

Sales Enablement Technology

Corporate Identity

Corporate identity is the visual and verbal persona of a company, encompassing its logo, color palette, communication style, and core values.

Corporate Identity

Marketing Funnel

The marketing funnel is a model illustrating the path potential customers take, from initial awareness to making a purchase.

Marketing Funnel

Sales Engineer

Sales Engineers blend deep technical knowledge with sales acumen, demonstrating a product's value and solving customer problems to drive revenue.

Sales Engineer

C-Level or C-Suite

The C-suite, or C-level, refers to a company's most senior executives. Their titles usually start with 'Chief,' such as CEO, CFO, or CTO.

C-Level or C-Suite

Omnichannel Sales

Omnichannel sales is a strategy that integrates all physical and digital sales channels to create a seamless, unified customer experience.

Omnichannel Sales

Sales Manager

A Sales Manager leads a sales team, setting goals, analyzing performance, and developing strategies to drive revenue and meet targets.

Sales Manager

Digital Contracts

Digital contracts are legally binding agreements created, signed, and stored electronically, offering a faster, more secure alternative to paper.

Digital Contracts

Technographics

Technographics is data that outlines a company’s technology stack, helping B2B teams identify prospects based on the software and hardware they use.

Technographics

Consultative Sales

Consultative selling is a sales approach where a salesperson acts as an advisor, focusing on understanding and solving a customer's specific needs.

Consultative Sales

B2B Data

Learn about B2B data, including sources and types of B2B data, leveraging B2B data for sales success, & ensuring the accuracy of B2B data.

B2B Data

Cold Email

A cold email is an initial outreach sent to a potential customer with whom you've had no prior contact, aiming to introduce your business.

Cold Email

Mobile Optimization

Mobile optimization adapts your website to ensure visitors on smartphones and tablets have a seamless, user-friendly experience.

Mobile Optimization

Lead Generation Software

Lead generation software helps businesses automate finding and capturing potential customers' contact information to build sales pipelines.

Lead Generation Software

Trade Shows

Trade shows are events where companies in a specific industry showcase their latest products and services to find new customers and partners.

Trade Shows

OAuth

OAuth is an open standard for access delegation. It lets you grant apps access to your data on other services without sharing your password.

OAuth

Open Rate

The open rate is the percentage of recipients who opened an email. It's a primary indicator of a subject line's effectiveness.

Open Rate

Sales Pitch

A sales pitch is a persuasive presentation of a product or service, aimed at convincing a potential customer to make a purchase.

Sales Pitch

De-dupe

De-duping, or data deduplication, is the process of eliminating duplicate copies of data within a dataset to improve accuracy and save space.

De-dupe

Dynamic Territories

Dynamic territories are fluid sales assignments that adjust based on real-time data, ensuring reps can focus on the highest-value accounts.

Dynamic Territories

Sales Engagement

Sales engagement is the sum of all interactions between a seller and a prospect, aimed at building a relationship and moving a deal forward.

Sales Engagement

Digital Rights Management

Digital Rights Management (DRM) is technology that controls access to copyrighted digital content, restricting its use, modification, and distribution.

Digital Rights Management

Performance Plan

A performance plan is a formal document outlining an employee's goals, expectations, and metrics for success over a specific period.

Performance Plan

Intent-Based Leads

Intent-based leads are potential customers whose online actions—like searches or content engagement—signal a clear interest in buying a solution.

Intent-Based Leads

Network Monitoring

Network monitoring is the continuous process of tracking a computer network's performance and health to detect and resolve issues proactively.

Network Monitoring

Lead Enrichment

Lead enrichment adds third-party data to your raw lead lists, creating fuller prospect profiles for more effective and personalized outreach.

Lead Enrichment

User Experience

User Experience (UX) refers to a person's overall feelings and perceptions while interacting with a product, system, or service.

User Experience