29 sales contest ideas to try in 2025

Many sales teams struggle with achieving the monotonous sales quota. Not only can this monotony lead to decreased motivation and engagement but it impacts the sales win rates. However, a strategic approach to gamification can address this challenge. Using sales contest games in a sales environment offers a dynamic solution.  

Sales leaders resort to a lot of conventional methods to motivate their sales teams, such as comprehensive training programs, workshops and on-field training. However, they’re largely ineffective, time-consuming, and expensive propositions. Sales gamification is a brand-new strategy that is emerging as a valuable tool that is built on the basic psychological principles of motivation. 

This underscores the importance of sales gamification. In fact, an HBR study found that implementing gamification solutions in the workplace can lead to a significant increase in employee engagement. This blog will outline a full guide on sales contest games. 

What is a sales contest? 

A sales contest is a competitive gamification initiative designed to motivate sales teams, drive performance, and achieve specific business goals. By turning routine sales activities into engaging challenges, these sales competitions encourage participation and reward success, ultimately boosting overall productivity. 

Sales contests offer an exciting and tested way to keep those motivational fires going, making sure the winning tempo and momentum never flags. All contests – not just in Sales - essentially work on the premise of ‘Relativity’. How do I rank relative to others? Everyone wants to be better than ‘that dude/lady’.  

There’s something about the prospect of beating someone else that brings out both our worst and our best. The trick is to minimize the former and increase the latter, which a healthy and fun state of competition is designed to foster. That, in fact, is what the best Sales competitions do.  

And in the process, they end up achieving much more. Like rekindling the passion in the job. Sharpening and upgrading skills. Making short work of crazy targets.  

The psychological aspect behind why sales contest games work 

The relentless need to stay ahead of the competition means that Sales Leaders have historically tried to decode ways and means to keep their teams motivated. In the 1970s, the Expectancy Theory encouraged leaders to move away from merely documenting reports on team motivation to tinkering with variables and processes that would help them actually identify factors that influenced team behavior.  

It was agreed by most that levels of motivation were determined essentially by three factors: Expectancy, Instrumentality, and Valence – and that higher motivation results in the increased effort. Expectancy can be defined as our guesstimate of the AMOUNT of extra effort that will be needed to engineer an enhancement in results. 

Instrumentality is our guesstimate of the extent to which that extra burst of performance will influence additional rewards. Valence, roughly speaking, refers to the desirability (love-hate) of the reward.

Studies tell us that Expectancy and Instrumentality are a function of factors such as the impact of past performance, task conflict, feedback, task variety, task significance, the perceived concern of management, supervisor consideration, tenure, and self-esteem.  

Valene, on its part, is affected by pay, promotion, and perceived sense of accomplishment – although the biggest impact on Valence is caused by intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, which need to be present in the mix in a judicious balance. 

When implemented correctly, the gamified contests can have significant benefits. Let us quantify the power of games in the sales field.  

These stats showcase the significance of how rewarding gamified sales competitions can be. But identifying why your sales competition ideas are not working is of paramount importance in fixing the issues.  

5 Common reasons why your sales contests are not working and its solutions 

Here are the 5 Common reasons why your sales contests are not working. 

1. No real-time visibility 

Make it visual and real-time; everyone must know how they perform against their peers. To make contests work, your sales team needs to be aware of them and be able to track them in real time, and this is what they look like over the tenure of the contest. 

• Create the competition and broadcast it on WhatsApp, Slack and email. 
• Sales executives have to check their scores on WhatsApp groups or Slack channels.  
• Executives occasionally look at the data and drop their efforts since they lag far behind.   

The competition fails. The sales reps don’t see a point in participating in these contests, program admins think it is just one more task, and sales leaders wonder why their contests aren’t working.   

Well, it is because it is not automated, making it slow, tedious, and manual. 

2. Not built for everyone 

Most organizations build sales contests for a specific set of performers and never for the entire team. Organizations often run programs for tail-end performers or sales superstars with low or immensely high targets. 

