Running Competitions That Drive the Right Behaviour

Purpose of this article

This article explains how to run competitions in SalesScreen that drive business outcomes, not just activity for activity's sake. Competitions are the most-used feature in SalesScreen and the primary way teams stay motivated and focused. But a poorly designed competition can encourage the wrong behaviour – like high call volume with low conversion, or wins that don't align with your strategic goals.

You will learn:

This is a best-practice guide. For step-by-step instructions on creating a competition in SalesScreen, see How do I create a standard competition in SalesScreen?

Before you create any competition, be clear on what you want to improve and why it matters to the business.

The answer determines which competition type and metric to use.

Good example

"Our goal this month is to improve meeting-to-opportunity conversion. We'll run a competition on 'qualified opportunities created' to focus reps on better discovery, not just booking any meeting."

Bad example

"Let's run a competition on calls because we always do that. We'll figure out the goal later."

SalesScreen offers multiple competition types. Each one solves a different challenge. Here are the most common and when to use them.

What it is: A simple leaderboard showing who has the highest number or value on a chosen metric (calls, revenue, opportunities, etc.). Winner is whoever is on top when time runs out.

When to use it:

Good example

Monthly competition: "Closed-won revenue this month." All reps have similar quotas and the same product portfolio. Clean, fair, motivating.

Bad example

Monthly competition: "Closed-won revenue this month," but three reps are brand new with 30% of the quota, and five are veterans with 200% quotas. The new reps disengage immediately because they know they can't win.

What it is: Instead of competing on raw numbers, reps compete on progress toward individual goals. You set a custom target for each participant (or team), and the winner is whoever reaches the highest percentage of their goal, or the first to hit 100%.

When to use it:

How it works: If Rep A needs to close 10 deals and closes 9, they're at 90%. If Rep B needs to close 30 deals and closes 25, they're at 83%. Rep A wins, even though Rep B closed more in absolute terms.

Good example

Weekly competition: "Hit your meeting target." New SDRs have a target of 5 meetings, experienced SDRs have 15. Everyone competes on percentage. The new hire who books 5 meetings can win over the senior who books 13 out of 15.

Bad example

You set custom targets, but you make them all identical even though responsibilities differ. Now it's just a standard competition with extra admin work.

Pro tip: You can protect goal numbers from being visible to participants if you want to keep individual quotas private. Just select "Show progression only" in the privacy settings.

What it is: Every time a rep completes the target activity (e.g., books a meeting, sends a proposal), they earn a ticket. At the end of the competition period, you spin a wheel and a random ticket wins.

When to use it:

Why it works: All you need is one ticket to win. So a rep who books one meeting has a chance. This keeps everyone in the game and prevents the same top performers from always winning.

Good example

Call blitz week: every meeting booked = one ticket. At the end of the week, we draw the winner. Even the newest rep stays engaged because they know one good meeting could win them the prize.

Bad example

Lottery on total revenue. The top performers close 10 deals and get 10 tickets; mid performers close 1 and get 1 ticket. The odds are so skewed that it feels rigged, and mid-performers disengage.

Pro tip: Lottery works best on leading indicators (calls, meetings, demos) and smaller milestones, not on lagging outcomes like revenue.

What it is: Head-to-head elimination rounds, like a sports tournament. Reps face off in pairs, and winners advance to the next round.

When to use it:

Good example

Monthly sales tournament: reps compete on "opportunities created" in head-to-head matchups each week. Winners advance. Losers can still cheer for teammates and analyze winning strategies.

Bad example

Bracket competition where half the team is eliminated in week 1 and has nothing to focus on for the remaining three weeks.

What it is:

When to use it:

Good example

Manager notices a rep struggling with cold calls. Sets up a personal mission: "Complete 50 calls by Friday, earn a reward + recognition." The rep hits it, gets celebrated, builds momentum.

Bad example

Manager sets up battles constantly and at random, creating confusion about what people should actually focus on. Competitions and battles overlap and dilute each other.

One of the most important best practices in SalesScreen: if you run a competition on activity (calls, emails), always run a parallel competition on the outcome of that activity (meetings booked, opportunities created).

A "most calls" competition without a quality check will drive reps to make bad calls just to hit the number. You'll see high activity and zero business impact.

Good example

Week-long "Call Blitz":

Result: Reps make a lot of calls, but they focus on the ones that convert because that's where the real reward is.

Bad example

Week-long competition: "Most calls made." No other metric tracked.
Result: Reps dial through bad lists, hang up quickly, and hit the number without any real conversations or business value.

Pro tip: You can run both competitions simultaneously. SalesScreen lets you have multiple active competitions at once, so reps see both leaderboards and balance their focus.

SalesScreen has built-in competition suggestions and templates based on what has worked for thousands of users.

Good example

You're new to competitions and not sure where to start. You go to Suggestions, pick "New Business Blitz" template (calls + meetings), adjust the dates and launch. It works, and you learn what resonates with your team.

Bad example

You ignore suggestions and try to reinvent the wheel. You create an overly complex competition with five metrics, three stages and unclear win conditions. Nobody understands it, and engagement is low.

Pro tip: Even if you're experienced, check Suggestions occasionally. SalesScreen updates them based on what's working across the customer base.

Prizes motivate, but only if they're meaningful and fair.

Good example

Top 3 reps in the competition get prizes, but there's a threshold: must have at least 70% quota attainment. This prevents someone from "winning" with objectively poor performance just because everyone else had a bad month.

Bad example

Generic prize: "The winner gets recognition." Nobody knows what that means, and it doesn't motivate anyone.

Competitions only work if people see them and feel the energy.

Good example

Competition starts Monday morning. Everyone gets an email, it pops up on screens, and the live leaderboard is visible all week. Reps check in daily, see their progress, and push harder. Manager celebrates small wins in Slack throughout the week.

Bad example

Competition is created and saved as draft. Manager forgets to publish it. Or: it's published but only visible if you manually go into the app and search for it. Nobody engages.

Pro tip: Use the feed and celebrations feature. Every time someone hits a milestone (books a meeting, closes a deal), it pops up for the team. This keeps energy high and reminds everyone the competition is live.

After a competition ends, take 10–15 minutes to review what worked and what didn't.

Good example

Post-competition debrief: "The lottery on meetings worked great – even our quietest reps stayed engaged all week. The call-volume competition didn't add much value because people just dialed faster without improving quality. Next time: drop the call comp, double down on outcome metrics."

Bad example

Competition ends. Nobody looks at the results or talks about what happened. Next month, you run the exact same competition and get the same mediocre results.

Pro tip: SalesScreen gives you data on who participated, how scores developed over time, and whether the competition kept engagement high throughout or dropped off. Use that data to improve.

Running 5+ competitions simultaneously creates noise and confusion.

Fix: Run 1–2 main competitions at a time, plus occasional short battles/missions for specific needs.

A three-month competition loses momentum after week two.

Fix: Most competitions should be 1–4 weeks. Use shorter sprints (1 week) for activity metrics, longer (1 month) for outcome metrics like revenue.

This demotivates the middle 80% of your team.

Fix: Use lottery mechanics, team competitions, or reward the top 10–25%. Make sure mid-performers feel like they have a shot.

A competition that doesn't tie back to what the business needs is just noise.

Fix: Every competition should answer: "If we win this, how does it help us hit our goals?"

You launch a competition and never mention it again.

Fix: Talk about the competition in team meetings, celebrate progress in real time, and keep the energy high throughout.

Running competitions in SalesScreen is one of the most powerful ways to drive motivation, focus and results. But not all competitions are created equal.

To run competitions that drive the right behaviour:

Next steps

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