Compensation packages can vary widely, and sales professionals typically negotiate on base pay, bonus structures, and extra benefits to make a job even more lucrative. According to a recent survey, one type of additional compensation offered to 50% of Destinations clients is a President’s Club or similar incentive program for top achievers.  If you don’t have one, your business needs to implement a Winner’s Circle, Top Earner Club, President’s Club, or Achiever’s Club sales incentive program to continue to incentivize and motivate your employees. 

The Carrot: Why Businesses Need a President’s Club

High-performing sales professionals look at more than just base salary and total compensation when considering a potential job offer. In addition to standard benefits, companies that sweeten the deal with the opportunity to be rewarded with an all-expenses-paid trip with the President’s Club can be a deciding factor. While these trips can be pricey, and especially so for smaller companies, they provide businesses with strong Returns on Investments (ROI) by increasing employee motivation to the highest levels to not just reach this elite club once, but to also remain there, year after year. Your hardest-working sales professionals fight to hit challenging sales goals every year and many times will continue to hit the mark to be a repeat winner. With a relatively small investment in a reward trip, businesses can use this enticing opportunity in the recruiting process to capture the attention of the top earners who will bring new energy to the sales team.

Choosing the Right Type of President’s Club for Your Business

A President’s Club should only reward between 5-20% of your employees to encourage healthy competition that will drive sales cycle completion. When incentive programs become unattainable or have an elite-only status, they can have the adverse effect and become demotivating for team members.  Picking the best structure for your business can ensure a strong ROI from employee motivation and greater employee retention. Whether you are looking at beginning a top earner’s club, tweaking one you already have, or bringing a club trip back, picking the right one for your sales team and company goals is critical.

Fixed Sales Target Model

This type of President’s Club rewards all sales members equally who hit a predetermined sales goal for the competition period, which could be a quota percentage, a minimum sales goal, or both. According to Destinations’ recent survey, about 40% of our clients use this model.

Who Should Use It: Businesses that want to motivate a larger group toward hitting a goal can develop a fixed target model.

Potential Concerns: Some top earners may sandbag their sales once they hit their goal, making it challenging to evaluate potential quotas and goals for upcoming years. And, if a larger group than anticipated hit the mark, a bigger trip payout will be required but companies will likely experience a greater ROI with stronger sales and increased enthusiasm from the President’s Club trip.

Highest Percentage Over Quota Model

This model offers a reward when a salesperson exceeds their quota, and the reward designation is offered at a percentage over that quota. If the President’s Circle is established at 115% of the sales quota, a salesperson would earn the trip at 116% along with someone who hit 150% of their quota. This model is also represented by about 40% of Destinations’ clients, according to our most recent survey.

Who Should Use It: Companies who are adding new sales professionals regularly can benefit from this model since the payout is achievable for every sales quota, no matter how small relative to the rest of the sales team.

Potential Concerns: Top goal-hitters could be less motivated to surpass quotas past this threshold.

Fixed Percentage Model

This incentive model rewards a set percentage of the team, regardless of whether quotas or goals are hit. For example, the 10% Club would only recognize the top 10% goal- or quota-hitters on the sales team.

Who Should Use It: Companies with large sales teams are the best fit for a fixed percentage model because costs for incentive trips can be easily managed with a set number of winner slots awarded each cycle.

Potential Concerns: Smaller companies may find that only awarding a small handful of award trips is not motivating for the sales team, pushing the incentive into an elite club instead of a potential reach for growing sales professionals.

Quota Met Model

This incentive model rewards sales team members who meet or exceed their quota, regardless of the quota size compared to the rest of the company.

Who Should Use It: Companies with smaller sales teams with less complex metrics typically use this incentive model. Destinations’ recent survey about President’s Club Rewards defined a “smaller sales team” as those between 10-50 sales members.

Potential Concerns: For smaller companies, expensive reward trips can be a challenge to fund every year if quotas are not carefully evaluated every year.