There are always 2-3 reps that win every sales competition, there’s always that hunter that books more meetings than anyone else, there’s that enterprise rep that closes the most prominent deals, and there’s always that SDR that calls more than anyone in the team.  

3. Built to reward the ultimate win  

Rewarding for the ultimate win is a major pet peeve that is counterproductive.  

Nothing is more demotivating than looking at your sales leaderboard and seeing that you are 189th. While being at or near the bottom of the leaderboard can be a great motivator in smaller contests, returning from so far down the list is too much to handle for most reps.  

To avoid this, building milestone-based sales contests is the trick. Milestone-based programs give you the liberty to reward your reps periodically and motivate them to do more. It motivates them to at least get into the top ten, even if winning the entire thing might not be an option.  

4. Irrelevant metrics and unachievable timeframe  

Nothing in sales contests demotivates reps as much as setting goals that are not SMART.  

Suppose you want to create contests that drive immediate impact and long-term ROI. In that case, it is time you start taking a close look at the top metrics like early-stage KPIs like calls, e-mails, LI activity, discovery and first-time meetings, new opportunities, follow-up meetings, and late-stage metrics like pipeline movement, proposals/ offers,  closed-won deals and have a look at the time-frame within which the goals can be achieved.  

5. Boring and irrelevant rewards  

Giving out random trophies and irrelevant brand vouchers at the end of a contest makes it dull and insignificant. The cost of procuring the brand vouchers is exceptionally high. And it hardly ever reaches the right person.  

Apart from that, since brand vouchers are relevant for every rep, the redemption percentage drops, resulting in close to zero engagement and motivation. All of this is after you have spent money with a little discount on procuring these vouchers. Sales reps deserve meaningful rewards for their efforts.  

Sales incentive contests have been, and will continue to be, practical ongoing management tools for organizations.  Let’s discuss now 29 sales contests competitions. 

29 sales contest ideas to try in 2025 

Below are 29 sales contest ideas that blend proven sales competition ideas with innovative strategies to help you gamify sales and earn impressive results in 2025. 

1. Leader board challenge 

Create a real-time leader board using your sales contest platform to display daily or weekly rankings. Incorporate gamified rewards and gamification incentives so every rep stays motivated to climb the ladder. 

2. Team-based sales challenge 

Divide your team into groups and set collective targets. This type of sales competition fosters collaboration while utilizing sales incentive contest ideas that promote both individual and team success. 

3. Sales blitz contest 

Run a time-sensitive, high-energy sales blitz where every call counts. This approach leverages sales competition ideas to boost short-term performance with instant recognition. 

4. Product focus challenge 

Select a specific product or service and challenge your team to drive its sales. Tailor the contest with specialized sales contest ideas that spotlight deep product knowledge and customer benefits. 

5. Customer acquisition contest 

Encourage your team to secure new clients by rewarding every successful new customer acquisition. This contest emphasizes both quality and volume, reinforcing a balanced sales incentive program. 

6. Upsell and cross-sell competition 

Reward sales representatives for achieving the highest upsell or cross-sell rates. This contest not only drives revenue growth but also cultivates stronger client relationships. 

7. Referral contest 

Offer points or bonuses for each referral that converts into a sale. This sales competition idea can expand your customer base while strengthening long-term client loyalty. 

8. Sales trivia game 

Introduce a fun twist by hosting a trivia game centered around your products, market trends, and sales techniques. Incorporate sales incentive games to keep the competition engaging and informative. 

9. Social media engagement challenge 

Incorporate social media into your contest by awarding points for sharing success stories, industry insights, or client testimonials. This approach blends traditional sales competition ideas with modern digital engagement. 

10. Innovation challenge 

Invite your team to share creative sales strategies or pitch ideas. Reward innovative approaches that result in measurable success, reinforcing the value of forward-thinking in your gamification incentive programs. 

