Competition is fuel when used well
Salespeople are naturally competitive. A well designed leaderboard taps into this drive, creating urgency, visibility, and recognition that lifts performance across the entire team. A poorly designed leaderboard creates resentment, discouragement, and unhealthy behaviour.
The difference is in the design.
What to measure on your leaderboard
Revenue is the obvious choice but not the only one
Revenue based leaderboards are straightforward but can discourage newer agents who cannot compete with established performers. Consider supplementing or alternating with activity based leaderboards (most meetings booked), new customer leaderboards (most new logos), growth leaderboards (biggest percentage increase), and quality leaderboards (highest customer satisfaction scores).
Different metrics put different agents in the spotlight, which is more inclusive and more interesting.
Design principles
Make it visible
A leaderboard nobody sees does not motivate. Share it in your team channel, include it in weekly emails, and display it in your meetings. The visibility is what creates the motivation.
Update frequently
A leaderboard that updates weekly feels dynamic and urgent. One that updates monthly feels static. If possible, use real time data so agents can see their position change throughout the day or week.
Include enough context
Showing only the top three performers discourages everyone else. Show the full ranking so every agent can see where they stand and how close they are to the next position.
Reset periodically
Monthly resets give every agent a fresh start. An agent who had a bad month can compete with a clean slate. Without resets, the same people dominate indefinitely and everyone else stops trying.
Avoiding toxic competition
Never shame underperformers
A leaderboard should celebrate the top, not punish the bottom. If you highlight poor performers, agents will dread the leaderboard rather than be motivated by it.
Watch for gaming
If agents are incentivised purely by leaderboard position, they might engage in short term behaviours that hurt long term results: rushing deals, discounting heavily, or pressuring customers. Monitor deal quality alongside leaderboard performance.
Balance individual and team recognition
Alongside individual rankings, track and celebrate team milestones. "We hit $1 million in total agent revenue this quarter" creates shared pride that complements individual competition.
Rewards that matter
Tie meaningful rewards to leaderboard performance. These can be financial (bonuses for top three), experiential (dinner for the winner, team event for hitting a milestone), or reputational (feature in your company newsletter, a LinkedIn shoutout with their permission).
The reward does not need to be expensive. The recognition is often more motivating than the prize itself.
Tools and platforms
You can build a simple leaderboard in a shared spreadsheet, but dedicated tools are better as you scale. Zepys provides built in performance tracking that can power leaderboard views, automatically updated with real time sales data.