Other Incentive Options

In addition to President’s Club trips, high sales team performance is also encouraged by other incentive programs. Commission accelerators that kick in after hitting 100% quota increase employee motivation and ensure you do not have employees “sandbagging” deals, as they are incentivized to close as much as possible once they hit their kickers.  Other incentivizing alternatives to consider in addition to or in place of an all-inclusive trip are Winners Club Dinners, variable levels of Sales Prizes or Year-end Bonus Pools for top earners.

The Bottom Line: Your Company Should Reward with a President’s Club

In 2026, we will continue to see these types of trips happening as a well-deserved reward for those who were top sales producers in 2025, even if companies may be tightening the belt in other areas. It is likely that in 2026, however, we will see fewer incentive trips offered—or trips that are pared down with fewer extras (like plus-ones) included in the trip. Ultimately, companies may need to find creative ways to reduce the total cost of their Sales Incentive Programs while keeping them alive and meaningful so that top performers are always celebrated.

Definitions: 

Fixed Sales Target Model: Simple, Scalable, and Performance-Driven

The Fixed Sales Target Model is one of the most accessible and easy-to-communicate incentive structures. In this model, any salesperson who hits a clearly defined target—often a revenue or quota threshold—qualifies for the reward, regardless of how many others qualify or how much they exceed it. It’s a straightforward approach that motivates a wide range of performers to reach for the same high bar.

How It Works:

• A company sets a universal performance target for the incentive period (e.g., $1 million in new sales or 110% of assigned quota).
• Any rep who meets or surpasses that target qualifies for the incentive trip or recognition reward.
• The number of winners can vary widely depending on how many team members meet the mark.
  

Example:

A company establishes:

• An annual sales target of $850,000 in new revenue
  42 out of 120 eligible salespeople meet or exceed that goal
  → All 42 earn a spot in the President’s Club, regardless of how far over the target they went or how others performed.
  

Why Companies Use This Model:

• Easy to Understand: There’s one clear goal—hit it, and you’re in. No leaderboard math, no ambiguity.
• Inclusive Motivation: It encourages consistent effort and can inspire mid-tier performers to stretch.
• Adaptable Over Time: Targets can be adjusted year-over-year based on performance trends, growth goals, or shifting market conditions.

Best Fit For:

• Organizations seeking a motivational tool for a broad portion of the sales team.
• Companies with reliable historical performance data, allowing them to set smart, attainable targets.
• Sales teams where quotas are standardized or closely aligned across roles and regions.
  

Potential Challenges:

• Budget Uncertainty: If a large number of reps meet the target, total program costs may exceed projections.
• Plateauing Behavior: Some reps may stop pushing once they hit the target, especially if the incentive doesn’t scale with performance.
• Not Always Top-Performer Focused: High achievers who significantly exceed the goal may feel under-recognized if they receive the same reward as those who just barely made it.
  

Pro Planning Tip:

To maintain momentum and encourage reps to keep selling beyond the fixed goal, consider layering in accelerators—such as additional bonuses, tiered recognition, or exclusive trip upgrades for those who exceed the target by a wide margin. This keeps your top producers hungry while maintaining broad participation.

The “Highest Percentage Over Quota” incentive model is defined as follows:

This model rewards salespeople who exceed their sales quotas by the highest percentage during a specified performance period. Rather than simply recognizing those who meet their quotas, this model identifies top performers based on how far **above** quota they go.

How it Works:

• Each salesperson has a set individual quota (which may vary by role, territory, or experience level).
• At the end of the incentive period, the company calculates what **percentage over their quota** each salesperson achieved.
• Those with the **highest percentage over** their assigned quota earn the reward—typically an invitation to a President’s Club or incentive trip.

Example:

Salesperson	Quota	Actual Sales	% Over Quota
Alex	$500,000	$625,000	125%
Jamie	$750,000	$900,000	120%
Taylor	$300,000	$390,000	130%

 

In this example, Taylor has the highest percentage over quota (130%) and would be ranked the highest under this model, even though they had the smallest dollar total in sales.