11. Volume-based contest 

Set clear sales volume targets and reward the rep who reaches them first. This contest emphasizes speed and efficiency, making it an excellent choice for boosting overall productivity. 

12. Quality score contest 

Combine sales numbers with customer satisfaction ratings to create a quality score contest. This well-rounded approach encourages high performance and ensures that service quality isn’t overlooked. 

13. New territory challenge 

Expand your market by challenging your team to break into new regions or industries. This contest can be tailored with specific sales incentive contest ideas to reward both effort and successful market penetration. 

14. Sales recovery contest 

Focus on turning stalled or lost deals into successes. Reward the rep who best revives challenging opportunities, encouraging persistence and strategic follow-ups. 

15. Data-driven challenge 

Incorporate analytics by rewarding those who use data effectively to drive their sales. This contest underscores the importance of leveraging insights and can integrate with your sales contest platform for real-time tracking. 

16. Personal best challenge 

Encourage each team member to beat their own previous records. This individual-focused contest not only drives personal growth but also highlights the value of self-improvement within a broader sales competition. 

17. Sales funnel optimization contest 

Reward improvements in conversion rates at various stages of the sales funnel. This contest aligns with data-driven sales contest ideas and reinforces the importance of nurturing leads. 

18. Cold call challenge 

Gamify the often-daunting task of cold calling by offering rewards for the most effective outreach. Use sales incentive games to turn routine tasks into exciting competitions. 

19. Virtual pitch contest 

Host a virtual contest where reps deliver their best sales pitches online. This idea is ideal for remote teams and leverages modern digital tools to gamify sales presentations. 

20. Client engagement innovation 

Challenge your team to develop fresh ways to engage clients using digital tools. This contest can be a part of a broader gamification incentive program that rewards creative client interactions. 

21. Flash bonus round 

Introduce surprise bonus rounds throughout the contest period to keep energy levels high. These quick bursts of additional incentives can reinvigorate the team and add an extra layer to your sales competition ideas. 

22. Customer feedback contest 

Reward sales reps based on positive customer feedback. This contest not only incentivizes high sales numbers but also focuses on the quality of service, making it a well-rounded approach. 

23. Cross-departmental challenge 

Promote collaboration by pairing sales with marketing or customer support in a joint contest. This type of sales competition encourages a holistic approach to business growth. 

24. Gamification incentive program challenge 

Launch a contest specifically designed around your gamification incentive programs. Use gamified rewards and sales incentive contest ideas to drive participation and maintain momentum throughout the sales cycle. 

25. Big picture contest 

Develop a long-term contest that spans a quarter or even a full year, focusing on overall growth and strategic achievement. This big picture approach motivates your team to stay consistent and utilize all available sales contest ideas for sustained success. 

While these games are a must try, you must know how you can create the best sales competition the department has ever seen.  

26. Run a contest for each day of the week and keep changing the theme every day 

You could run a contest to increase engagement and excitement. Map the theme back to your overarching Sales goals/ big KPI’s and success behaviors - be it sales volume, revenue, building brand awareness, upselling, cross-selling, a new launch, conversion, loyalty/retention, raising benchmarks, promoting behaviors, boosting morale, referrals, or customer review. Create a Sales Rockstar of the Week / Month type badge or award to recognize your most consistent performers. 

27. Try Gamification, such as a Sales Bingo for instance

This is pretty much the same as the regular ‘family and neighbors’ version, except that objectives can reflect your targets such as making a certain number of calls / social messages, getting a foot in the door (first response or sales), achieving a meeting with the corner suite (CXO) or a ‘dream client’ and so on. Raffles – where a Raffle ticket is distributed upon every milestone achieved and sweepstakes like draw organized at the end of the month with grand prizes – is another popular gag. There is software these days that come loaded with interesting gamification ideas that you can custom-fit to your Sales Contests. 

28. Team vs Team 

Nothing works like teamwork, even when they are pitted against each other. Nothing brings out the dual spirit camaraderie and competition quite like team games, either. So instead of pitting rep vs rep (which is the standard format and an effective one, too!), build clusters and gangs.

