Weekly Spiff: Gumball Machine
If you followed the note from Week 8, you already have a gumball machine sitting in your back room. If you didn’t, order one on Amazon Prime right away — they’re cheap, they ship fast, and this contest is worth it.
Every time a salesperson hits a trigger you set — a closed sale, a try-on, an add-on, a repair converted to a purchase — they earn a coin. At the end of each shift, they drop their coins and the color of the gumball that rolls out determines the payout.
- Set your own payout scale. Something like white = $1, red = $5, blue = $20, and one special color = $100 or an experience prize like dinner or a massage. You can adjust the number of gumballs of each color when you fill the machine.
- Choose your trigger based on what behavior you want to drive this week — closed sales, try-ons, add-ons, completed customer profile cards. One trigger per penny.
- Do the drops at the end of each shift with the whole team watching. That’s the moment. Don’t let it happen quietly in the corner.
Why it works: There’s something about the physicality of it — the crank, the rattle, the roll — that makes the reward feel earned in a way a handed-over cash reward never quite does. Nobody knows what color is coming. That suspense, repeated at the end of every shift, builds a rhythm your floor will start looking forward to all day.
One note: Scale your payouts to feel meaningful. Adjust the numbers so a good week at the machine feels like a real bonus, not a novelty.
Monthly Spiff for April: Make the Call
In addition to the spiff for the week, you’re also launching April’s monthly spiff — and this one is designed to build something that pays off long after April is over.
Make the Call is a month-long clienteling contest. The goal is simple: get your staff picking up the phone and reaching out to existing customers. Not to sell them something specific — just to make contact, check in, and when the moment is right, invite them in.
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Create a spreadsheet to track three things for each salesperson across the month:
- Calls made — any outbound call to an existing customer counts. Earns a small reward per call.
- Appointments booked — a customer who agrees to come in. Earns a mid-level reward.
- Appointments that convert to a sale — the full loop closed. Earns the biggest reward.
At the end of April, the salesperson with the highest combined score wins a meaningful prize — a gift card, a bonus, whatever fits your store. The real prize, though, is a customer list that’s been touched, warmed up, and ready for Mother’s Day.
Why April: Mother’s Day is five weeks away. The customers your staff calls this month are the ones walking in next month ready to buy. Make the Call isn’t just an April contest — it’s your May sales strategy.
DISCLAIMER: Spiffs are not appropriate for every store, but can add a sense of excitement to the sales process for some. It depends on your store, and it depends on your staff. If you haven’t tried these, give it a try and see what happens. But if you do try it, make a big deal of it.
