SPIFF ROI calculator
This calculator tests whether a SPIFF is worth running. Enter team size, deal volume and value, gross margin, the budget and an assumed lift, and it returns incremental margin, net gain after the spend, and the break-even lift. Break-even lift is the honest test: if it comes in under two or three per cent, the programme is very likely worth running even if the assumed lift never arrives.
Be conservative. Ten per cent is a defensible planning assumption for a first contest.
Net margin gain
$8,580
- Baseline revenue in period
- $144,000
- Incremental revenue at 10% lift
- $14,400
- Incremental margin
- $10,080
- Return on spend
- 572%
- Break-even lift
- 1.49%
- Break-even extra deals
- 0.4
Break-even lift is the honest number to judge a SPIFF on: if it is under two or three per cent, the programme is very likely worth running even if the assumed lift never materialises.
Frequently asked questions
What is a SPIFF?+
A short-term incentive paid on a specific behaviour — a product, a segment, a stage — on top of normal commission. It differs from a contest in that everyone who hits the condition gets paid, rather than only the winner, which makes it a budget with an uncertain ceiling rather than a fixed pool.
How do I know if a SPIFF is worth it?+
Compare the break-even lift with what you think the programme can realistically move. If the SPIFF needs a 15% lift to pay for itself, it is a gamble. If it needs 1.5%, it costs you almost nothing to find out. That comparison is far more useful than a return figure built on an assumed lift you cannot verify in advance.
What lift should I assume?+
Be conservative. Ten per cent is a defensible planning assumption for a first programme, and it is the default here. The point of the break-even figure is that you do not have to be right about the assumption — you only need to know how wrong you can afford to be.
Do SPIFFs distort behaviour?+
They can, and that is their main risk. Paying on one product or segment pulls effort away from everything else for the duration, which shows up as a dip immediately afterwards. Keep them short, keep them narrow, and avoid running them back to back on the same behaviour.
Other tools
Sales Commission Calculator
Work out commission with accelerators: base rate to quota, accelerated rate above it, effective rate and on-target earnings. Adjust the plan and see the numbers move.
Sales Contest Budget Calculator
Size a contest prize pool from incremental margin instead of guesswork, with the break-even lift and a prize split that keeps the middle of the board competing.
Quota Attainment Calculator
Check attainment against pace: expected revenue at this point in the period, gap to pace, projection at the current run rate and what is needed per day to close the gap.