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Why Companies Use This Model:

• It levels the playing field, allowing reps with smaller or newer territories to compete fairly.
• It drives performance beyond the quota, encouraging reps to stretch rather than coast once their goals are met.
• It’s especially useful for companies with variable quota assignments across the team.

Potential Pitfalls:

• If not managed carefully, it may unintentionally favor reps with easier or more conservative quotas.
• Top dollar producers might feel overlooked if their raw sales numbers are high, but their quota was equally aggressive.

Fixed Percentage Model: A Strategic Approach to Incentive Travel Planning

The Fixed Percentage Model is one of the most straightforward—and budget-friendly—approaches to structuring a President’s Club or incentive travel program. Instead of focusing on quotas or sales thresholds, this model simply rewards a set percentage of top performers within the sales organization, based on their relative ranking.

How It Works:

At the close of the performance period (typically annual), salespeople are ranked from highest to lowest based on total performance metrics (usually revenue, profit, or other KPIs).

A predetermined percentage of the team earns a spot in the incentive program. For example, if your company uses a Top 10% model and has 100 salespeople, only the 10 highest-performing reps qualify.

The model ensures that only a fixed number of winners are recognized, regardless of how many people hit their quota or how far above their goals they go.

Example:

If a company has:

• 200 eligible sales team members
• Uses a Top 10% Club approach

→ Only the top 20 individuals would qualify for the trip, no matter the quota or sales volume they achieved individually.

Why Companies Use This Model:

Predictable Budgeting: Since the number of winners is fixed, budgeting for trip size, airfare, accommodations, and activity costs becomes highly predictable.

Scalability: As your sales team grows, this model scales cleanly without requiring changes to thresholds or formulas.

Competition-Driven Culture: It fosters healthy competition among sales reps by rewarding only the highest-ranking performers.

Best Fit For:

• Large sales organizations where quota structures vary significantly by territory or seniority.
• Companies that want strict cost control without sacrificing motivational impact.
• Programs aiming to promote an elite, competitive standard for recognition.

Potential Pitfalls:

May be seen as too exclusive if only a small number of people earn rewards, particularly in mid-sized or smaller sales teams.

Can create disillusionment among high performers who do well, but still miss the cutoff due to the overall strength of the field.

Does not consider individual improvement year-over-year—only relative performance in a single cycle.

Pro Planning Tip:

To increase engagement and morale, some companies layer this model with secondary rewards—such as a Winners Dinner or tiered prize levels—so that even those outside the fixed percentage bracket still feel recognized and motivated. This allows you to preserve the integrity and exclusivity of the incentive trip while spreading recognition more broadly across your team.

Quota Met Model: Rewarding Performance Through Attainable Excellence

The Quota Met Model is one of the most inclusive incentive structures, offering rewards to all team members who meet or exceed their individual sales quotas. Rather than focusing on competition or ranking, this model highlights achievement based on hitting clearly defined, personalized goals—making it a strong motivator across diverse sales teams.

How It Works:

• Each sales rep is assigned a customized quota at the beginning of the performance cycle.
• At the end of the cycle, everyone who reaches 100% or more of their assigned quota qualifies for the incentive trip or President’s Club recognition.
• There is no cap on how many winners can qualify—eligibility is tied purely to performance against quota, not how others perform.
  

Example:

If a company has:

• 50 salespeople with varying quotas
• 28 of themachieve 100% of their target or more
  → All 28 are eligible for the President’s Club or incentive reward experience.
  

Why Companies Use This Model:

• • Encourages Goal Achievement: Because it focuses on individual success, this model motivates reps at all performance levels—especially those in newer or smaller territories.
    • Promotes Fairness: Everyone knows exactly what it takes to qualify, and the goal feels attainable.
    • Supports a Growth Culture: Rather than a winner-takes-all dynamic, it fosters a more collaborative and supportive team environment.