Comment by Matthew Blanchard. 

Incentives are powerful but without precision, they can drive the wrong outcomes and behaviours.

Research highlighted in HBR shows that salespeople, often with the best of intentions, develop what’s called an “immoral imagination” bending or even breaking rules to hit targets. From sandbagging and excessive discounting to falsifying deals or gaming CRM data, comp plans can create loopholes that undermine both revenue and trust.

At Sales Excellence Advisors, we’ve seen this firsthand. When comp lacks transparency, alignment, or auditability, it opens the door to manipulation. But not all gaming is malicious. Some actions like timing a deal for next quarter may be harmless or even motivational. The key is knowing the difference.

This is where modern comp design and AI auditing come in. With the right checks, sales leaders can spot unhealthy trends early, correct course, and build a culture that rewards performance without sacrificing integrity.

Incentives should inspire not backfire. If your plan invites more creativity in gaming than selling, it’s time to rethink the model.

Listen to the full podcast here: https://hbr.org/podcast/2025/03/when-sales-incentives-backfire