2025 SPIF Trends: How GTM Teams Are Incentivizing Success

How do GTM teams leverage SPIFs (Sales Performance Incentive Funds) to drive success? A recent RevOps Co-op digital event featuring Lindsay Rios (Fractional CRO), Ryan Milligan (VP of RevOps at QuotaPath), and Camela Thompson delved into the latest SPIF trends, exploring when and why teams use them, the behaviors they aim to influence, and how to structure them effectively.

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Understanding SPIFs and Their Impact

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SPIFs can be powerful tools to drive specific sales behaviors, but they need to be carefully structured to align with business goals. The event highlighted key trends in SPIF design, including:

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• Multi-year accelerators dominate – Incentivizing multi-year deals helps organizations secure revenue for a longer period, reducing the need for frequent renewals. On average, SPIFs for multi-year deals increased commissions by 3.2%.
• Logo milestone incentives – Securing high-value customer logos for case studies and testimonials is challenging, so SPIFs are being used to encourage reps to obtain approvals earlier in the process.
• Commission rate stacking – Rather than one-time bonuses, many teams are increasing commission rates for desired deal structures, making SPIFs more attractive and visible to sellers.

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“A SPIF should motivate a seller to care more about something that benefits the entire business - not just an individual win.” – Ryan Milligan, QuotaPath

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For a comprehensive understanding of SPIFs and their effectiveness, consider reading Do SPIFs Work? Why and When to Use SPIFs.

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Structuring SPIFs for Maximum Effectiveness

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SPIFs should be easy to understand and directly tied to desired sales behaviors. Some best practices discussed included:

• Tying SPIFs to business outcomes – Teams should think beyond immediate sales impact and consider long-term benefits such as revenue retention, branding, and cross-sell potential.
• Testing SPIFs before making them permanent – Consider running a high-accelerator test for a single quota to see if it changes sales behavior before embedding it into the comp plan.
• Using SPIFs to offset difficult conditions – If only 50% or fewer reps are reaching quota, SPIFs can be structured to help them stay motivated while the business addresses broader performance challenges.

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“SPIFs shouldn’t replace good compensation planning, but they can be used to adapt to short-term needs.” – Lindsay Rios

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For insights into effective SPIF program management, check out Guide to Spiff Program Management along with this webinar recording Navigating Comp Planning 201: 5 Strategies for Sales Success in 2024.

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The Role of Multi-Year Accelerators

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One of the standout insights from the discussion was the growing use of multi-year accelerators as a core SPIF strategy. These incentives drive reps to focus on longer-term contracts, which:

• Reduce renewal risk and revenue volatility
• Improve customer retention and overall LTV
• Allow reps to increase their earnings through commission rate stacking

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However, multi-year accelerators should be carefully structured. If reps discount heavily to close multi-year deals, it may negate the value of the SPIF. Instead, teams should:

• Set rate bumps high enough to offset discounting
• Apply SPIFs to ARR rather than total contract value
• Gradually adjust SPIF structures as multi-year deals become the norm

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For a detailed analysis of SPIF strategies and their impact, see The SPIF Report: Insights for Sales Compensation Strategies.

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When NOT to Use a SPIF

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Not all businesses should jump on the SPIF bandwagon. The panelists discussed scenarios where SPIFs may not be effective, such as:

• Companies with strong revenue retention and renewal upsell strategies that don’t need to push multi-year contracts.
• Teams that already enforce disciplined sales motions, making additional incentives unnecessary.
• Organizations going through major pricing strategy shifts, where SPIFs could unintentionally lock in outdated pricing structures.

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“If SPIFs aren’t working, it’s usually because either the rate bump isn’t high enough, or the reps aren’t enabled to sell in the way you expect.” – Ryan Milligan

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For further reading on sales compensation strategies, see 5 Sales Compensation Plan Examples to Get You Started.

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Final Thoughts: Aligning SPIFs With Business Strategy

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SPIFs can be a game-changer when executed well, but they should be thoughtfully designed, tested, and aligned with broader revenue goals. Whether using them to drive multi-year contracts, incentivize early logo approvals, or encourage more predictable revenue, the key is to make them easy to understand and impactful for both reps and the business.

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Looking for more great content? Check out Check out the RevOps Co-op blog and QuotaPath's Learning Center for deeper discussions on comp planning, sales incentives, and revenue strategy.

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