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Your sales contest, ready to launch

Goal, duration, team and budget: the tool suggests the right format, tiers calibrated on your usual level, guardrails against the side effects and what the contest costs in every scenario. Then the rules, ready to share.

Motivate without blowing the budget

Your contest

Everything updates as you type

1. The contest

What you want to move, and over how long.

Duration

2. Team and budget

The usual level is used to calibrate reachable tiers.

Currency · Display only, no conversion.
people
$

What you are willing to spend at worst, all rewards included.

Editable example

What one participant usually does over a period of this length. Start from your actual numbers, not from a target.

$

What one extra unit is worth to the business, margin or pipeline, to compare with the cost. 0 if you do not know.

3. The format

Each format has its strengths and its side effects.

Results updated: $1,500 in the worst case.

What the contest costs

worst-case cost

$1,500

budget $1,500

Realistic scenario

$550

+23 meetings held · $24 per extra unit

In the worst case, the contest costs $1,500, which is 100% of your $1,500 budget. You cannot be caught short.

Reward amounts only. Depending on the country, cash prizes and gifts given to employees may count as taxable income or be subject to payroll contributions. Check with your accountant before announcing the rewards.

The cost by outcome

Four scenarios, from the quietest to the most expensive. “Extra result” is what the team produces above its usual level.

  • Nobody improves

    Everyone stays at their usual level.

    $0

    Winners
    0 / 6
    Extra result
    none
    Cost per extra unit
    –

  • Everyone at tier 1

    Just above the usual level.

    $450

    Winners
    6 / 6
    Extra result
    +18
    Cost per extra unit
    $25

  • Realistic scenario

    Based on the split you entered.

    $550

    Winners
    4 / 6
    Extra result
    +23
    Cost per extra unit
    $24

  • Everyone at top tier

    The worst case for the budget.

    $1,500

    Winners
    6 / 6
    Extra result
    +66
    Cost per extra unit
    $23

Individual tiers

Everyone wins by reaching thresholds set in advance.

When it works

The safest format to start with: everyone can win, nobody plays against a teammate, and the maximum cost is known in advance. Well suited to a month or a quarter.

Side effects

A tier set too high discourages the team within the first third of the period; a tier set too low pays for what the team would have done anyway. Rewarding volume alone leads to rushed calls.

Guardrails

Tier 1 just above the usual level, tier 3 ambitious but reachable, non-cumulative rewards, a quality criterion on what counts.

The contest rules

Ready to paste into a message to the team, or to print as a PDF. Read them over and adjust the reward before sending.

Preview

SALES CONTEST: MEETINGS · ONE MONTH

Goal: meetings, over one month. 6 participants. Starting point: 22 meetings held per person, our usual level.

How to win
• Tier 1: 25 meetings held → $75
• Tier 2: 28 meetings held → $150
• Tier 3: 33 meetings held → $250
• Everyone earns the reward of the highest tier they reach (tiers do not stack). Everyone can win.

Ground rules
• What counts: only held meetings count (the prospect showed up), and they must match the target profile.
• The scoreboard is shared every Monday.
• The rules are set before the start and do not change along the way.
• A result obtained by gaming the rules or at a customer’s expense does not count.

Maximum budget: $1,500 (calculated worst case: $1,500).
Rules built with Skipcall’s sales contest generator: …

Count without data entry. A contest lives or dies by a fair scoreboard. The Skipcall dashboard tracks calls, conversations and leads for each team member over the period you choose, without anyone having to log them.

See the dashboard

Your numbers never leave your browser. The tool sends nothing and stores nothing. How to check

$1,500

worst-case cost

$1,500

budget

What a sales contest is, and when to run one

A sales contest is a time-boxed game with a goal, rules and rewards, on top of the commission plan rather than instead of it. Where variable pay rewards the work of the whole year, a contest shifts the team’s attention for a few days or weeks: reviving an activity that is losing steam, launching a new offer, catching up on a target, onboarding new hires.

It works when three conditions are met: a goal every participant directly influences, rules that fit in a few lines, and a reliable scoreboard shared at set times. It almost always fails for the same reasons: unreachable tiers, a reward that always goes to the same people, or a volume goal that produces rushed calls.

This generator starts from your measured usual level, not from the target you would like to hit. That is what makes the tiers credible: a first tier just above what the team already does, which most people can go for from day one, and a top tier that takes real effort.

10 sales contest ideas

Each idea loads into the tool in one click, with its goal, format and duration: all that is left is to adjust it to your team.

  • Callback day

    Raffle tickets Day Number of calls

    One ticket for every contact left hanging that you call back and log an outcome for. Ideal to clear a follow-up list that keeps growing.

