Ask any tech sales team what makes their culture unique and you probably won’t hear “our commission structure.” That’s because while money is a powerful motivator, it’s not the only thing that keeps salespeople striving to hit their quotas. Seasoned sales leaders know that recognition for a job well done is equally important and craft spiffs, incentives and rituals that shine a spotlight on high-performers.
Of course, there are many ways to recognize a standout salesperson. Miriam Neustadt, a sales manager at restaurant technology company BentoBox, said her company offers top performers the traditional all-expenses paid vacation to a Caribbean island complete with facetime with executives. However, what really gets her team going is something much simpler: when people from outside the sales department participate in blitzes.
“It goes a long way toward making reps feel seen, celebrated and valued,” Neustadt said.
It’s a similar story over at Check, where Chelsea Palmer, head of platform sales, said the fintech company credits closed deals to the broader go-to-market team as opposed to a lone account executive and crafts motivational rituals accordingly.
Both BentoBox and Check are hiring salespeople, and Neustadt and Palmer gave Built In New York a closer look into the culture of their sales teams, including the spiffs and rituals that keep AEs in their inboxes and on their phones.
Check is a B2B fintech company that enables HR software makers to embed payroll functionality directly into their products via an API. Chelsea Palmer, head of platform sales, told Built In NYC that what keeps her team motivated is both a desire to deliver for the company and a quarterly recognition program centered around core values.
What makes Check’s sales culture unique?
Check’s sales culture thrives on excellence, innovation and collaboration. We have a growth mindset and strive to master our craft, consistently pushing boundaries and finding solutions that benefit both Check and our partners. Guided by a battle-tested sales process, we quickly identify solutions, share feedback with cross-functional teams and adapt as we scale. Clear communication and attention to detail build trust with our partners.
Challenges are embraced as valuable learning opportunities. We value curiosity and eagerly learn from others, actively engaging with partners through webinars and conferences, which helps strengthen relationships and expand our knowledge. Collaboration is at the core of our culture, marked by kindness, open feedback and a celebration of shared success. Our sales culture is defined by growth, optimism, continuous learning and synergistic collaboration.
For us, it’s less about the monetary spiff and more about highlighting exceptional teammates.”
What non-monetary spiffs, incentives or rituals keep your team motivated?
Sales at Check is incredibly cross-functional. We’re the quarterback and call the plays, but we rely on many other teams to help us get deals over the line. Therefore, it wouldn’t make sense to only celebrate the account executives. At Check, we celebrate our wins as a company and as a go-to-market team. One fun ritual we have every quarter is nominating peers who exemplify one of Check’s core values, such as “bridge the gap.” Winners receive a quirky gift that represents their value. For us, it’s less about the monetary spiff and more about highlighting exceptional teammates.
What does your team enjoy most about these rituals?
What the team enjoys most about our rituals is how they bond us. Building a company is hard: It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Creating a long-term, sustainable company takes more than just high-performing AEs. It takes teamwork, and teamwork requires high levels of collaboration and accountability. That’s what we incentivize and reward at Check.
Restaurants use BentoBox’s technology to build websites, offer online ordering, establish loyalty programs and more. Miriam Neustadt, sales manager, said that while the company has a variety of non-monetary incentives that motivate her team, what really goes a long way is when other departments or senior leaders actively recognize her reps’s work.
What makes BentoBox’s sales culture unique?
As competitive as sales can be, our team maintains the mindset that a rising tide lifts all boats. The more deals our team closes, the more brand equity we build, which makes it easier for reps to close deals in the future. This sense of community is built upon the fact that we intentionally recruit those who care deeply about empowering restaurants to succeed and who oftentimes have a hospitality background themselves. As a team, we are all-in on restaurants. Their successes are our successes, and that is felt company wide. The world of hospitality is a small one, and our sales reps’ ability to build trust and lasting relationships with restaurant owners and operators leads to big returns.
My team loves to see their hard work rewarded monetarily, but they also appreciate when other departments or senior leaders get involved and offer incentives as part of a blitz.”
What non-monetary spiffs, incentives or rituals keep your team motivated?
When a rep closes a big deal, the Slack signup channel is the place to be. Our team members truly champion one another’s successes. Hit quota? The GIFs go wild. In addition to this fanfare, we regularly run contests and blitzes with unique prizes, like your manager making 10 calls for you or getting the rest of the day off. As you can imagine, those are a big hit.
For our reps at the very top of their game, the goal is to get to “Pinnacle,” an all-expenses-paid trip to the Bahamas for the highest-performing reps in the organization, including plenty of facetime with our most-senior leaders.
Lest we not forget, all employees can expense their tips at any BentoBox restaurant, so we think the best incentive is to sign up to your favorite spot and reap the rewards whenever you’re hungry.
In addition to these incentives, we shout out top performers at both our monthly sales kickoff call — where we spin the big deal wheel for cash prizes — and at our monthly business review. This ensures everyone in the organization, and not just those on the sales team, can give our reps some well-deserved fanfare.
What does your team enjoy most about these spiffs, incentives and rituals?
Of course my team loves to see their hard work rewarded monetarily, but they also appreciate when other departments or senior leaders get involved and offer incentives as part of a blitz. It goes a long way toward making reps feel seen, celebrated and valued. Besides, any chance to offload a few cold calls or use your manager as your executive assistant brings levity and unity to what is oftentimes a challenging role.
