When you are an Account Executive, your time is your most valuable asset.
Discovery calls, follow-ups, internal alignment, customer questions, it all competes for attention. The problem is, some of the most important sales activities are easy to skip when pressure is high or deals are dragging.
That is where sales games come in.
Real tactical games sharpen your habits and keep you moving deals forward. Games push revenue in the right direction without burning you out.
Whether you track them in a leaderboard, run them with your team, or just keep them for personal accountability, here are five sales games every AE should have in their playbook.
The goal: Move as many deals as possible to the next meaningful stage
Why it works: It breaks the “waiting game” and forces action
Most pipelines are full of deals that are one well-timed follow-up away from progress. The Follow-Up Frenzy game rewards momentum. Pick a one-week window and assign points for every opportunity that moves forward — that could mean scheduling a second call, getting stakeholder buy-in, or confirming next steps.
Pro tip: Use this game to crush the mid-month slump. It creates a burst of deal activity and keeps opportunities from stalling out.
The goal: Practice and share how you handle real objections in live deals
Why it works: It builds confidence and raises the quality of your conversations
Every AE gets hit with pricing concerns, timeline delays, or “we’re evaluating other options.” This game turns objection handling into a sport. For every objection you handle well — meaning the deal stays alive or even progresses — you log what the objection was and how you responded.
Make it fun by sharing your “gold medal rebuttals” with the team. You will build a playbook faster than any sales enablement session.
Optional reward: Best objection handling of the week wins a small prize or peer recognition.
The goal: Get real about which deals deserve your time
Why it works: It brings brutal clarity to your pipeline and improves forecast accuracy
This game is a personal favourite of top AEs. Once a month, go through every deal in your pipeline and ask yourself: is this truly active? If not, either close it out or create a concrete plan to revive it.
You get points for each deal you remove, and double points if you re-engage one that was slipping away. Less noise means more focus — and better closing rates.
The goal: Add new stakeholders to each active deal
Why it works: Multithreaded deals are way more likely to close
Single-threaded deals are risky. One champion leaves or loses influence and the whole thing falls apart. This game encourages you to identify and connect with at least one new contact in every active opportunity.
Track how many new decision-makers or influencers you add during the week. Bonus points if they join a meeting or reply directly.
Tip: Make this a standing game during the middle stages of the deal cycle. It protects your pipeline from sudden surprises.
The goal: Speed up the time between your demo and a decision
Why it works: It reduces ghosting and shortens your sales cycle
A demo without clear next steps is a dead end. This game rewards speed and clarity. You get points for every deal where the next step after a demo is scheduled within 48 hours. Whether it is a pricing review, legal check, or final presentation — the key is fast movement.
Track your personal average time from demo to decision point. Once you start gamifying it, you will notice which deals need tighter handling.
None of these games rely on gimmicks. They work because they push AEs to focus on the high-value habits that actually lead to more closed revenue. They create urgency without stress. And they make winning feel a little more fun — especially when you bring some friendly competition into the mix.
You can run them solo, with your pod, or as part of a larger sales incentive program. Platforms like Targitr make it easier to track, reward, and run these kinds of games across the whole team. But even without tools, you can start using these right now.
If you are feeling stuck, slow, or scattered, pick one and commit to it for a week.
It will refocus your energy on what actually drives results.
Looking to level up your AE performance with smart, motivating habits?
Try Targitr for free
Select a key metric from your CRM to track performance and gain deeper insight into what your team can achieve when meaningful incentives are in place. Customise individual and team goals to suit any objective or business context.
Admin & managers have full control of what’s available in the rewards store. Create rewards that motivate teams and individuals to do more. Learn and adapt as results come in.
