{"id":5609,"date":"2026-07-02T13:22:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T12:22:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biworldwide.com\/eu\/?post_type=news&#038;p=5609"},"modified":"2026-07-03T13:25:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T12:25:48","slug":"bi-worldwide-launches-new-sales-motivation-research","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.biworldwide.com\/eu\/news\/bi-worldwide-launches-new-sales-motivation-research\/","title":{"rendered":"BI WORLDWIDE launches new sales motivation research"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\" has-content-align-left has-overlay has-overlay--dark alignwide wp-block-biw-block-theme-hero\">\n\t<div class=\"biw-hero__grid\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"biw-hero__breadcrumbs\">\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"breadcrumbs\" class=\"breadcrumb-nav__wrapper\"><span class=\"breadcrumb-nav\"><span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biworldwide.com\/eu\/\">Home<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/div>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"biw-hero__media has-dynamic-border-radius\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"biw-hero__overlay overlay-dark\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biworldwide.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2026\/06\/Decoding_Hero_Banner.png\" alt=\"A smiling man in a purple blazer and a smiling older woman in a lavender blazer stand in front of an abstract background with orange, yellow, and white geometric shapes.\" class=\"biw-hero__bg-image\" style=\"object-position: 86% 61%;\">\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"biw-hero__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"biw-hero__published-date\">\n\t\t\t\t\tJuly 2, 2026\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"biw-hero__title\" style=\"line-height: 1.2\">\n\t\t\t\tBI WORLDWIDE study finds incentives built on stated preferences are failing to drive real motivation\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"biw-hero__text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-fill\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biworldwide.com\/eu\/our-work\/insights-lab\/decoding-sales-team-motivation\/\">Download the report here<\/a><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sales incentives misaligned with what drives performance, EMEA study finds<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>BI WORLDWIDE study finds programmes built on stated preferences are failing to drive real motivation<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><em>Motivation gap:<\/em><\/strong> 85% of sales leaders say incentives work, over 30% of salespeople disagree<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em><strong>Design mismatch:<\/strong> schemes built on stated preferences miss real drivers<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2nd July 2026:<\/strong> New research from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biworldwide.com\/uk\/?utm_medium=pr&amp;utm_source=press_release&amp;utm_campaign=brand&amp;utm_content=biworldwide_home_UK\">BI WORLDWIDE<\/a> reveals a persistent gap between what sales teams say motivates them and what drives performance, raising questions about how incentive programmes are designed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biworldwide.com\/eu\/our-work\/insights-lab\/decoding-sales-team-motivation\/?utm_medium=pr&amp;utm_source=press_release&amp;utm_campaign=decoding_motivation&amp;utm_content=landing_page\">study<\/a>\u00a0, spanning 100 sales leaders and 200 salespeople across EMEA, finds that many organisations continue to base incentives on what employees say they want, often cash rewards, even though behaviour shows other types of incentives are more effective in practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This disconnect is having a measurable impact. While 85% of sales leaders believe their incentive programmes motivate their teams, over 30% of salespeople disagree. The gap points to a mismatch between how incentives are designed and how they are received on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the heart of the challenge is how motivation is understood. What people say they want is often shaped by instinct or habit, with cash seen as the default answer. Motivation is influenced more strongly by how incentives feel in practice, including whether they feel fair, relevant, and personally meaningful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The data highlights how this disconnect plays out in programme design. Leaders tend to prioritise public recognition, cited by 45% as the most motivating non-cash incentive, while salespeople place greater value on flexibility and experiences, such as travel or exclusive events.&nbsp; This misalignment helps explain why many schemes struggle to land in practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>BI WORLDWIDE has published a data backed playbook to address the issue, setting out how organisations can close the gap by designing incentives around observed behaviour rather than stated preference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The approach focuses on aligning sales incentives and rewards with how salespeople work and perform, alongside addressing structural gaps in fairness, input and programme visibility that weaken trust and engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The report also highlights the business cost of getting this wrong, noting that incentives built on stated preferences can lead to short-term bursts of activity that are difficult to sustain. By contrast, more effective design supports consistent performance over time and reduces the risk and cost associated with losing high-performing salespeople.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Deborah Watson, International Sales and Channel Incentive Strategy Leader at BI WORLDWIDE said: \u201cDesigning around what people say they want can introduce bias into incentive programmes. When organisations focus instead on how people behave and what they experience day to day, they build programmes that resonate more strongly with sales teams and support more consistent performance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The findings point to a need for a more deliberate design approach, where incentives are grounded in behavioural science and shaped by real world experience rather than assumption. The full playbook provides practical guidance for organisations looking to reassess their current approach and build programmes that better reflect how their sales teams are motivated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biworldwide.com\/eu\/our-work\/insights-lab\/decoding-sales-team-motivation\/\">Download the report here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Methodology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The research was commissioned by BI WORLDWIDE and conducted by Sapio Research in October 2025, among 100 sales leaders and 200 sales team members across eight EMEA markets and multiple sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About BI WORLDWIDE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With its EMEA head office in the UK, BI WORLDWIDE helps organisations solve critical business challenges by manifesting positive behaviour change and engagement. BI WORLDWIDE applies its expertise in behavioural economics to deliver recognition, rewards, incentives, and global event solutions that create lasting value. Working with over 2,000 organisations worldwide, across 183 countries, BI WORLDWIDE has been inspiring people, partners, and customers since 1950.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information, visit\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biworldwide.com\/eu\">https:\/\/www.biworldwide.com\/eu<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p><a id=\"_msocom_1\"><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New research from BI WORLDWIDE reveals a persistent gap between what sales teams say motivates them and what drives performance, raising questions about how incentive programmes are designed. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5593,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"news-topic":[],"class_list":["post-5609","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BI WORLDWIDE launches new sales 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