    Set up this contest

  • Objection bingo

    Bingo and missions Week Conversations

    A card where each square is an objection handled and shared with the team. People learn as much as they play, and new hires pick up the answers of the veterans.

    Set up this contest

  • The held meetings race

    Individual tiers Month Meetings held

    Three tiers on meetings held, not booked: the quality of the booking is part of the game.

    Set up this contest

  • The quarterly team goal

    Team goal Quarter New customers

    A team tier on new customers, with a per-person counting cap. Everyone has a reason to help the teammate who is stuck.

    Set up this contest

  • The most improved podium

    Leaderboard and podium Week Meetings held

    Rank on improvement over one’s own usual level rather than raw volume: the new hire can beat the top rep.

    Set up this contest

  • Power hour

    Raffle tickets Day Conversations

    One focused hour of calls, the whole team at once, one ticket per conversation. Short, intense and inexpensive.

    Set up this contest

  • First meeting week

    Individual tiers Week Meetings held

    For new hires: low, reachable tiers calibrated on what a beginner can do, to celebrate the first meeting instead of waiting for the first full month.

    Set up this contest

  • The quality challenge

    Bingo and missions Week Number of calls

    Missions focused on quality: have a call reviewed, test a new opener, update the CRM on the same day. Useful after a stretch of pure volume.

    Set up this contest

  • Buddy pairs

    Team goal Week Meetings held

    Pairs made of one experienced rep and one newer rep, with a shared tier per pair. Know-how gets passed on during the game.

    Set up this contest

  • Dormant quotes revival

    Individual tiers Month Deals closed

    Tiers on followed-up quotes that come back into discussion, with a quality criterion on the logged outcome. The existing pipeline works before the new one.

    Set up this contest

How to set contest tiers

The method the tool follows, which also works by hand.

  1. 1

    Measure the usual level

    Take what one participant does over a period of the same length, across several recent periods, not the best one. Everything starts here: a tier reads as a gap from this level.

  2. 2

    Put the first tier just above it

    Tier 1 should be reachable by most of the team from day one. It creates momentum; if it looks far away, part of the team checks out before starting.

  3. 3

    Put the top tier high, but within reach

    Tier 3 is the one only the best will reach, with real effort. If it takes double the usual level, nobody believes in it; the tool suggests +30%, +50% or +75% depending on the ambition.

  4. 4

    Budget on the worst case

    Work out what the contest would cost if everyone reached the top tier, and adjust the rewards so this amount stays within budget. Nothing is worse than a successful contest you cannot afford to pay out.

  5. 5

    Add guardrails before announcing

    A quality criterion on what counts, a minimum threshold so you do not pay for an ordinary period, a per-person cap when one result can crush the others. They are much easier to set at the start than to add halfway.

The five contest formats, and their side effects

Individual tiers

When it works. The safest format to start with: everyone can win, nobody plays against a teammate, and the maximum cost is known in advance. Well suited to a month or a quarter.

Side effects. A tier set too high discourages the team within the first third of the period; a tier set too low pays for what the team would have done anyway. Rewarding volume alone leads to rushed calls.

Guardrails. Tier 1 just above the usual level, tier 3 ambitious but reachable, non-cumulative rewards, a quality criterion on what counts.

Leaderboard and podium

When it works. Over a short period, with a team of similar level and at least four people: competition works at full strength and the cost is fixed.

Side effects. The bottom of the board drops out fast: those who know they are out of the race stop trying, and the same people always win. Over a month or more, the gap widens and demotivates. A podium without a threshold pays out even if nobody improves.

Guardrails. A minimum threshold to place, a most improved prize measured against each person’s own level, a short duration, and a leaderboard published at set times rather than live.

Team goal

When it works. When helping each other matters more than competing, for long-cycle goals (deals, revenue, new customers) and for large teams or teams with very different levels.

Side effects. Free riders: some let the top performers carry the team. And if the tier is narrowly missed, everyone loses, even those who gave everything.

Guardrails. A per-person counting cap so nobody carries the team alone, a scoreboard everyone can see, and a first team tier that is reachable.

Raffle tickets

When it works. Over a day or a week, to kick-start one specific activity (callbacks, follow-ups, morning calls). Everyone keeps a chance, even the bottom of the board, and the cost is fixed.

Side effects. Without a threshold, you pay prizes for business as usual. Without a cap, high volume crushes everyone else’s odds. Chance frustrates when a big prize goes to someone who did little.

Guardrails. Tickets only above the usual level, a per-person ticket cap, a quality criterion on what earns a ticket, and a public draw.

Bingo and missions

When it works. To work on something other than volume: call quality, sharing between teammates, new openers. Ideal over a day or a week, and for onboarding new hires.