We tend to perform better when we are ‘doing it for the team’, making it a win-win! Get innovative when selecting your teams and choosing the names: Senior vs Junior, Ice-cream lovers vs Chocolate lovers, Show(wo)men vs Smooth Operators, and so on. You can also extend the idea into a pan-country/globe sports league or tournament, like the IPL. 

29. Improvement based 

This means designing the contest around incremental betterment witnessed during the course of the activity. Peg the contest around anyone important Sales Metric and study the progress of each member vis-à-vis that specific KPI. As a happy bonus, this type of contest is particularly effective in lifting your laggards and Middles (low and middle achievers) up the ladder. 

Four steps to building a friendly sales competition 

Here are four steps to building a friendly sales competition. 

1. Goals, KPIs, and rewards - set them all 

Don't organize a sales competition haphazardly thrown together to get the sales team going on a slow quarter, a quiet week, or a slow day. Your contest must have a clear goal, which could be turned into a data-oriented KPI. 

For example, suppose your competition's goal is to get the sales team comfortable with experimenting with outbound strategies on LinkedIn. The KPI could be sending X number of InMail's in a day or week. But don't just focus on the volume. Instead, measure its effectiveness. 

For instance, sending ten InMail's to profiles that are not the target audience is futile. Measure relevant efficiency metrics such as demos set up, responses, or connections received based on the InMail's sent. 

Regarding rewards, use current events to spark momentum. For instance, if your team is excited about a sporting event or the release of a new film, capitalize on that energy. If the budget allows, center the prizes around those events. Besides, let your salespeople decide the competition rewards. This practice has two advantages: 

• Your team is more invested as they directly control the most crucial part of the competition, i.e., prizes. 
• Rewards are not chosen on assumptions. You know the incentives that they care about. 

Doing so will make your sales team thank you for handing over the reins and interest them, even more, to partake in the competition. 

2. Create engaging but straightforward contests 

Once you have decided on the goal, the next step is to think of effective sales contest ideas that can help your sales team achieve that goal. Contests should have an element of fun and be a memorable experience for the team. 

Be clear and detailed in your communication. All participants should know what is expected of them. Ensure that your sales team should not have any problem understanding the rules of the competition. If it is hard to fathom, their enthusiasm for participating will take a hit. 

You can also plan for various sales incentive contest ideas for your sales team. 

3. Always share updates and maximize visibility 

Share updates frequently - depending on how quickly each salesperson's status changes. You can integrate a gamification tool in your CRM system for everyone to track their progress 24/7. 

This practice may even compel some salespeople to check it every hour or several times in a day. After all, it is in your hands to make them understand the contest is no funny business and how it contributes to their professional development. 

If your team thinks the contest is just for fun, they will treat it that way with staggering levels of engagement. Moreover, sharing updates about the team's competition is even more critical if you currently manage a distributed team (or working remotely). 

To keep your sales team committed to the friendly competition, they should know where they stand, irrespective of where they work. Maximizing visibility across channels can not only do that but also hold everyone accountable for their goals. 

4. Set a deadline for distributing rewards 

From compensation plans and bonuses to commission structures, it is clear that money is the biggest motivator in the sales game. Regardless of the reward, sales contests are met with approval because the objective of winning them is to gain an incentive. 

Meaning, the whole point of running a countback to square one if they have to wait a long time to receive their prizes. Therefore, distribute rewards as quickly as possible after the competition ends. Don’t make the winners wait! 

Concluding thoughts 

Start with listing out all aspects of the contest. That includes motivation, team size, team hierarchy, and location (remote or physically present). Ensure the involvement of every member of the sales team.  

When people participate and engage with rigor, you will witness a lasting behavioral change. Remember, sales teams thrive in a fast-paced environment. Such friendly competition can be the fuel much-need to drive their performance and take it to the next level! If you want to automate the sales games contest, schedule a call with Compass.  

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