Side effects. Vague missions lead to disputes; missions that are too easy cost money without changing anything. The format loses its appeal if it runs too long.

Guardrails. Verifiable missions, signed off by the manager, one row per difficulty level, and a reward per row rather than only for a full card.

How much a sales contest costs

The cost of a contest is not the amount of rewards you picture handing out: it is what you would pay if everyone succeeded. The tool calculates that worst case and checks it against your budget, along with three other scenarios: nobody improves, everyone at tier 1, and a realistic scenario whose split you set.

The right metric is not the total cost but the cost per extra unit: what you pay for each meeting, deal or unit of revenue the team would not have produced without the contest. If you know what one unit is worth to the business, the tool puts the two side by side. A contest that costs more per extra meeting than a meeting is worth is not an investment, it is a bonus in disguise.

The amounts shown are the rewards themselves, before any tax. Depending on the country, cash prizes and gifts given to employees may count as taxable income or be subject to payroll contributions. Check with your accountant before announcing the prizes.

Common mistakes

  • Rewarding volume alone

    A contest on number of calls without a quality criterion produces calls dropped after a few seconds and numbers dialled for the count. Count calls with a logged outcome, or switch to conversations or meetings held.

  • A leaderboard that runs too long

    Over a month, a podium is settled within a few days for half the team. Those who know they are out of the race check out. Shorten it, add a most improved prize, or prefer tiers.

  • Tiers set on the target rather than reality

    A tier based on the annual target cut into weeks ignores what the team actually does. Start from the measured usual level: that is what makes the first tier credible.

  • Changing the rules midway

    Raising a tier because the team is going too fast, or adding a condition halfway, destroys trust for every contest that follows. If a rule was wrong, honour it and fix it next time.

  • Forgetting the worst case

    Contests are often budgeted on the hoped-for scenario. If everyone succeeds, the bill doubles. Check that the worst case fits the budget before announcing anything.

  • Leaving rules open to gaming

    Meetings booked but never held, deals closed then cancelled, calls counted twice: any vague rule will be tested. Write down what counts and what does not, and publish the scoreboard at set times.

Go further

The tools and articles that complement this generator.

How to check that your numbers never leave your browser

The calculation runs as code in your browser: your budget, levels and rewards are sent neither to Skipcall nor to anyone else. The tool stores nothing, not even in the browser’s local storage. The page address stays clean while you type: the share link is only built when you click “copy the link”.

The simplest test: once the page has loaded, turn off your connection and change a value. The results and the rules keep updating, since they need no server.

In your browser’s Network tab, you will see the site’s analytics tools, as on all our pages. None of them receives the content of your fields: the tool area is excluded from session recording, and only button clicks (copy, print, format chosen) are counted, without their content.

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Frequently asked questions

A sales contest is a time-boxed game, from one day to one quarter, that gives a sales team a precise goal, rules and rewards. It sits on top of the commission plan to focus effort on a current priority: more meetings held, a follow-up list to clear, an offer launch, a gap to close.
The most effective ones are those participants choose or experience: an outing, a team meal, useful equipment, a dedicated sum. What matters more than the prize itself: that everyone can win something (tiers, most improved prize), that the amount is known in advance and that the reward is handed out soon after the end. Whatever the form, check its tax treatment with your accountant.
Start from the worst case: what the contest would cost if everyone reached the top tier. That is the amount that has to fit the budget, not the hoped-for scenario. Then compare the cost per extra unit (per extra meeting or deal) with what that unit is worth to the business. The tool does both calculations.
Often, yes, but the rules depend on the country, the type of reward and who pays it. In many countries, cash prizes and gifts given to employees count as taxable income or are subject to payroll contributions. The tool shows amounts before tax: check the treatment with your accountant before announcing the prizes.
Short enough that everyone believes they can win until the last day. A day or a week for an activity goal (calls, conversations, callbacks), a month for meetings held, a quarter for deals or new customers, which take longer to close. The longer the contest, the better individual tiers or a team goal work compared with a leaderboard.
Make sure everyone can win something. Individual tiers do this by design; a podium gets there with a most improved prize measured against each person’s usual level; a team goal with a per-person cap so nobody leans on the top performers. Publish the scoreboard at set times rather than live, and never change the rules midway.
Variable pay rewards hitting targets over the year, under a plan known in advance and often part of the contract. A contest is one-off, playful and targeted: it moves attention to a current priority. It should not make up for a badly designed commission plan; to check what your plan pays, use the SDR variable pay simulator.
No. The calculation runs in your browser, with no network request and no storage. The page address does not change while you type; the share link is only built when you click “copy the link” and transmits nothing until you send it yourself.